Achievement First

Doug McCurry. In his role as co-CEO and superintendent, Mr. McCurry oversees student achievement across the Achievement First network through the training and coaching of principals, the development and implementation of principal best practices, and the evaluation of principals and schools. Prior to co-founding Achievement First in 2003, Mr. McCurry was one of the founders of Amistad Academy, serving as the school's… See full bio.

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Story: Learn about the first-of-its-kind national poll of American voters on their views on college and career readiness: Achieve commissioned a first-of-its-kind national poll of American voters to determine their views on college and career readiness. The results of the survey show that there is overwhelming support for college-and career-ready policies — including common standards, common assessments and rigorous graduation requirements. This support is broad, deep and fully bipartisan with virtually no differences based on party affiliation, race/ethnicity, or geography. At a time when the political divide seems as deep as ever, on this issue there is near universal consensus. For example: 89% of voters agree that "to really get ahead in life a person needs at least some education beyond high school, whether that means university, community college, technical or vocational school." 89% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats and 87% of Independents agree with this statement. 86% of voters support "college- and career-ready" graduation requirements, including over 80% of Republican, Democratic, Independent, rural, urban, suburban, White, Black and/or Hispanic voters. (Read more about Achieve's assessments at: http://www.achieve.org/files/August2010PerspectiveNewsletter.pdf)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

Achievement First is noted for a history of opening charter schools at a robust rate while preaching operating models which enhance student achievement.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

Achievement First is noted for a history of opening charter schools at a robust rate while preaching operating models which enhance student achievement.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

As with any growing organization, concerns over scalability, turnover, and funding represent the major concerns for experts.
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In his role as co-CEO and superintendent, Mr. McCurry oversees student achievement across the Achievement First network through the training and coaching of principals, the development and implementation of principal best practices, and the evaluation of principals and schools. Prior to co-founding Achievement First in 2003, Mr. McCurry was one of the founders of Amistad Academy, serving as the school's instructional leader for three years. In his teaching roles at Amistad Academy, Mr. McCurry achieved outstanding results. His math students achieved 100 percent proficiency on the Connecticut Mastery Test, and his reading and writing students consistently showed over two years of growth in a single school year. Mr. McCurry led the development of Achievement First's standards-based curriculum, including Athena, Achievement First's online interim assessment and data analysis system. Mr. McCurry also leads professional development efforts at Achievement First, and he is a sought-after presenter and coach of teachers. Before coming to Amistad Academy and Achievement First, Mr. McCurry was a management and technology consultant in Atlanta, GA, and taught history and writing and coached basketball and tennis at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. A Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina, Mr. McCurry earned a B.A. in history and journalism there, and was recently awarded the university’s distinguished young alumnus award. Through the Klingenstein Private School Leadership program, he earned an M.A. in educational administration from Teachers College, Columbia University./Ms. Toll focuses on the development and expansion of Achievement First and the success of all Achievement First schools. She manages the organization's internal operations and external relations, and her core responsibilities include strategic planning, principal coaching and training, talent recruitment and development, community outreach, fundraising, and board relations. Prior to co-founding Achievement First in 2003, Ms. Toll led the founding team of Amistad Academy and served as the school's principal from 1999 to 2005. Under Ms. Toll's leadership, Amistad Academy consistently produced student performance results that tripled the New Haven Public Schools' average and topped Greenwich and Westport averages in some subjects. Previously, Ms. Toll worked as a teacher, lawyer and management consultant, providing support for community organizations on issues of strategic management and program design. Ms. Toll is a member of the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Visiting Committee. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, where she was a Morehead Scholar, Ms. Toll received a master's degree from Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. She received her teaching certificate and J.D. from Yale University shortly before launching Amistad Academy.

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