A commercial real estate developer Robert C., had a son who required special educational services when he entered a public elementary school over fifteen years ago.Unable to find a school that could work for his son, Robert chose to build a charter school for special needs students, who, like his son, required the attention of staff who were dedicated to those needs.

The school, built in Miami, was so successful, that other charter management companies asked him to build schools for them. In 2014, Robert bought this retail plaza in Margate with a dream of turning it into an educational hub for all students, of all abilities, and in the summer of 2015, Ascend Academy Charter HS was born. Total enrollment? Thirty-five on Day One. That initial enrollment of thirty-five students grew over 600%, with a current enrollment of 260 students in less than five years. With little to no advertising.