Lower School

Spanning kindergarten through grade 4, the lower school establishes a foundation of strong basic skills, intellectual stamina, and enthusiasm for learning. On promotion to middle school, Ascend students are equipped to undertake a course of study that is the equal of elite private schools’.

Typically, Ascend students arrive in kindergarten performing in the bottom quartile of their peers nationally. By the fourth grade, they have advanced to the top quartile.

From kindergarten onward, the SABIS system identifies each important skill, concept, and piece of knowledge and presents it for teaching in proper succession. Teachers can identify gaps in students’ learning immediately and remedy them promptly. Children are never left to fall behind.

The SABIS program maintains a brisk pace that keeps students stimulated, actively engaged, and enthusiastic. Teachers identify the key concepts of each lesson explicitly and teach them interactively, alternating oral work, individual written work, cooperative learning, and group checking. Led by vibrant and committed teachers, students analyze information and claims, form and express opinions, and engage in reasoned discussion. In the process, they deepen their knowledge of the material and build their intellectual confidence.

Short electronic tests administered weekly (starting in grade 3) tell our teachers at a glance whether the entire class has mastered all the materials, or “points,” just taught. The program’s automated reports identify for instant tutoring the students who have not yet grasped a particular point and which points the teacher needs to re-teach the entire class. When all the students in the class have demonstrated mastery of the concepts taught during the previous week, the teacher moves ahead rapidly with the entire class, each day building new teachings on a secure foundation.

The lower school curriculum includes mathematics, English, Spanish, science, social studies, music, fine arts, physical education, and dance. Our curriculum recognizes the diversity of cultures, including their histories, languages, and beliefs; and it has been carefully aligned to the New York state standards.