Brownsville Ascend Charter School
Grades K-8 · 1501 PITKIN AVENUE · Brooklyn
Curtis Durham, Principal · 718-240-9162
About
Brownsville Ascend Charter School serves students in Kindergarten through 8th grade, operating as part of the Ascend charter network. The school emphasizes a holistic approach, aiming to "honor, nurture, and challenge the whole child" through critical thinking, a love of learning, the Science of Reading, an inquiry-based approach, the Responsive Classroom model, and anti-racist education. Academically, students demonstrate proficiency in English Language Arts and Math, with ELA proficiency rates well above the citywide median and math proficiency rates also exceeding the median. However, the school's rate of accelerated coursework is notably low compared to citywide benchmarks. Parent sentiment is varied; some families commend the attentive and caring teachers who motivate students to succeed. Others express concerns about the school's climate, describing experiences with faculty who may not be responsive to requests for help, a lack of extracurricular activities, and a perceived overly strict or "prison-like" environment by some. The school has also faced concerns regarding its suspension rate. Housed in the distinctive former Loew's Pitkin theatre, the school offers a unique physical setting.
Academics
State test proficiency rates and acceleration.
ELA proficiency
61%
Math proficiency
57%
Proficiency rates are from the Grade 3–8 NYS state test (school-level).
Attendance rate
Community & climate
Demographics, attendance, school survey results, and DOE quality ratings.
Quality signals
Overall positive % is averaged across every Pos/Neg survey question per respondent group (school year 2023-2024). Survey topics are the DOE’s framework measures (each the average favorable response across its questions; expand a topic to see them and the citywide average); the dimension scores themselves are no longer in the public data file.[3]
Operational health
Attendance
82%
Financials
[8]What this school has to spend, and what it spends it on. Spending is not a measure of quality. Schools serving more students with higher needs receive more money.
Charter schools manage their own budgets rather than receiving a school allocation from the DOE, so the staffing and supplies breakdown the DOE publishes for district schools is not published for this school.
Spending
Total spend
$10.9MStudents: 591
Location & commute
Where the school is and how to get there.