Achievement First Hartford Academy, Hartford CT

Original Research by School Decision on Achievement First Hartford Academy

Achievement First Hartford Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade in Hartford, Connecticut, operating as a single unified school rather than separate elementary and secondary buildings. The school sits at 305 Greenfield Street in the city's residential area.

The school's academic profile shows uneven performance across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, fourth grade stands out with strong proficiency results, while grades three through five and eight show moderate proficiency. Grades six and seven have suppressed results, making direct comparison difficult. In mathematics, the picture is more concerning: grades three and four show proficiency in the low-to-mid range, but proficiency drops sharply in grades five through seven before recovering somewhat in grade eight. Science results are sparse and suppressed in places where reported, though the one full data point for grade five science shows low proficiency. Overall, when measured across all tested grades and subjects, the school's proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in the Capitol Planning Region.

The school's enrollment is substantial for a charter, serving about nine hundred students across all grades, with fairly consistent cohort sizes from kindergarten through twelfth grade. A very substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the families the school serves. The student population is predominantly Black, with a significant Hispanic enrollment and very small representation of other racial and ethnic groups.

Hartford itself is Connecticut's capital and former insurance headquarters, now in the midst of a population and economic transition. The city is organized into distinct neighborhoods—downtown anchored by government and culture, the West End known for Victorian housing, Asylum Hill for its mix of residential and commercial space, and several dense residential neighborhoods with active commercial corridors. Downtown has added substantial residential capacity in recent years as former office buildings convert to apartments. The city is walkable in the downtown and central neighborhoods and has strong transit via Union Station, CTfastrak bus rapid transit, and commuter rail. Home values in the Hartford zip code where the school is located are modest relative to the state benchmark, and the market has shown recent growth.

Enrollment access to Achievement First Hartford Academy changed recently. For kindergarten through eighth grade, applications now run through Hartford Public Schools' central choice system rather than directly through the charter network; families must be Hartford residents and apply through the district's SchoolMint platform. High school admissions opened directly to all Hartford residents starting in the 2026-2027 school year, expanding access beyond students continuing from the earlier grades. The high school program emphasizes college preparation with stated goals for college acceptance and offers SAT preparation, intensive counseling, and tutoring.

Special education and English learner enrollment data were not available, so a parent may want to check directly with the school about capacity and services in those areas. State testing results do not extend beyond eighth grade, which is typical in Connecticut's assessment system; high school outcomes such as graduation rate, college enrollment, or advanced placement participation were not reported in the available data. For families considering this school, the key questions turn on whether the current grade-level performance trajectory aligns with their academic expectations, how the integrated K-12 structure supports transition between primary and secondary grades, and whether the school's college-focused high school program serves their long-term goals.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 44 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

205 schools plotted. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 56%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

This schoolAchievement First Hartford Academy District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.