Our Mission

Our Mission

Our mission is to prepare students to excel as high-achieving scholars and leaders in high school, college, and beyond. Critical to Achievement Prep’s mission is a commitment to developing and fostering strong character in its scholars. Daily, scholars focus on the development and practice of Achievement Prep’s DREAM values (Determination, Respect, Enthusiasm, Accountability, and Mastery).

Who We Are

Achievement Prep isn’t just a school. We are a promise of progress. A promise to change the lives of our scholars, our community, and our future generations for the better. We promise to be the educational fuel that ignites a love for learning and knowledge. We believe that our teachers and faculty are the keys to closing the achievement gap. Not only do they encompass our vision but believe in it and live by it to help create the most impactful environment possible. Change begins now. Change begins here.

What We Believe

At Achievement Prep we believe:

  • All students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, deserve a top-quality, rigorous, college-preparatory education
  • When provided with a highly structured, disciplined, and supportive learning environment with quality, targeted instruction, all students will achieve the highest academic standards
  • Literacy is the most essential academic skill upon which the majority of all future skills and knowledge acquisition is based

Our Mission is Guided by Three Pillars

Audacity of Achievement – At Achievement Prep, good is not good enough – GREAT is good enough. We are constantly improving our schools and pushing ourselves to move from being a good school to being a great school. We have the audacity to state that the criteria for being “high-performing” must be much stricter.  We must stop celebrating mediocrity in education. We are committed to redefining what it means to be a “high-performing school.”

Achievement Prep will raise the bar and show what’s possible in urban education. We have the audacity to demand that our scholars not only close the achievement gap, but also compete and succeed at the very highest levels in high school, college, and beyond. We believe in the depth of impact in the lives of individual children. Our community deserves more than additional “seats” at good schools. Our families deserve opportunities that truly match those in the wealthiest parts of our country. Our children deserve to achieve, and achieve more than the low-bar of proficiency.

Local Focus for National Impact – Just as economic recovery comes from the efforts of local businesses, and just as political change comes from grassroots community efforts, the achievement gap will be closed by local leaders singularly committed to academic achievement in their own neighborhoods. By leveraging local knowledge and assets, collaborating with a diverse group of local stakeholders, and showing all that is possible in Southeast Washington, DC, we raise the bar for public education everywhere.
Intentional Ed Reform Collaboration – At Achievement Prep, we believe that by forming strategic partnerships across schools and sectors, we leverage our individual strengths and galvanize our collective assets, ultimately benefiting all children, especially those who need it most.  We have and will continue to capitalize on our platform to enter into partnerships and collaborations focused on what is best for children, not just the status quo.

Our Approach

  • “It’s not rocket science.” Our school days start earlier and last longer. The academic year at Achievement Prep lasts 10–15 days longer than at a typical school. This extended time results in an extra two years of education for every four years spent at Achievement Prep.
  • We are obsessed with maximizing the time we have with our scholars. We work as a team to create a palpable sense of urgency easily noticeable to any visitor.
  • We have built a schoolwide culture of reading into each component of the school day.
  • All lessons at Achievement Prep are rigorous and fast-paced.
  • We teach double instructional blocks for English and mathematics.
  • Scholars take algebra and read complex novels in English class in their 8th grade year.
  • Building strong character is key to our programming and is reinforced throughout the school day.
  • Frequent and continuous assessment is needed to ensure learning is progressing.
  • Our most important partnership is with our parents.