Soon after opening its first campus in 2008, just for kindergarten through second grade, Ascend Charter Schools found such strong demand from families in the area that the team began plans to open a second school. Today, Ascend operates 15 schools across Brooklyn, educating 6,000 K-12 students. And each year, the student waiting list grows longer. The schools’ performance statistics explain why.
Although more than 80% of its students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds—traditionally a population that underperforms in school—Ascend’s unique mix of rigorous academic study and innovative teaching methods has led to a reversal of this trend. Ascend’s students outperform New York’s citywide and statewide school averages on exams measuring proficiency in both English language arts and math.
And the good news doesn’t end there. While roughly 84% of New York public school students graduate from high school within four years, that number is 97% at Ascend. Even more impressive, in the 2019-2020 academic year, 100% of Ascend’s high school graduates earned admission to college.
But with its team building new schools, hiring additional staff, and expanding the organization’s geographic footprint across New York’s largest borough, Ascend needed a better IT communications solution.