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Macro Cheat Sheet
Alumni Program
Top Stats
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Nationally, only 8.3 percent of low-income students graduate from college within six years. AF’s
goal is that at least 75 percent of our alumni will graduate from college within six years.
Currently, 82 percent of our high school graduates are still persisting in college.
85 percent of Achievement First’s high school graduates are the first in their families to attend
college.
Potential Questions
Q: “What is Achievement First’s alumni program?”
A: Our alumni program is tailored for graduates of our Achievement First schools. Through our
alumni program, former students receive counseling support to help them along the path to college
graduation. They also receive scholarships in exchange for sharing their academic performance,
course schedule and other information. The program allows us to maintain a vital link with our
alumni and identify areas where they might need help.
Q: “Why does Achievement First’s alumni program exist?”
A: We created the alumni program because our commitment to our students doesn’t end with high
school graduation—that’s not the goal. The goal is college graduation. We know that academically,
financially and socio-emotionally, college is a massive adjustment, especially for first-generation
students. There are many obstacles and academic landmines our kids could step on, and our support
is critical in navigating them.
Q: “Who participates in the alumni program?”
A: Graduates from our high schools that have graduated classes—so far AF Amistad High and AF
Brooklyn High—participate in the alumni program. The program is also open to graduates of
Amistad Academy Middle who moved on to high school before Achievement First opened a high
school in Connecticut. Students who withdraw from college continue to receive alumni program
support. This has been integral in encouraging some of our struggling alumni to re-enroll in college
courses.
Q: “How do Achievement First’s alumni counselors help students?”
A: Every student has an alumni counselor. Our counselors help alumni break down obstacles into
manageable pieces and continue their progress to college graduation. Our counselors provide
alumni with critical support, and work in partnership with college officials, alumni and families, to
help alumni problem solve and connect with campus resources.
Achievement First Macro Cheat Sheet | Alumni Program
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Q: “How do alumni who are participating in the program help Achievement First?”
A: Since our alumni share with us their academic data and information, we are able to use it to
inform the ways we prepare our current students for college. For instance, when counselors saw
some of our scholars struggling in psychology and physics, we began a process to modify the high
school science curriculum to help future alumni succeed. In order to help our scholars feel more
comfortable meeting with their professors, we instituted teacher office hours for high school juniors
and seniors.
Top Quote
“The alumni program keeps me focused. It motivates me more than anything else to stay on track.”
—Jose, Western Connecticut State University
Top Story
It is often powerful to include your own personal story about how Achievement First is addressing the
issue. Below is one related story:
Francheska graduated from Achievement First Amistad High School in 2010 determined to become the
first member of her family to earn a college degree. Now, as she continues to work toward the true
summit—college graduation—the AF team and family that helped her climb the mountain to college
remain by her side.
A management major at Providence College, Francheska describes AF’s alumni program support as “lifesaving.” Before her sophomore year, Francheska encountered a financial obstacle that threatened to
make her upcoming semester unaffordable. Without her alumni counselor—who helped Francheska set
up a payment plan and find ways to reduce non-tuition costs—she would have been forced to drop out
of school. Instead, Francheska stayed at Providence where she took her counselor’s advice—emailing
her professors, utilizing the campus writing center and requesting extra credit— and had her most
academically successful semester yet. “It cheers me up to know that someone else cares,” Francheska
says. “All of AF is thinking of me and encouraging me to go on.”
Achievement First General Highlights
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With the opening of three new schools in our network—AF Aspire Elementary, AF University
Prep High and AF Providence Mayoral Academy Elementary—we now serve nearly 8,100
students across three states, five cities and 25 schools. We will open four new schools in the fall
of 2014, serving more than 9,100 students.
At both of our full-size high schools, 100 percent of graduating seniors have gained college
acceptance in every graduating class. More African Americans at our one, small New Haven high
school passed at least one A.P. exam than at any other school district in Connecticut. Our
students, most of whom will be the first in their families to attend college, are not only gaining
acceptance to college, but they are persisting toward graduation. While only 16 percent of
students nationwide who are the first in their families to enter college will graduate within six
years, 82 percent of our high school graduates are still persisting in college.
Achievement First Macro Cheat Sheet | Alumni Program
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For support, email marketing@achievementfirst.org
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For two consecutive years, AF Bushwick received an A and scored in the top 15 percent of all city
schools on the New York City Department of Education Progress Reports. The NYC DOE
highlighted AF Bushwick as one of eight city schools with high-needs populations that excel at
preparing students for college and careers. AF Bushwick earned special credit for making
outstanding gains with special education students.
AF Brownsville also received an A for two consecutive years on the NYC DOE Progress Reports
and was recognized for making higher-than-average gains in math and English Language Arts.
We announced our first class of 52 “Distinguished Teachers” in Achievement First’s Teacher
Career Pathway, which has been nationally recognized by both the New Teacher Project and the
Aspen Urban Superintendents Network as one of the most promising teacher evaluation and
career paths in the country.
There is a high—and increasing—demand from our families and communities for more
Achievement First schools. Across all of our schools, we received an average of seven
enrollment forms for every available seat.
We have been working hard to address the issue of diversity and inclusiveness. We increased
the percentage of new teachers and school leaders identified as black, Latino or multiracial from
28 percent to 36 percent and, last year for the first time, we retained a higher percentage of our
staff of color than our network average.
For more information, please read our Talking Points at http://www.achievementfirst.org/marcommresources/communicating-af/talking-points/.
Achievement First Macro Cheat Sheet | Alumni Program
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For support, email marketing@achievementfirst.org