OUR PROGRAMS
At ASCEND, we understand that our efforts to teach those educationally stigmatized is not a new endeavor. Historically, there were those who sacrificed their convenience and placed themselves and their families in unsafe conditions to educate the uneducated. At ASCEND we simply build on the activism of our predecessors by serving individuals regardless of their background and level of understanding with great encouragement, dignity and respect.
According to a recent study, approximately thirty-five million Americans under the age of 65 have reading skills below those of the fourth grade (or low literacy skills). Though White U.S.-born Americans make up the largest population of individuals with low literacy skills in the United States, nearly one-third of the African American population of adults have low literacy skills.
Again, we're not simply looking to educate or escalate, we're looking to empower.
Education Rehabilitation Programs
The Educational Rehabilitation Program is segmented into five components:
1. Education Rehabilitation for School-age Children
This program offers one on one and group sessions to children in economically disadvantaged and impoverished communities who may have had to miss school for a period of time (or may have lost focus in the classroom) due to personal situations beyond their control. Rather than directly incorporating them back into the classroom, the program offers an educational redevelopment program that rehabilitates the student's reading, writing, and spelling skills before allowing them to fully return to their classroom environment.
2. The Education Rehabilitation Program for young men
This program is specifically designed for young men between the ages of 21 yrs to 35 yrs who may have passed through the educational system without developing a strong ability to read, write and spell. This program aims to become an accredited adult education program that leads to a GED or vocational certificate; and partners with educational institutions to help participants find, develop or improve their career path, upon completion of the rehabilitation program.
3. Educational Rehabilitation Program for African American young women 21 to 35 yrs
This program is specifically designed for young women between the ages of 21 yrs to 35 yrs who may have passed through the educational system without developing a strong ability to read, write and spell. This program aims to become an accredited adult education program that leads to a GED or vocational certificate; and partners with educational institutions to help participants find, develop or improve their career path, upon completion of the rehabilitation program.
4. Educational Rehabilitation for Seniors
This program is designed for seniors between the ages of 62 and up who never learned to read or desire to improve their reading skills.
5. Educational Rehabilitation - Open Session
This program offers educational activities to individuals in a mixed age group. Students from school-age children to adults who simply want to sharpen their reading, writing, and spelling skills in an open but limited environment participate. Children are paired with adults and parents are paired with children to create a collaborative learning environment where everyone is helping and learning from each other.