ASCEND

3709 E. 12th St.
Oakland, CA 94601 (Map & Directions)
510-879-3140
Larissa Adam, Principal
larissa.adam@ousd.k12.ca.us

Read our most recent ASCEND Voice newsletter!

ASCEND is a member of OSF's OSF Family Engagement and Leadership Initiative and a member of its After-School Collaborative Program.

A School Cultivating Excellence, Nurturing Diversity

ASCEND is a small and autonomous Oakland public school that opened in 2001. We currently serve 430 students in grades K-8 with 24 students in every class. Our school is 80% Latino, 8% Asian, 6% African American, 5% Multi-Racial, and 1% Filipino. We hold extremely high standards for our students and expect that they will also follow our Ways to ASCEND: Take charge of your own learning, be kind and considerate, help each other, persevere, be responsible, and be reflective.

School Program
ASCEND collaborates closely with the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA), the Oakland Youth Chorus, and Alameda County Office of Education. Family involvement and community partnerships play a critical role at ASCEND. We work closely with Oakland Community Organizations and the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools.

ASCEND provides teachers with:
• Professional development in inquiry-based classroom research
• One on one coaching
• Opportunities to play many roles in developing our school

Our students enjoy:
• Art and music every day
• Integrated and deep exploration of content
• Looping with one teacher for two years
• Small classes
• Authentic assessments
• An outstanding after-school program
• Reading intervention, counseling, individualized academic help

Results:
• Our Academic Performance Index (API) score is 742.
The API crunches California Standards Test (CST) scores into one number. A few of our most recent (2009) CST highlights:
• 77% of our 5th-graders scored Proficient or Advanced in Math.
• 60% of our 8th-graders scored Proficient or Advanced in Algebra I.
• 66% of our redesignated English Learners scored Proficient or Advanced in English Language Arts (ELA).

ASCEND in the News
• Principal Larissa Adam was named "Elementary Principal of the Year" at Oakland's Expect Success Awards Ceremony in October 2008. The award honors "school leaders who significantly increased student performance in their schools and who set the bar for strong, effective leadership in 2007-08."

• ASCEND is featured on the George Lucas Educational Foundation’s website.

For the latest news from our campus, check out our newsletter, The ASCEND Voice:
• Spring 2010
• Winter 2009
• Summer 2009
• Fall 2008
• Spring 2008