Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog: Joshua Vidro: Poor children in R.I. deserve chance for success I got

A powerful op ed by an Achievement First student who calls on Cranston, Rhode Island to welcome AF:

As a proud graduate of Providence College, and an alumnus of Achievement First, I would like to present a voice that hasn't been heard as much in the debate to open additional high-performing public charter schools in Rhode Island — that of a former student. Cranston Mayor Alan Fung hopes to partner with Achievement First to offer parents of children in Providence and Cranston first-rate public education at a new mayoral academy.

I was in the first class of students at the original Achievement First school, Amistad Academy, in New Haven, and greatly benefited from its no-excuses, high-expectations approach as I climbed the mountain to college.

From a longer school day and year to the "team and family" partnership between teachers, parents and students, Achievement First placed me on a different trajectory than the one I had been on. My teachers cared about me, inspired me and taught me to dream big in order to reach my fullest potential.

One of my fondest memories of Achievement First was Kendall Petri, my seventh-grade adviser, who expected the very best from me and never accepted mediocrity. She once gave me a "B" on a paper, which I thought was good enough, but she pulled me aside and coached me to an "A" by helping me understand that a "B" mentality would not allow me to reach my fullest potential in life.

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