About
About Ascendways
Ascendways is a mission-driven consulting firm founded by Spencer Sherman to help build pathways to economic mobility. Ascendways is focused on equity and social impact, and supports organizations in PK-12 education, higher education, and industry. Spencer leverages his 15+ years of experience as a government and education leader to help a variety of clients working to make the American Dream a reality.
Prior Projects
Ascendways’ projects span the country. Sample prior projects include:
Helping Indiana implement a landmark law to redesign high school, in partnership with Education Strategy Group. The project facilitates new cross-government collaboration between the Indiana Department of Education, Commission for Higher Education, and Treasurer to launch a number of new interconnected policies and grant programs.
Conducting a 50-state scan about how states manage dual enrollment programs through governance structures that connect high schools and colleges. This report will be published in 2024 by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment (NACEP), in cooperation with the College in High School Alliance.
Launching a cross-state collaborative for clean energy pathways in New England with Advance CTE, the national organization for state directors of career and technical education.
Spencer Sherman advises education leaders on building pathways to economic mobility for all students. He has over 15 years of experience in public education roles, from teacher to state policymaker, and is passionate about improving education systems to help students achieve the American Dream. Spencer is an expert on college and career pathways initiatives, federal and state policy analysis, and leveraging AI and data to better serve students. He specializes in working at the intersection of these three areas: helping state leaders develop policies that set students up to thrive in an AI-impacted future workforce.
Spencer began his career serving low-income students as a teacher and administrator in New Orleans public schools. He then worked as the Chief for Innovation at the Rhode Island Department of Education, where he launched many new statewide projects, including a cross-agency career pathways initiative, a student-centered online enrollment platform, and a post-COVID tutoring program. Spencer then moved to nonprofit and consulting roles, supporting initiatives such as Indiana’s high school redesign effort and California’s $500M college and career pathways legislation.
Spencer earned his bachelor’s in political science at Yale University, and his master's in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Spencer now serves as a Principal Consultant at Education First and writes the Pathmaking newsletter.