2013-18 Investees

The mission of Achievement First Bridgeport Academy – and all Achievement First schools – is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. Achievement First believes that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide their 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 in their communities.

Founded in 2010, Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Elementary School is a public charter school in Bridgeport, Connecticut, serving 465 children in Kindergarten to 4th Grade and one of a broader network of high-performing Achievement First schools in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. The Achievement First educational program consists of six core elements: unwavering focus on student achievement, talent development, more time spent on learning, rigorous curriculum, strategic use of data and interventions for struggling students, and strong school culture which emphasizes REACH values of Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship, and Hard Work.

New Beginnings Family Academy provides students a meaningful, high-quality education through experience-based learning that helps develop essential social, emotional and critical-thinking skills. This gives all children a foundation to achieve their full potential at every stage of life.

New Beginnings Family Academy is a tuition-free, progressive public charter school in Bridgeport, Connecticut that serves approximately 470 students and offers ten years of active and engaging learning experiences from Pre-K through 8th grade. The school is proudly distinguished by:

• A progressive educational model that weaves trauma-sensitive, emotionally responsive practice into every classroom,
• Social and emotional learning steeped in child development best practices,
• Parental involvement, in and outside of the classroom, and
• Consistent, competitive high-school placement.

Horizons at Greens Farms Academy helps underserved students from Bridgeport develop strong academic, social and emotional skills, habits of mind and the resilience to succeed in school and pursue a meaningful, choice-filled life.

Horizons at Greens Farms Academy works with over 230 underserved Bridgeport public school students in grades PreK-12 to improve their educational outcomes by providing academic instruction, enrichment opportunities, mentoring, and educational guidance in an engaging summer program and school-year Saturday sessions. Horizons builds the confidence of participating students in a nurturing community of dedicated professionals. Their ultimate vision is for all Horizons students to become college and career ready upon graduating from high school.

Beginning in 2013, the partnership between Yale University and the Bridgeport Public Schools was formed to implement a district-wide Social and Emotional Learning Initiative to rollout RULER, an evidence-based approach built on the concept that when students can recognize, understand, label, express and regulate their emotions effectively, they can succeed in school and beyond. Rigorous evaluations show that with RULER training, classroom and school climates improve, teachers teach more effectively, and students are more engaged in learning. RULER is designed to be part of the everyday routine of teaching and learning; it is infused into the curriculum, not taught as a separate lesson or set of activities. Since 2014, Bridgeport Public School students, teachers, staff, administrators, senior leadership, security officers, parents, and the community at large have received RULER training.

Bridgeport Public Schools in Bridgeport, Connecticut is a large, urban district with 39 schools and over 21,000 students. It is the second largest school system in the state, serves an ethnically diverse and predominately low-income population.

The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence developed the RULER approach to social and emotional learning. In partnership with the school district’s SEL Coordinator(s), this center at Yale University is responsible for providing RULER implementation support and capacity-building in the Bridgeport Public Schools.

The Consultation Center at Yale is a collaborative endeavor of the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, the Connecticut Mental Health Center, and The Consultation Center, Inc. (a nonprofit organization) that focuses on community-based research, evaluation, and scholarship. Staff from this center are responsible for the evaluation of RULER and research, data, and evaluation-related capacity-building in the Bridgeport Public Schools.

Community Partners are part of the SEL Task Force, the umbrella group created to support the SEL Initiative throughout the district. Organizations represented in this group include: All Our Kin, Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition (BCAC) at LifeBridge Community Services, Center for Children’s Advocacy, Cooperative Education Services, First Tee, Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program (GBAPP), Greater Bridgeport Council of Churches/Janis Center, Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP), Sacred Heart University, and United Way of Coastal Fairfield County/Bridgeport Prospers Cradle to Career.