Achievement First - Myths and Facts

Achievement First’s schools in CT and NY have been widely unsuccessful in enrolling and supporting significant numbers of Latino and ELL students when compared with their neighborhood district schools. AF’s history of consistently under enrolling these two student groups, even in areas with substantial Latino and ELL populations, brings into question their commitment and ability to serve Providence’s large Latino (60%) and ELL (20%) student populations. The citing of AF Bushwick for its lack of a formal and effective ELL program, even after having served ELLs for 5 years, also raises serious concerns about AF’s competence to serve these high need students.

Enrollment gaps exist for Latino and ELL populations in all of Achievement First’s schools. A comparison of the two populations at AF Hartford Academy and those at Hartford School District provides a clear example of AF’s persistent under enrollment of Latino and ELL students during its 12 year history of operating schools in CT. Hartford School District’s student population in 2010 consisted of 52% Latino and 18% ELL students, with 43% of their students coming from homes where English is not the primary language. AF Hartford Academy had only 10% Latino and 5% ELL students, with only 5% of students coming from homes where English is not the primary language. The disparity in data reveals an enrollment gap at AF Hartford of 42% for Latino students with nearly 3 times fewer ELL students enrolled.

The enrollment gap can also be found throughout AF NYC schools. New York State Department of Education statistics show that in the last 3 years for which data is publicly available (2008-10) every AF NYC school with one exception, AF Bushwick, had ELL student populations of fewer than 1%. In comparison, AF’s neighborhood school districts averaged 10% ELL enrollment. Although AF Bushwick enrolled some ELL students, its numbers were still far below that of the neighborhood school district. In 2010, the neighborhood district’s student population consisted of 71% Latino and 19% ELL students, while AF Bushwick’s student population consisted of 38% Latino and only 5% ELL students – a gap of 33% for Latino students with almost 4 times fewer ELL students enrolled.

The most concerning finding at AF Bushwick, however, was not its enrollment gap but its treatment of ELL students and lack of programming. During an inspection for its first charter renewal in 2011, AF Bushwick was found to be “still exploring how to implement an ELL program.”  Its charter authorizer also found that AF Bushwick was treating its ELL students like special education students, something that “could be seen as violative of federal law.” Because of its “absence of a formal ELL program” and consistently poorer than expected performances on state English Language Arts exams, AF Bushwick was denied a full charter renewal by its authorizer.

From the Initial Renewal Report, Achievement First-Bushwick Charter School, 2011, p. 3.

At the time of the renewal inspection visit, English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in the school were receiving immersion services from the school’s special services team, and in some cases informal pull-out instruction under the supervision of the special education coordinator. The Institute has determined, and school leaders have acknowledged, that this model for providing services to ELL students at the Elementary Academy has been ineffective given the absence of a formal ELL program for what is a sizable ELL population. In addition, the perceived treatment provided for ELLs as similar to that for special education students could be seen as violative of federal law. Leaders at the school’s Elementary Academy were, at the time of the renewal inspection visit, still exploring how to implement an ELL program. In addition, the existing Elementary Academy program is ad hoc in nature and was coordinated at the time of the renewal inspection visit by the special services coordinator.

An example of these disparities can be found within the current application to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) for the opening of Achievement First Mayoral Academies in Providence. The application states that "AF's New York schools look similar to their neighborhood district schools" demographically. Provided as an example of AF's ability to outperform their district counterparts while educating similar students, the application compares AF's NYC 4th grade state test results in English Language Arts and Math with 4th graders in AF's neighborhood districts. Although AF's 4th grade students outperformed the district students, the student demographics of AF schools and their district counterparts are significantly different, putting into question AF's claim of getting better performance results with the same or "similar" students as those in the surrounding districts.

In 2010, (the latest year available to the public for school and district demographic information from New York state) AF's 4th grade classes contained on average 10% of SWD compared to the district's 19%, 80% of students that were ED (based on free and reduced lunch statistics*) compared to the district's 97%, and less than 1% of students with LEP compared to the district's 15%. In fact, only one student in the AF schools was identified as being a student with LEP. (*The disparity in poverty between students attending AF and district schools would likely be more significant if the state reported the number of students qualifying for free lunch by school grade level. The average AF school involved in this comparison had only 49% of all their students qualify for Free Lunch while the Districts averaged 83%).

AF's stated goal of striving to close the achievement gap and their historical inability to enroll the highest need students from their neighborhood communities is especially meaningful in Rhode Island. According to RIDE's review of 2010 Fall NECAP scores, the largest achievement gaps exist between ELL and non-ELL students, as well as between students with and without disabilities.