A Conversation With Lesley Esters Redwine, Achievement First

Vice President of External Relations
July 2011

Achievement First is a non-profit charter management organization that operates a network of high-performing, college-preparatory, K-12 public charter schools in Connecticut and New York. Achievement First’s mission is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. They believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders for our communities.

Achievement First’s mission is to close the achievement gap and deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all children in America.  How do you go about this?   

What’s different about an Achievement First school compared to a traditional urban public is our deep belief that every child can be successful.

How do you do this?

We try to ensure that all classrooms have only the highest quality teachers.  We also believe that real system-wide reform requires a model that includes data-driven instruction, an emphasis on recruiting the best teachers from across the country, and sense of what it's going to take to prepare every child for college.         

Is the education system in our country broken?

Our students aren't as successful as their international peers.  There's a big gap separating American children from the rest of the world.  One of our goals is to close that gap.  We understand that students have to be competitive in order to compete in a global society.  So, we’ve got to build leaders who are capable of making a contribution to society.

How do we build those leaders?

It all starts with a great education.  That's really our mission – to provide no-excuses, high-performing college preparatory experience for our students.  And ensure that they have the character skills and the development skills that will make them successful.                       

Without good schools, what does the future look like to you?

In a word: bleak. 

Has New York City changed since your arrival?

When we first entered Brooklyn where many of our schools are now located, we spoke with leaders in communities where low academic achievement had been the norm.  And many folks were either not interested, or thought that we were outsiders coming to experiment with the community. Though neither the demographics nor poverty rates have changed, six years after our arrival, student performance is on the rise. 

How are you working with Carnegie Corporation? 

Carnegie is helping us to achieve one of our core priorities of becoming a data-driven organization.  We've also been able to achieve a level of success by providing professional development, enhanced technology support to our principals and teachers which allows them to have real-time student data. 

What are your priorities going forward?

We will continue to focus on student achievement, which is the very core of our mission.  By focusing specifically on reading instruction, which is our number-one priority, we will ensure that our scholars are prepared for college.