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English Language Learners Briefing
Connecticut
PRIMARY TALKING POINTS
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“ELL enrollment is increasing across our Connecticut schools. In fact, we now serve a higher ELL
percentage than our host districts at AF Bridgeport Academy Elementary.”

FACT: ELL enrollment at Achievement First’s Connecticut schools is now 9 percent in 201314, compared to 7 percent in 2011-12. In contrast, only 5.5 percent of students across the
state identify as ELL according the most recent publicly available data.

FACT: In the 2013-14 school year, 16 percent of AF Bridgeport Academy Elementary
students qualify as ELL, compared to 13 percent of students in Bridgeport Public Schools.

FACT: All Achievement First schools enroll students through a blind lottery. We are not
legally allowed to grant lottery preference to ELL students at any Connecticut Achievement
First school, but we would support legislation that would allow us to grant this preference
because English Language Learners dramatically underperform native English speakers at
traditional public schools, and Achievement First is committed to serving students in our
most historically underserved communities.

FACT: Per our agreement with some of our Connecticut host cities, we serve neighborhoods
that do not have large ELL populations. In Hartford for instance, per our agreement with
Hartford Public Schools, we enroll students from Hartford’s North End, who are
predominantly African-American.

FACT: To inform more families whose dominant home language is not English about our
approach, we have increased outreach and recruitment initiatives. Street teams— bilingual
high school students and parents of current ELL students—canvass our communities to
inform families about our ELL approach. We are also hiring more bilingual school staff and
are distributing student recruitment materials and lottery enrollment forms in both English
and Spanish.
“Achievement First serves English Language Learners, but we serve a greater percentage of
students who speak a dominant home language other than English. This measure is a more
accurate representation of our student population since our students test out of ELL support at
a faster rate than their host district peers.”

FACT: ELL is intended to be a temporary label for students while they are learning English.
Students who are classified as English Language Learners meet two requirements: they
speak a home language other than English and they fail an English proficiency test.
Achievement First Talking Points | ELL CT
Do Not Use After 9/1/2014
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
FACT: Since our students attain English proficiency at a faster rate than their district peers,
fewer students remain identified as ELL. From 2011 to 2012, 48 percent of Achievement
First Bushwick Elementary students classified as ELL were able to achieve English proficiency
on the annual New York English as a Second Language Achievement Test and graduate from
ELL services. In comparison, only 30 percent of citywide ELL students were able to pass this
test after three years. In fact, the average New York City ELL student required more than five
years to test out of ELL support.

FACT: In addition to serving English Language Learners, many of our students speak a
dominant home language other than English, which is a more accurate representation of the
population we serve. In 2012-13, 19 dominant home languages (other than English) were
represented in Achievement First schools, including Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Turkish, Arabic
and Vietnamese.
“Achievement First’s approach is effective at driving academic gains for English Language
Learner (ELL) students.”

FACT: Across our network in New York and Connecticut, we are driving results for ELL
students. For instance, on its New York City Department of Education 2010-11 Progress
Report, Achievement First Bushwick received an “A” with full credit for exceptional gains
with ELL students in both English and math, defined as scoring in the top 20 percent of New
York City schools.

FACT: Our core approach to education is ideal for English Language Learners because it
combines best practices proven to drive achievement for all students, including those with
special needs. Our program includes more time in class, smaller class sizes and data-driven
instructional plans for each student.

FACT: In addition, we also provide targeted, individualized support for ELL students, with a
focus on explicit phonics and vocabulary instruction, as well as conversation and
comprehension skills.
DATA
Achievement First
Geography*
AF Connecticut Schools
AF % ELL
9%
Host District
Host District % ELL
Connecticut Traditional
5.6%
Public Schools
* All Achievement First statistics are for 2013-14 unless otherwise stated. Connecticut figures are from
2011-12, the most recent data publicly available.
Achievement First Talking Points | ELL CT
Do Not Use After 9/1/2014
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Connecticut
AF School
AF % ELL
Host District
Host District % ELL*
AF Bridgeport Academy
11.5%
Bridgeport Public Schools
13%
Elementary
AF Bridgeport Academy
16.2%
Bridgeport Public Schools
13%
Middle
AF Hartford Academy
3.2%
Hartford Public Schools
18%
Elementary
AF Hartford Academy
3.5%
Hartford Public Schools
18%
Middle
AF Hartford High
3.4%
Hartford Public Schools
18%
Amistad Academy
13.1%
New Haven Public Schools
14%
Elementary
Amistad Academy Middle
10.4%
New Haven Public Schools
14%
AF Amistad High School
6.2%
New Haven Public Schools
14%
Elm City College Prep
8.5%
New Haven Public Schools
14%
Elementary
Elm City College Prep
3.6%
New Haven Public Schools
14%
Middle
*AF figures are for the 2013-14 school year. Traditional district school data is from the last available
school year, 2011-12.
Achievement First Talking Points | ELL CT
Do Not Use After 9/1/2014
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For support, email marketing@achievementfirst.org