ACHIEVEMENT FIRST

GREENFIELD SCHOOL DESIGN

AF Greenfield is a new school model developed by Achievement First to foster the best-prepared students in the world. We believe Greenfield students will develop 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 in our communities.

Now is the time

Education drives opportunity, personal freedom, and individual and national

prosperity. Today, too many students in the United States are not inspired or equipped to

learn at the same high levels of students in other countries. We need to create better

schools for the future. With the north star of the Common Core and the availability of new technologies as well as deeper insights into the science of learning, our opportunity to

create such a school is now.

New technologies enable

new learning

For the first time in history, technology and connectivity make it possible for

knowledge to reach every student almost anytime, anywhere, regardless of race, income, and location. This technology is increasingly smart—able to identify and

adapt to students’ unique learning needs. We can now personalize the learning process

like never before.

We know more than ever

about how we learn

Advances and partnerships in neuroscience and cognitive development have given

educators a deeper understanding of the underlying brain processes,

motivations, and optimal conditions for accelerated learning. Opportunities to

leverage these discoveries to enrich instructional design are emerging and will be

able to help us better maximize each and every moment of student learning.

We’ve raised our

expectations of ourselves

The wide adoption of the Common Core Standards has aligned many of us around a

higher set of academic standards focused on the development of critical thinking and true preparation for college, career, and a life of opportunity. These higher standards have

highlighted that the achievement gap is even wider than we thought.

It will not be possible to achieve excellence against these much more rigorous standards

by doing what we have always done. New thinking is required.

We want to innovate

learning for the students

in our schools

We have seen firsthand how innovative school models that leverage these

opportunities have advanced student learning from California to Texas to New York. We see our opportunity in learning from these school models and applying these practices specifically to the urban

communities we serve as we continue to work to close the opportunity gap by

providing the highest-quality education.

Leveraging these

opportunities, how can we

prepare our students to

realize their full potential in

college and life?

Our school seeks to maximize four outcomes:

Accelerated AcademicsHabits of Success

Excellence in EnrichmentStudent, Family, & Staff Motivation

To best prepare our students, we aim to achieve four outcomes:

ACCELERATED ACADEMICS

We set the bar extremely high and push students to achieve excellence in academics.

HABITS OF SUCCESS

Students develop the habits,

mindsets and life skills that

promote productive and joyful

lives including growth mindset,

curiosity, time management,

empathy and creativity.

EXCELLENCE IN ENRICHMENT

We offer students a chance to experience the joy of passionately pursuing an area of enrichment beyond traditional academics, such as STEM Inventions, Martial Arts, and Music.

STUDENT, FAMILY & STAFF MOTIVATION

Our powerful community of students, staff and families will consistently inspire and support each other.

MAXIMIZING LEARNING DEVELOPING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

To help students be self-motivated and excited to learn more, we are developing a strong practice of personal Goal Setting and Reflection supported by rituals, tools and dedicated staff members. This allows students to progress at their own pace, rewarding their effort and achievement and showing them the confidence we have in their ability to go far. Social rituals and team activities give our students a deep sense of belonging and accountability to our awesomely powerful community.

To maximize student learning, we have created a school where learning is delivered in many different forms, each of them tailored to the subject and content being taught. In small groups, students have the opportunity to receive frequent feedback. Large groups enable engaging discussions where students learn from each other’s different opinions. Self-Directed Learning allows students to intensively practice their reading and writing and explore content at their own pace. And Expeditions allow students to deepen and apply their knowledge outside of school. All learning is guided by a rigorous curriculum ensuring students achieve at an accelerated level.

To achieve these outcomes, the AF Greenfield school is designed to focus on two areas:

ACCELERATED ACADEMICS

We set the bar extremely high

and push students to achieve

excellence in academics.

HABITS OF SUCCESS

Students develop the habits,

mindsets and life skills that

promote productive and joyful

lives including growth mindset,

curiosity, time management,

empathy and creativity.

EXCELLENCE IN ENRICHMENT

We offer students a chance to

experience the joy of

passionately pursuing an area

of enrichment beyond

traditional academics, such as

STEM Inventions, Martial Arts,

and Music.

STUDENT, FAMILY & STAFF MOTIVATION

Our powerful community

of students, staff and families

will consistently inspire and

support each other.

To achieve these outcomes, our design is anchored by a combination of three guiding principles:

Accelerated Expectations

We support our students to achieve at an exceptionally high level

Awesomely Powerful Community

We give students a deep sense of belonging and purpose

Ownership and Personalization

We build intrinsic motivation so students feel agency over and responsibility for their own learning

To translate these guiding design anchors into concrete learning experiences, we have designed seven interrelated modules. Goal-Setting & Reflection

Self-Directed Learning

Small Group Learning

Large Group Learning

Expeditions

Community Connections

Learning Essentials

The central module is Goal-Setting & Reflection, where students pursue their dreams by setting ambitious goals that cover everything from academics to habits to enrichment. Together, students encourage each other and reflect on their successes and stumbles along the way.

Four modules shape how students engage in learning:

Self-Directed Learningbuilds student responsibility, ownership, and identity by giving students control over pace, sequence, and some content.

Small Group Learning offers

hands-on and individualized

instruction to go deep and

receive lots of feedback.

Large Group Learning helps answer key questions through teacher-moderated discussion, debate, simulation, and experimentation.

Expeditions enable students to deeply experience content and apply skills in a context beyond the school.

Self-Directed Learning builds student responsibility, ownership, and identity by giving students control over pace, sequence, and some content.

Small Group Learning offers hands-on and individualized instruction to go deep and receive lots of feedback.

Large Group Learning helps answer key questions through teacher-moderated discussion, debate, simulation, and experimentation.

Expeditions enable students to

deeply experience content and

apply skills in a context beyond

the school.

Community Connections rally students, staff, and families to thrive together—linking arms with high levels of trust and motivation for students to meet their goals and realize their greatest dreams.

Learning Essentials ensure that students sustain their energy and focus by meeting their basic needs for physical activity, nutrition, and emotional safety; they also support students’ motivational drive and focus.

Lead Teachers will have several years of teaching experience and deep content expertise. Their role is to tie content together in engaging ways that help students see the world anew.

Who are the teachers and how experienced are they?

Our vision is ambitious, and we know that none of this would be possible without outstanding staff to instruct, coach, and inspire our community. To give our scholars the highest quality instruction, the Greenfield school design is deliberately investing in staff development.

Whenever possible, educators will also come from the same communities as our students.

Instructors will have baseline content knowledge and demonstrate an exceptional passion to teach. Their role is to build deep relationships with students and leverage these connections in their instruction.