The college preparatory school’s first 210 students, each in uniform, were warmly greeted by their teachers, whose classrooms bear the name of their alma mater. Posters in the lobby welcomed the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025, the years of their anticipated college graduation.

The newly completed building features spacious classrooms, with abundant sunlight and attractive furnishings.

Teachers and students immediately set to work to practice the daily procedures at Brooklyn Ascend, so that students would soon know exactly what to do, and no time need be lost from learning.

“We are very pleased with this early result,” said Dean of Students Amy Heberling. “We know that attendance and achievement are strongly correlated, and new research highlights the previously underestimated effects of elementary absenteeism. We are off to a strong start, but we can and must do still better.”

Reporter Elissa Gootman opened the story in second grade teacher Keisha Sykes’s class:

“On the first day of school—ever—at Brooklyn Ascend Charter School, nothing in Keisha Sykes’s second-grade classroom was left to chance. Not the way students were to greet their teacher (with eye contact, a firm handshake and an audible, “Good morning, Ms. Sykes!”), and not the way they were to leave their desks (by slipping out on the right side, then pushing in their chairs quietly, always using both hands). … 

For Ms. Sykes, 29, it is all part of building a culture, bottom up, in a school modeled on other charters that have had success with students from poor communities.

‘You can’t expect them to know anything you don’t teach them,’ Ms. Sykes said. ‘We’re having to dismantle their idea of what school is like, and build a new model of what school is.’”

For the complete story and multimedia feature, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/education/03first.html?fta=y.

Currently, the new school enrolls 210 students in kindergarten through grade two.

Parents continue to add the names of their children to the list, citing the school’s “No Excuses” structured environment, rigorous academic program, and high expectations.

The decision marked the end of a rigorous review process by the city’s Department of Education. The review included a detailed analysis of the proposed school’s education program, business plan, and governance structure by a panel of charter school experts from within and outside the Department.

Final approval must still be issued by the New York Board of Regents, which will conduct its own review of the school’s application.

The conferences coincided with the completion of the school's first term and the issuance of report cards. Parents received a detailed and--in a departure from the practice of most schools--entirely objective assessment of their students' progress in the SABIS® academic program.

Parents voiced their enthusiastic support for the new school and spoke of the changes they have already seen in the children. Anthony Arnasalam, the father of first-grader Jaedon, said Brooklyn Ascend "is much more challenging than his old school. It stretches his imagination and brings out the best in him--and in us as parents. What we see him doing in class is what we did in school in the second or third grade. And the school has great spirit."

Sonia Silver said the new school is making her daughter Malijah "work more--it's more challenging. In her old school--not to put it down--they wouldn't challenge her, wouldn't push her. To me, they were teaching her only enough to get to the next grade. I think the education she is receiving here is excellent. The school overall is great--two thumbs up! Seriously, I couldn't be more pleased with how she is doing."

"We are thrilled with the engagement and support we feel from our families," said Brooklyn Ascend's director, Nikki Khosla. "We are working in true partnership."

The new school, set to open this fall in the Brownsville community of Brooklyn, was one of nine new schools approved by the New York City Department of Education.

An application to open the new public school was submitted to the Department of Education on September 8. After a rigorous review process, Chancellor Joel Klein approved the school's application on October 14, making way for the New York State Education Department's own intensive evaluation, and ultimately, the Regents' action.

The school will open on September 8, 2009, to 124 students in kindergarten and first grade.  At maturity, the school will span kindergarten through the twelfth grade and educate more than 1,000 students.

Hundreds of excited children and parents gathered for the event at Brownsville Ascend’s sister school, the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School, to hear firsthand whether they were among the lucky lottery winners. Cheers resounded as names were drawn to fill the slots for 69 kindergartners and 54 first-graders. The lottery continued to create a wait list of 710 students.

“We’re thrilled to see this level of interest in the new school from the Brownsville community,” said Jana Reed, Chief Operating Officer of Ascend Learning. “We look forward to serving these families and students, and we’ll work diligently day in and day out to earn the trust they’re placing in us.”

To ensure the lottery’s integrity, Ascend Learning engaged David Spandau, CPA, of Fruchter Rosen & Company, P.C., to draw the names of the initial enrollees and to populate the wait list.

The second school managed by Ascend Learning, the Brownsville Ascend Charter School will expand to serve grades K-12 at maturity. Parents and guardians may add their children to the wait list for kindergarten, first grade, or second grade by visiting the school at 205 Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn, between Winthrop Street and Clarkson Avenue, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m, or by e-mailing brownsvilleascend@gmail.com.

“We are thrilled to have these three outstanding professionals at the helm of the Brownsville Ascend Charter School,” said Board President Ted Coburn. “They embrace our mission of preparing every student for success in college and beyond, and they posses the expertise, temperament, and resolve to achieve our ambitious goals.”

A graduate of Florida State University (FSU), Swearingen examined teachers’ conceptions of efficacy and their cultural receptivity as predictors of early attrition from teaching for her doctoral research. She was a research fellow at the Florida Center for Reading Research and an instructor at FSU’s College of Education. Swearingen also assisted with the university-wide training of graduate teaching assistants.

As a Teach for America Fellow, Swearingen taught English at Marion Abramson High School in New Orleans. In 2008, she returned to Teach For America to serve as Corps Member Advisor during the program’s Summer Institute. “It was then,” she explained, “that I discovered my passion for working with teachers to reach every student. At Brownsville Ascend, our success will come from our diligence, our unfailing dedication to instructional excellence, and our steadfast refusal to devise or to accept excuses for low achievement.”

As Dean of Instruction, Burrows will coach the faculty and ensure the precise implementation of the powerful SABIS educational system. Most recently, Burrows led elementary schools to dramatic gains on the New York State test at a college preparatory charter school in East New York. Burrows began her career as an educator at a traditional public elementary school in Brooklyn, then joined Achievement First Crown Heights Charter School in 2005, where she advanced from founding kindergarten teacher to second-grade lead teacher.

Burrows earned her Bachelor’s degree at Baruch College of the City University of New York. She holds two Master’s degrees, the first in Childhood Education and the second in School Building Leadership. “It’s wonderful to be part of a team of like-minded, passionate educators,” Burrows said. “I can't wait to work with the staff, students, and families to achieve our shared vision for this school.”

Jocelyn Trigg, who has served as Operations Manager at the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School, has accepted the position of Brownsville Ascend’s Director of Operations, and she will transition into her new role this summer. A graduate of Columbia University, Trigg has focused on student recruitment, enrollment, and regulatory affairs at Ascend Learning’s flagship school. “I am excited to continue my work with Ascend Learning,” said Trigg, “and to use the knowledge and experience I have gained at the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School to help Brownsville Ascend succeed in the months and years to come.”

“I am delighted that Keisha will lead the school in its second year,” said Steven Wilson, Ascend’s president. “Her teaching has exemplified our philosophy of high academic and social expectations, structure, and caring. Throughout our first year, she has also been a leader, working with her colleagues and students to realize our shared vision of academic excellence.”

Ms. Sykes is a graduate of Rutgers University and is currently enrolled in the Principals Academy at Columbia University. Prior to joining the school, she was Head Teacher at an Achievement First charter school in Brooklyn. Previously, she taught elementary school in Brunswick, New Jersey.

Board President David Graff paid tribute to the contributions of the school’s founding director, Nikki Khosla, and warmly welcomed Ms. Sykes to her new role. “We are tremendously grateful to Nikki for her leadership in Brooklyn Ascend’s inaugural year. She has worked tirelessly to launch the school, and our students have grown tremendously, both academically and socially over the last nine months. And we have great confidence in Keisha to lead the school to new heights in its second year.”

Next year, the school will serve 249 students in kindergarten through the third grade. The school will serve more than 1,100 students in grades K-12 at maturity.

The school will serve 123 students in kindergarten and first grade during the 2009-2010 school year and expand to grades K-12 at maturity.

Working in close partnership with the property’s owner Joey D. Bawabeh of Bawabeh Realty Holdings and architect Matt Anderson Miller of Anderson-Miller Designs, Ascend Learning has overseen the construction of classrooms, a multipurpose room, and offices, occupying 48,000 square feet. The rooms are spacious, vibrant, awash in natural light, and designed specifically to meet the needs of the school’s educational program.

“Like that of our flagship school,” explains Ascend Learning’s president Steven F. Wilson, “the newly built space is designed to reflect our high aspirations. Creating a quality learning environment is an important first step in setting the stage for student achievement.”

Wilson cites a number of advantages in locating the new school under the same roof as the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School, which opened on the second and third floors of 205 Rockaway Parkway in September 2008: “The two schools’ educational programs are very similar, so sharing the same space will help teachers and leaders learn from one another, exchange best practices, and extend their roots in the community. Also, of course, it will lead to greater efficiencies in managing the two schools. Most importantly, close proximity will ease the transmission from the first school to the second of the “No Excuses” culture that is critical to student achievement.” At “No Excuses” schools, teachers refuse to devise or accept excuses for low achievement.

Brownsville Ascend’s permanent facility, which will accommodate additional grades as the school develops, will be located nearby in the Brownsville neighborhood in Community School District 23.

All of the 138 parents who responded to the department’s survey said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the education their children received during the school’s inaugural year. The school also earned high marks for the quality and frequency of parent communications, order and discipline, and the breadth of opportunities for parent involvement.

The NYCDOE School Survey posed dozens of specific questions within four broad categories: Academic Expectations, Communication, Engagement, and Safety and Respect. Among the report’s highlights:

• 100% of parents expressed confidence that their children are learning what they needed to know to succeed in later grades
• 100% of parent respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed that the school has high expectations for their children, and all teacher respondents agreed that the school has high expectations for all students
• 99% of parents expressed satisfaction with their children’s teachers, with 84% of respondents saying they are “very satisfied”
• 99% of parent respondents were satisfied with the level of assistance their children receive when they need extra help with classwork or homework
• 100% of parents reported feeling welcome at the school, and 98% reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the opportunities to be involved with their children’s education at BACS
• 100% of parents felt their children are safe at the school, and all teacher respondents said they feel safe and that order and discipline are maintained at BACS
• 100% of teacher respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the professional development they have received this year has provided them with the teaching strategies to better meet the needs of their students

For more information about the NYCDOE School Survey, contact www.nyc.gov/schools/surveys.

Over the course of their first year at the new school, first-graders rose from the 21st percentile in reading in the fall (79 percent of their peers were better readers) to the 53rd percentile in the spring (above the national average), a 32-point climb in nine months. In math, they jumped from the 22nd percentile to the 57th percentile, a 35-point gain.

Second-graders made the greatest advances: 38 points in reading (from the 24th percentile to the 62nd) and 32 points in math (from the 24th to the 56th percentile). After one year at the school, second-graders were performing, across the subjects, as well as or better than 59 percent of their peers nationally.

Expressed as grade-level equivalents (GLE), second-graders began the year reading at 1.3 (equivalent to the average first-grader in December) and ended at 3.8 (typical of a third-grader in May). They made 2.5 years of progress in one year.

Kindergartners also made strong strides in their first year of formal schooling, ending the year on average at the 63rd percentile in reading and the 62nd percentile in math.

A “norm-referenced test,” the TerraNova compares the performance of students against a diverse sample of students nationwide in the same grade taking the test at the same time of year. Results for the school are expressed as percentiles in relation to all students taking the test nationwide. For example, a first-grader who scores in the 60th percentile is performing the same or better than 60 percent of first-grade test-takers. Students who remain at the same percentile from one test administration to the next are learning at a pace comparable to that of their peers nationally, while students who gain in percentile rank are learning at an accelerated pace.

“Our students and their families should be very proud of the results of their hard work,” said Brandon Sorlie, Dean of Instruction at Brooklyn Ascend. “Thanks to the commitment of our teachers, our students have taken their first steps on the path to college.”

“The SABIS education system is fueling our early success,” said Steven F. Wilson, president of Ascend Learning. “With Brownsville Ascend, opening in September, and two more Brooklyn schools in the planning stages, we are eager to demonstrate a model for closing the achievement gap that can be sustained and scaled without limitation.”

Board President Ted Coburn credited Swearingen and the rest of the new school’s leadership team, faculty, and staff for the smooth opening: “An enormous amount of preparation preceded the school’s opening, and it all paid off today. From the hiring of highly skilled and passionate professionals, to preparing the facility, to staff orientation and training, Keli and her team were diligent. That diligence and their passion for excellence are fast becoming the hallmarks of Brownsville Ascend. The Board is very excited about the coming year.”

Among the preparations for the new school was a special orientation session for kindergartners last week. Brownsville’s youngest students ruled the school for several days before the first-graders joined them for the official start of the school year. “Starting kindergarten is a big step for most children (and for many of their parents as well), so we wanted to give them every advantage,” said Swearingen. “The orientation afforded them the opportunity to get comfortable with our schedule, routines, and expectations, and by week’s end, they were old pros! I think this is the start of a great tradition.”

Brownsville Ascend’s sister school, the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School, also opened today. Now in its second year, the school has expanded to accommodate two classes of third-graders, which brings its total enrollment for grades K-3 to 249.

Both Brownsville Ascend and Brooklyn Ascend will grow to serve grades K-12 at maturity. To add your child to the wait list at either school, visit 205 Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn, between Winthrop Street and Clarkson Avenue, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.; or e-mail brownsvilleascend@gmail.com or brooklynascend@gmail.com.

The decision came after the Department's comprehensive review of the application for the new school. This review included a rigorous analysis of the proposed school’s education program, business plan, and governance structure by a panel of Department staff and outside experts. Chancellor Joel Klein has recommended the proposal to the New York State Education Department for further review and to the Board of Regents for final consideration at its February meeting.

"We’re delighted that the Chancellor found merit in our proposal," said Marty Linsky, Board Chair of the Bushwick Ascend Charter School. "Much hard work lies ahead, but we are eager to meet the challenge."

If approved by the Board of Regents, the Bushwick Ascend Charter School would open in September 2010 in Community School District 32, serving 205 students in kindergarten through second grade during its first year and growing by a grade per year through high school. Based on the same model as the Brooklyn Ascend and Brownsville Ascend Charter Schools and powered by the SABIS® education system, the new school will put all students on a path to college.

The school is the third college preparatory charter school developed and managed by Ascend Learning, a non-profit charter school management organization based in Brooklyn.

The school's founding team submitted an application to the New York City Department of Education on October 5, 2009. After an extensive review process, the Department approved the school in November, making way for the New York State Education Department's further evaluation, and ultimately, the Regents' action.

The new school will open on September 7, 2010, in Community School District 32. On opening, the school will enroll 204 students in kindergarten and grade 1; at maturity, it will serve 1,270 students through grade twelve.

"We are delighted with the confidence the Board of Regents has shown in us and we are excited to serve the families of Bushwick," said Ascend Learning president Steven F. Wilson.

The NYCDOE School Survey posed dozens of specific questions within four broad categories: Academic Expectations, Communication, Engagement, and Safety and Respect. Among the report’s highlights:

• 100 percent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the education their children received
• 100 percent said they agreed or strongly agreed that the school had high expectations for their children
• 100 percent expressed confidence that their children learned what they needed to know to succeed in later grades
• 99 percent from Brownsville expressed satisfaction with their children’s teachers, with 80 percent of respondents saying they were "very satisfied"
• 99 percent were satisfied with the level of assistance their children received when they needed extra help with class work or homework
• 100 percent reported feeling welcome at the school, and 99 percent reported being "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the opportunities to be involved
• 100 percent felt their children were safe at the school

The city’s survey of teachers at Brownsville Ascend showed a similarly high level of satisfaction among the faculty, who echoed parents’ sentiments regarding the schools’ high expectations for all students, strong communications, and safe environment.

Brownsville Ascend Charter School served 174 students in kindergarten and first grade last year. It will add grade two at the start of the second academic year, September 7, 2010, and a grade each year thereafter to provide a comprehensive K-12 college preparatory program at maturity.

For more information about the NYCDOE School Survey, contact www.nyc.gov/schools/surveys.

Virtually all of the parents who participated in the independent survey said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the education their children received. The school earned high marks from parents for the quality and frequency of parent communications, order and discipline, and the breadth of opportunities for parent involvement. Among the highlights from the 2010 School Survey Report:

• 99 percent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the education their children received
• 100 percent said they agreed or strongly agreed that the school had high expectations for their children
• 98 percent expressed confidence that their children learned what they needed to know to succeed in later grades
• 98 percent indicated satisfaction with their children’s teachers, with 81 percent saying they were "very satisfied"
• 99 percent expressed satisfaction with the level of assistance their children received when they needed extra help with class work or homework
• 97 percent reported feeling welcome at the school, and 98 percent reported being "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the opportunities to be involved
• 100 percent felt their children were safe at the school

The city’s survey of teachers at Brooklyn Ascend showed a similarly high level of satisfaction among the faculty, who echoed parents’ sentiments regarding the schools’ high expectations for all students, strong communications, and safe environment.

Brooklyn Ascend Charter School will begin its third academic year September 7, 2010, adding grade four. At maturity, the school will offer a comprehensive K-12 program that sets every student on the path to college.

For more information about the NYCDOE School Survey, contact www.nyc.gov/schools/surveys.

"The Loews Pitkin Theater is an exciting project because it embodies POKO’s core values of revitalizing neighborhoods and enhancing communities through positive and responsible real estate development," said Ken Olson, President and CEO of POKO Partners. "We have brought together an amazing team of investors and partners who are confident in the future of the Brownsville neighborhood including Ascend Learning, the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Seedco Financial Services, Nonprofit Finance Fund, Jonathan Rose Companies, Carver Community Development Corporation."

After decades of being the cultural center of the community, the theater entered into a long period of decline and eventually closed in 1969. The renovation will preserve architectural details, including the terra-cotta ornamentation, while providing light-filled spaces to support the school and other new uses of the building. The original ornately detailed neo-classical and Art-Deco-themed cornices, pilasters, and niches that decorated the theater will be restored to their original condition. A completely new interior structure, built with state-of-the-art steel, concrete, and masonry systems, will be constructed within the existing shell. New, high-efficiency mechanical and lighting systems are part of an extensive program of “green” building features that will take this building to the forefront of 21st century building technology.

"We are thrilled that the Pitkin Theater will once again be at the center of the Brownsville community as the permanent home of Brownsville Ascend Charter School,” said school director M. Keli Swearingen, Ph.D. “Our school—public, tuition-free, and open to all—will set every child on the path to college. That's our commitment to the community, whose support for the project has been overwhelming."

Brownsville Ascend will move to the new facility starting in the 2011-12 academic year, when it will serve grades K-3. Designed to grow by a grade per year, the school will eventually occupy the upper 90,000 square feet of the building, serving 1,000 children in grades K-8.

“Ken Olson and his team have been extraordinary partners in our continuing effort to serve Brownsville families,” said Steven F. Wilson, president of Ascend Learning. “They share our belief that preparing every student for college is the key to community revitalization and long-term growth.”

Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group led the $43.3 million financing under the New Markets Tax Credit program, joined by Seedco Financial Services, Inc., the Nonprofit Finance Fund, Carver Community Development Corporation, and The Rose Urban Green Fund. Jeff Kinzler of Lawbuilder Consultants of New York, commercial real estate advisor and broker to Ascend, facilitated the transaction with Bruce Pollack and David Gelfond of First Development Corporation Realty.

Over breakfast at the school’s newly completed facility, the chancellor and founding faculty members engaged in a lively and candid conversation spanning the promise of No Excuses schooling, his enthusiasm for charter schools, and his reform strategy for the city.

Klein expressed a strong interest in the SABIS educational system, and its cumulative, mastery-based college-preparatory curriculum. The Ascend Learning model, which combines the SABIS system with the No Excuses school culture, is designed to prepare every child for college. Because the model, unlike many other charter school designs, does not rely on scarce resources, it can be both sustained and brought to scale.

The faculty invited the chancellor to visit the school again and see the program in full operation.

The Summer Institute’s curriculum will span Ascend’s mission, core values, classroom management, building the No Excuses school culture, lesson planning, the SABIS educational system, “point and prefect” instruction, team meetings, classroom procedures, and much more.

The sessions, from 7:30 am until 5:00 pm each day, will include lectures; role-playing and team-building exercises; and prominent guest speakers, including education journalist Joe Williams and leadership expert and Brooklyn Ascend trustee Marty Linsky.

The Achelis and Bodman Foundations are influential supporters of top charter schools in the city. The Foundations calls the failure of inner-city public education a national tragedy, with consequences not only for the children left behind, but also for the rest of society. The two strategies for the improvement of urban education, the Foundations believe, are accountability and competition.

The award will support the start-up and first-year expenses of the new school.

"The school's trustees and I are deeply grateful for the Achelis Foundation's very generous support for our endeavor," said Steven F. Wilson, Ascend Learning president.

On April 30, 189 students beginning kindergarten, first, or second grade this September will be randomly chosen from the applications at a public lottery to be held at the school's East 98th Street planning office, near the school site.

"We are delighted by the interest the community has shown in the new school. We are committed to doing our utmost to offer a world-class, college-preparatory education to all our students," said Jana Reed, chief operating officer of Ascend Learning.

Meanwhile, construction is moving ahead vigorously on five floors of the school's Rockaway Parkway facility, which will be home to the lower and middle grades. The upper school will be housed in a newly constructed adjacent structure.

The decision marked the end of a rigorous, four-month review by the city's Department of Education. The department's review included a detailed analysis of the proposed school's educational program, business plan, and governance structure by a panel of charter school experts from within and outside the department.

Final approval must still be issued by the New York State Board of Regents, which is conducting its own review of the school's application. The Board of Regents is expected to act on the application at the January 15 meeting.

Beginning next fall, students at Ascend's first middle school will participate in an uncommonly ambitious course of study in the humanities, modeled on the practices of New York City's finest private schools.

Designed to foster each student's reading sensibility and individual voice, students will engage in close readings of literature from diverse cultures. Many selected works will connect thematically to museum-quality reproductions of great works of art that will hang in hallways and specially designed “gallery” spaces throughout Brooklyn Ascend Charter School's custom-designed middle-school facility. The primary goal of the program is to foster exceptional skills in critical reading, writing, arts appreciation, and public speaking.

The galleries are designed for students to gather outside the classroom to discuss a work of art relevant to a literary work they are studying or a writing assignment they are developing. For example, Jacob Lawrence’s “Brownstones, 1958” painting of street life in Harlem will supplement a unit on the poetry of Langston Hughes. Local visiting writers, whose work will be anticipated throughout the year, will both guest-teach classes and give a public reading open to the school community in the spring. The program will encourage students to take intellectual risks, and inspire creative leaps in interpretation and self-expression.

Elizabeth Schmidt is leading the program's development. A former assistant literary editor at The New Yorker and poetry editor at The New York Times Book Review, Schmidt has taught literature and writing at The Children’s Storefront School in Harlem; The New School; Sarah Lawrence College; and Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the editor of Poems of New York and The Poets Laureate Anthology.

Construction is nearly finished at Brooklyn Ascend Charter School’s flagship middle school. The new, 46,000-square-foot facility is located at 123 East 98th Street in Brownsville, just three blocks from the school’s lower-school campus.

Spanning four, brightly lit floors, the custom-designed facility includes generously sized classrooms, dedicated space for the Student Life Organization, a computerized assessment hall, a large multipurpose room, a comfortable library, a rooftop playground, advanced IT infrastructure, smart boards, and sophisticated interior design.

On each floor, innovative high-ceilinged “galleries” link the classrooms and are designed to immerse students in the artistic and intellectual riches of diverse cultures and ages. Museum-quality reproductions of great works of art and significant artifacts will help engage students in rigorous studies in the humanities and sciences—the hallmark of Ascend’s middle-school design.

“This project has been exciting because it’s allowed us to apply the latest building technology to a newly imagined learning environment,” said architect Matt Andersen-Miller of Andersen-Miller Design, who also designed Ascend’s other school facilities. “Working with Ascend, we sought to break the middle-school mold and create a space that is warm, inviting, and inspiring.”

Consistent with Ascend’s mission of bridging the achievement gap through a sustainable and scalable model, the new facility is entirely supported by the school's per-student funding from the city, and not by charitable contributions.

Bawabeh Realty Holdings is the project’s developer. Jeff Kinzler of Lawbuilder Consultants advised Ascend on the transaction.

The award was the largest permitted under the competitive grants program.

The Brooklyn Ascend Charter School shall use the funds to catalyze the construction of the school's campus, which shall house the lower, middle, and upper schools. The lower school will open this fall to 189 students, selected by lottery, in kindergarten through the second grade.

Ms. Chao recently completed the prestigious Aspiring Principals program at New Leaders for New Schools, where she completed a year-long residency at Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School. Previously, Chao taught chemistry and environmental science at the top-performing Williamsburg Preparatory High School; during her tenure, she served as an instructional coach and advised Teach for America corps members. She is a graduate of Columbia University.

“It seems fashionable these days for schools to describe themselves as ‘No Excuses’" said Chao, “but at Ascend I found the real deal—high expectations, discipline, and structure balanced with warmth, nurturing, and compassion. With this firm foundation and the excellent academic preparation they’ve gained through the SABIS program, our middle-school scholars are ready to soar, and I look forward to aiding their ascent.”

“I couldn't be happier that she has chosen to join our school community,” said Brandon Sorlie, director of Brooklyn Ascend Lower School, who recently introduced Chao to the parents of Brooklyn Ascend scholars.

For the upcoming school year, Brooklyn Ascend Middle School will remain under the same roof as the lower school at 205 Rockaway Parkway. As it develops, it will move to a newly constructed facility at 123 East 98^th Street, just a few blocks from the lower-school campus. At maturity, Brooklyn Ascend Charter School will offer a comprehensive K-12 college-preparatory program.

At least 97 percent of respondents at each school indicated they “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that

- My child is learning what he or she needs to know to succeed in later grades or after graduating from high school

- The school has high expectations for my child

- I feel welcome in my child’s school

- My child is safe at school

Likewise, at least 97 percent of respondents at each school reported that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with

- The quality of their children’s teachers

- The level of assistance their children receive when they need extra help with classwork or homework

- The opportunities to be involved in their children’s education

The NYCDOE School Survey posed dozens of specific questions within four broad categories: Academic Expectations, Communication, Engagement, and Safety and Respect.  At Brooklyn Ascend, 54 percent of parents (199) took the survey; at Brownsville Ascend, 85 percent of parents (190) participated; and at Bushwick Ascend, 62 percent of parents (120) did so.

“The high marks our schools earn from parents are gratifying to all of us,” said Steven F. Wilson, president of Ascend Learning. “The truest measure of our work will come years from now, as our scholars gain admission to four-year colleges. Still, the consistency of parent perceptions suggests we are succeeding in our first steps at scaling the Ascend model.”