Our Mission
ACE works with families and communities in the highest-need neighborhoods to create and sustain middle and high schools where students who have been left behind by the traditional school system grow to be ready, by the time they leave high school, to choose to attend and graduate from a four-year college or university.
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When the traditional system can’t reach certain students, ACE steps in.
In San Jose, 80% of students heading into middle school are failing.
Every child that comes to ACE is recruited because they are below grade level.
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When other schools see our students as a challenge, ACE sees them as assets.
Students recruited to ACE are 92% Low-Income, 50% English Learners, 93% First Generation.
ACE serves 20% students with Special Needs, compared to 10-12% at neighborhood schools.
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When students have lost faith in school, ACE creates a trusting community focused on growth.
To rebuild trust and address years of neglect, ACE builds a deeply interconnected community through genuine and respectful relationships.
In middle school, ACE students are given a goal of 1.5 years of growth per year. This goal gives every child something they can aspire to and achieve even if they are years away from catching up.
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When school means despair and failure, ACE creates optimism and self-confidence.
ACE 8th Graders' Math Proficiency Rate is 5 times higher than neighborhood schools.
By 8th Grade, 76% of ACE students are growing more than one grade level each year or have caught up to grade level.
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When college seems impossible, ACE makes it a reality.
90% of ACE High School Graduates meet UC/CSU requirements, compared to 24% at neighborhood schools.
80% of ACE Graduates attend college.
98% of ACE Graduates will be first in their family to graduate college.