School Director Elena Strauss takes the helm at Brooklyn Ascend Lower School with extensive teaching and leadership experience, most recently as dean of instruction at Brooklyn Ascend Lower and as a participant in Ascend’s resident school director program. She joined Ascend after several years in both general and special education classrooms, including at Success Academy Charter Schools as a lead teacher and grade team leader, and as an ICT teacher at DREAM Charter School. Strauss holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in psychology from Susquehanna University and a master’s in special and general education from Touro College.