Results

Early Academic Results

Early results from the first two schools in the Ascend Learning network evidence the power of the Ascend model.

Brooklyn Ascend Charter School

Brooklyn Ascend Charter School completed its second year, educating 249 predominantly black students in K-3, 85% of whom qualified for the federal free and reduced-priced lunch program. In the school’s first year, second-graders rose in reading from the 24^th percentile in the fall to the 62^nd percentile in the spring. In math, they jumped from the 24^th percentile to the 56^th percentile. Every grade made gains of at least 30 percentile points in both reading and math.

Today, students who began as Ascend kindergartners two years ago are reading at the 70^th percentile. By the time they reach the fifth grade, they will have the academic preparation and intellectual stamina to thrive in the Ascend middle school. There, they will engage in a course of study as ambitious as that of the city’s top private schools.

Brooklyn Ascend students took the New York state tests, administered in grades 3 through 8, for the first time last spring and established a baseline for growth in coming years. Already last spring, they outperformed on average in English their peers from one of the most celebrated, highest-performing charter school networks in the city.

More than 1,800 students are on the waiting list at Brooklyn Ascend.

Brownsville Ascend Charter School

Brownsville Ascend Charter School opened in September 2009 to 174 students in K-1. One hundred percent of its students are black or Hispanic, and 86% are low-income. Brownsville Ascend students demonstrated marked growth from fall to spring of their first year on the highly respected STAR reading test and the STAR Early Literacy assessment, realizing a full year’s growth in just eight months.

Nearly 1,000 students are on the waiting list at Brownsville Ascend.

Bushwick Ascend Charter School

After just two and a half months at Bushwick Ascend, which opened in September 2010, students were already outpacing their peers nationally (not just those from low-income communities). By mid-November, the school’s kindergartners were reading at the equivalent of the average kindergartner nationally in March, and Bushwick Ascend first-graders were reading at the equivalent of the average first-grader in February.

Parent and Teacher Survey Results

Since the opening of Ascend’s flagship school, virtually all parents who participated in annual surveys conducted by the New York City Department of Education said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the education their children received. Every parent respondent from Brownsville Ascend indicated likewise. The schools also earned high marks from parents for the quality and frequency of parent communications, order and discipline, and the breadth of opportunities for parent involvement.  Following are highlights from the 2010 reports:

• 100 percent of respondents at both schools said they agreed or strongly agreed that the school had high expectations for their children
• 100 percent from Brownsville Ascend and 98 percent from Brooklyn Ascend expressed confidence that their children learned what they needed to know to succeed in later grades
• 98 percent from Brooklyn Ascend and 99 percent from Brownsville expressed satisfaction with their children’s teachers, with 81 percent and 80 percent of respondents respectively saying they were “very satisfied”
• 99 percent at both schools were satisfied with the level of assistance their children received when they needed extra help with class work or homework
• 100 percent from Brownsville Ascend and 97 percent from Brooklyn Ascend reported feeling welcome at the school, and 99 percent and 98 percent respectively reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the opportunities to be involved
• 100 percent from both schools felt their children were safe at the school

Read the complete studies:

NYC School Survey Report for Brooklyn Ascend Charter (2009-2010)

NYC School Survey Report for Brownsville Ascend Charter (2009-2010)