Frequently Asked Questions

Charter Schools and Charter Management

  1. What is a charter school?

    A charter school is a nonsectarian tuition-free public school that operates free of many of the regulations governing traditional public schools. It controls its own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this freedom, charter schools must achieve the goals they set out for themselves and meet the academic standards of the sponsoring state agency or chartering authority. The charter establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, enrollment, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. Charter schools are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants the charter, the parents who choose the school, and the taxpayers who fund them.

  2. What is the difference between charter schools and other public schools?

    Charter schools are public schools of choice, meaning teachers and families choose them. They operate with freedom from many regulations that apply to traditional public schools. When drafting charter school laws, most states explain their intent to: (1) increase opportunities for learning and access to educational excellence for all students, (2) create choice for parents and students within the public school system, (3) provide a system of accountability for results in public education, (4) encourage innovative teaching practices, (5) create new professional opportunities for teachers, (6) encourage community and parent involvement in public education, and (7) broadly leverage improved public education. 

  3. Are charter schools all the same?

    No. The charter establishing each school is a performance contract that details the school's mission, program, goals, enrollment, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success; and these vary from one school to another.

  4. Who attends charter schools?

    Like other public schools, charter schools are open to all. Admission is not restricted by race, gender, national origin, religion, creed, ancestry, intellectual ability, or prior academic achievement. As provided by law, New York City students who live in each school’s Community School District (CSD) and siblings of students currently enrolled in each charter school receive preference in the admission process.

  5. How are charter schools funded?

    As public schools, charters are not allowed to charge tuition, and they receive state funding according to enrollment. They are entitled to federal categorical funding based on their students’ eligibility, such as Title I and special education monies.

  6. What is a charter management organization (CMO)?

    A charter management organization (CMO) is a nonprofit organization that directly manages charter schools. As described in a recent report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education: “CMOs were developed to solve serious problems limiting the numbers and quality of charter schools. The CMO model is meant to meld the benefits of school districts—including economies of scale, collaboration among similar schools, and support structures—with the autonomies and entrepreneurial drive of the charter sector.” Ascend Learning is a charter management organization.

  7. Are Ascend schools managed by SABIS?

    No. Ascend Learning, an independent Brooklyn-based CMO, is the sole management organization for all schools in the Ascend network, reporting directly to the schools’ boards of trustees. SABIS is a global education management organization that currently operates in 15 countries and educates more than 60,000 students. While SABIS directly manages other charter schools in the United States, schools in the Ascend network are not among them. In 2007, Ascend Learning entered into a licensing agreement with SABIS that entitles Ascend to make use of SABIS’s school design, including its curriculum, assessments, teaching methods, computer systems, and other proprietary practices. Ascend is thus able to leverage SABIS’s proven tools and abundant resources in combination with the No Excuses school culture to achieve gap-closing results.

Enrolling in an Ascend School

  1. How do I enroll my child in an Ascend school?

    As public schools, Ascend charter schools are tuition-free and open to all on a space-available basis. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, mental or physical disability, athletic performance, special needs, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement. In accordance with the law, we give preference to residents of the Community School District in which the school is located and to siblings of students currently enrolled in the school.

    To enroll your child, please visit our Enrollment page. 

  2. Does my child have to pass a test to get into an Ascend Learning school?

    No, there is no “entrance exam” for our schools. Ascend Learning schools are open to all students. After students are enrolled, we administer diagnostic tests to identify precisely what students already know and can do. In this way, we position incoming students for success from the start.

  3. Do you accept students with special needs, such as those with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and English language learners (ELL)?

    Yes. Our schools are open to all. Our director of student services, teachers, and leadership teams are dedicated to advancing every scholar along the path to college. We work with the Department of Education’s Committee on Special Education as appropriate to meet all requirements of students’ IEP.

Attending an Ascend School

  1. What subjects are offered at Ascend schools?

    Ascend Learning uses the SABIS curriculum, which includes math, science, social studies, and English language arts (including grammar and penmanship). In addition, every Ascend scholar learns Spanish every day. Our other subjects include art, music, and physical education. Starting in grade 3, our scholars also participate in the Student Life Organization. In the middle school, Ascend builds on the SABIS curriculum, offering a rich humanities and arts modeled after the finest college-preparatory schools in the city.

  2. What is the Student Life Organization?

    As described on the SABIS website, the Student Life Organization is an integral part of the SABIS educational system and an important part of every school day. Emphasizing the acquisition of 'life skills' through real-life experiences, the SABIS Student Life Organization is a student-led society that empowers students to hold responsibility for many aspects of school life. While providing opportunities for emotional, social, and moral growth, the SABIS Student Life Organization helps students develop their academic, managerial, organizational, and leadership skills in a variety of academic and non-academic activities including peer tutoring, planning school-based activities and social events, and organizing community service projects. Through the SABIS Student Life Organization, students learn to:

    • Promote high social, ethical, and moral values
    • Become active and constructive members of a community
    • Develop academic, managerial, organizational, and leadership skills
    • Acquire and refine the attitudes that give them an edge in college and throughout life
    • Form circles of lasting friendship
    • Get involved in a variety of student-led activities
  3. What are the school hours?

    The Ascend school day runs from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Thursday. On Friday, the school day runs from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Scholars may arrive at 7:30 am to eat breakfast at school.

  4. Do you have an extended school year?

    No. In general, our schools follow the New York City Department of Education’s school calendar.

  5. How many teachers are in each classroom?

    In general, we have one teacher per classroom, but each kindergarten classroom has one teacher and one instructional assistant.

  6. How many students are in each classroom?

    Our classrooms have between 25-30 scholars.

  7. What tests do Ascend scholars take?

    Once a child is formally enrolled in the school, s/he will take a diagnostic exam. Designed to help us determine precisely what each student knows and can do, the test requires no preparation. Throughout the course of the year we will use frequent assessments aligned with our curriculum to tell us what our scholars have mastered, and in what areas they might need additional instruction. We also administer the New York state exams and a national assessment like the TerraNova to help measure our scholars’ achievement compared to their peers across the state and nationwide.

  8. Does the school offer free and reduced-priced lunch and breakfast?

    Yes, the school participates in the federal free and reduced-priced lunch program. In addition, because of the extended day, snacks are also served free of charge.

  9. Do Ascend students wear uniforms?

    Yes, all scholars wear school uniforms. We believe a strictly enforced uniform policy helps students focus on their academic pursuits and avoid needless distractions. Each Ascend school maintains a uniform fund for families who are unable to afford uniforms.

  10. Does the school provide transportation?

    The Department of Education (DOE) Office of Pupil Transportation provides transportation and determines eligibility for bus pick-up and drop-off. Some scholars (grade 3 and higher) will qualify for a discount MetroCard. More information about service and eligibility.

Teaching at an Ascend School

  1. What does a typical school day look like at Ascend?

    Our school day is longer than a traditional school. We begin at 8:00 am and end each day at 4:30 pm. Scholars who wish to have breakfast at school must arrive at 7:30 am. In addition to more time on task for core academic classes, there is also time built-in for Student-Life, humanities, and athletics. Teachers have 45 to 90 minutes of preparation time each day.

  2. What resources and support are available for teachers at an Ascend school?

    The SABIS educational system provides a systematic approach to building skills and knowledge in each subject; scholars learn point by point, establishing a solid foundation on which to build successive levels of knowledge—from the basics in kindergarten to Advanced Placement classes in high school.

    Ascend is licensing SABIS’s educational system, a research-based system that integrates books, workbooks, scope and sequencing aligned with the New York state standards, frequent assessments, and a teaching method that allows for inquiry and scholar involvement. We provide teachers with a complete curriculum including pacing guides and assessments during their Summer Institute. Ascend teachers are able to access a bank of lesson plans and resources that align with the SABIS curriculum and the SABIS Point System. All teachers receive a laptop, and all schools have wireless internet access and network printers.

  3. What is the SABIS Point System?

    The SABIS Point System is a teaching method used in classroom instruction. By applying it, teachers ensure that scholars understand the objectives of the lesson and can focus on these objectives. It also allows teachers to check the scholars' work and make sure that each student has grasped the point before proceeding to the next point/lesson.

  4. How is professional development integrated into the school year?

    Each school has an instructional leader who leads the professional development and growth of the faculty throughout the school year. Each Friday scholars are released at 2:00 pm to provide teachers with two hours of uninterrupted professional development time. In addition to weekly professional development sessions, teachers participate in grade-level meetings and observation-debriefing meetings with their dean of instruction and/or grade-level chair.

  5. How do Ascend schools use data?

    At the heart of SABIS’s approach is a detailed, college-preparatory curriculum that is tightly linked to an electronic assessment system. SABIS has developed a detailed learning map, from kindergarten through AP classes, and codified that learning as a series of objectives—“points”—to be taught, week by week, in each class. Beginning in the third grade, scholars’ mastery of each week’s material is electronically tested and scored with the SABIS Academic Monitoring System (AMS). The system instantly compiles and disseminates results to the teachers and to the school’s leadership team. Our advanced use of data allows for the detection of gaps in knowledge as soon as they form. Teachers are able to able to identify not only the strengths and weaknesses of their scholars but also of their own teaching techniques. At a glance, they see which components of the material they covered the previous week have been mastered by all their pupils and which are poorly understood and must be taught again.

  6. What are the requirements to teach at an Ascend school?

    Applicants for teaching positions should possess a NY State teaching certificate in the appropriate grade and subject, as well as two years of post-practicum teaching experience. Fingerprints and background check reports must be on file with TEACH. Experience teaching in an urban setting is a plus. Instructional assistants must possess a bachelor’s degree and two years of experience working in a formal educational setting. All applicants must be relentlessly driven to closing the achievement gap, using data to drive decision-making in the classroom, and be able to demonstrate high expectations of achievement for themselves and their scholars through a formal interview, demonstration lesson, and written essay responses.

  7. What are the steps of the selection process?

    Following the application, the school will ask select individuals to interview by phone and in person, and final candidates will be required to participate in a demonstration lesson. All finalists will undergo professional reference checks.

© 2011 Ascend Learning