In the early grades, students become able readers and develop a love of books through a highly effective phonics program; abundant guided reading in leveled, small groups; a daily read-aloud; independent reading; and Ascend’s writing program.

Large classroom libraries equipped with children’s books of the highest quality allow students to further their emerging interests and intellectual curiosities.

The engaging Ascend-developed Literature Circle program in grades 3 and 4 encourages student discussion, as teachers help students mine the deepest meaning of the finest children’s literature, develop the habits of excellent readers, and build reading comprehension skills. In Literature Circle discussions, students defend their ideas as they debate and discuss a book’s overarching themes and implications.

Literature Circle requires teachers, working with their grade-team colleagues, to aim high and prepare intensely, as they backwards-plan to identify the strategic think-alouds and turn-and-talks that will help students achieve a deeper understanding of a text.

The goal of the lower school math program at Ascend is to develop students who are deft problem solvers, capable of achieving at the highest level of mathematics, and who have a knack for interpreting their world mathematically.

Following a rigorous and vertically-aligned math program that emphasizes the focus of the Common Core on problem-solving, deep conceptual understanding, and computational fluency, Ascend develops students’ own understanding of math concepts. Teachers use inquiry and real-life situations to develop scholars’ skills as critical-thinking mathematicians who can apply the properties of mathematics to their own lives.

Ascend’s math program combines three elements.

• Our standards-based instruction block is based on the curricula of Singapore, which post some of the strongest math outcomes in the world. Singapore’s fourth- and eighth-grade students have frequently taken first place in the respected Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Scholars discover mathematical concepts and properties through an inquiry approach to solving problems and completing tasks that meet or exceed the Common Core State Standards.

• In Number Stories – the cognitively guided instruction block – students spend an entire period studying a single Common Core-style math problem, constructing their own solutions, and – under the encouraging guidance of the teacher – defending their thinking, and comparing their approaches. When students see the strategies other scholars devise and discuss their merits, they learn that there is not one “right” way to solve a problem, and thereby deepen their understanding of essential mathematical concepts.

• To develop fluency and relational thinking in arithmetic, in the math routines block teachers lead scholars through daily routines that develop age-appropriate dexterity with counting and computation. In the early grades, scholars participate in routines like “counting jar” to develop one-to-one correspondence and counting-to-tell-the-total. In the upper grades, scholars participate in routines like “number talks” where they build their capacity to do mental math.

Our science program uses structured inquiry learning through the 5E model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate). In the lower school, the science program is closely aligned with the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. The program integrates rich content with well-conceived inquiry experiments, project-based learning, and engaging texts. Students develop their ability to observe, describe, compare, inquire, and evaluate, while studying the three dimensions of science. Each grade level contains units in Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science.

Ascend has developed a warm and supportive culture rooted in Responsive Classroom in the elementary grades—departing from a punitive and proscriptive disciplinary model associated with high rates of referrals and suspensions. Classroom communities nurture students’ sense of belonging, and by creating calm, orderly environments, Ascend schools foster children’s social and emotional competencies, obviating the reliance on punitive consequences.

In the lower school, our joyful culture builds students’ capacities to self-manage. Positive language replaces warnings and threats as students learn empathy and collaborative problem-solving.

Every morning in each class, students and teachers gather to greet one another, share news, and warm-up for the day ahead. Throughout the day, teachers talk about what students are learning and what excites them, rather than how they are behaving. Teachers’ language promotes learning, a sense of belonging, and self-discipline. When students do misbehave, logical consequences allow them to fix and learn from their mistakes while preserving their dignity. In this environment, Ascend students learn social skills—cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control—that allow them to succeed academically and socially; the day can be spent enjoying academic, artistic, and extracurricular activities.

At Ascend, we invest in your growth—training, supporting, and collaborating with you every step of the way.

Ascend’s Teacher Planning and Development (TPD) initiative affords teachers weekly opportunities to engage with their grade-team colleagues in the deep study of content, to study and assess student work, and to collaborate on the design of highly targeted, data-driven actions.

Every Ascend teacher receives individualized coaching from a skilled coach, a dean of instruction deeply familiar with Ascend curriculum and practices and focused on a grade span. The coaching relationship fosters growth in content mastery, pedagogy, and culture, and is tailored to the teacher’s individual goals. Regular classroom observations provide opportunities for real-time feedback, while coaching sessions focus on discrete action steps that advance larger goals of practice. Live coaching allows teacher to make rapid gains and is a treasured part of the Ascend professional culture; students understand that their teachers and leaders are, like them, always looking to improve their craft.

Every Friday, students are dismissed early and schools hold professional development workshops targeted toward each school’s problems of practice, such as developing road maps of questions in Shared Text or the implementation of Responsive Classroom methods.

Great ideas spread fast at Ascend through network-wide sharing of best practices. When one school’s faculty devises a smart solution to a problem, other schools, in their quest for excellence, are eager to tap it. Formal and informal mechanisms support this culture of collaboration.

During our Summer Institutes for new and returning teachers, Ascend leaders and outside specialists facilitate interactive workshops devoted to building and strengthening teachers’ skills in implementing the Ascend liberal arts curriculum and the unique Ascend culture. Ascend prides itself on the quality, rigor, and effectiveness of these sessions.