My Freshman year was not that great in mainstream.  I was struggling and it was causing a rift between me and my parents in terms of having to talk about school all the time.  I was also unable to do fun things like being able to have a job, hang out with friends, or do the musical because I had to do so much homework.  Then, I was in the Freshman assembly and heard about ACE.  It described everything that I wanted to get out of high school so I researched it and fell in love with the program.

​

 

​

​

 

I have strong relationships with all of the teachers  which is something I feel so grateful for.  If I am struggling with a project or want assistance with it, the teachers are always there to talk or give me help.  I also have so much more free time because I have the time to complete homework, classwork, and projects in class.  It’s allowed me to be part of the musical like right now I am making the costumes for Sweeney Todd.

Since being in ACE, I have figured out ways to be really creative in the kind of academic projects that I do.  I am not the best at building models or writing essays but I’ve ended up doing both. I made a cake in cell biology to look like a cell.  This was more in my wheelhouse and this flexibility allowed me to come up with something more interesting and sometimes more challenging for my projects.  I also think that I have much stronger connections and have more support systems with my teachers and administrator. 

 

 

 

 

​

I have received much higher grades than I did in mainstream.  I have been able to be on the ACE Student Leadership Team and getting really important skills through that. I have also found out about amazing opportunities such as the MIT leadership Training Institute.  In ACE, I also got help with my application to go to the MECA  (Maine College of Art) summer program in Maine.  I don’t think I would have found out about these things or received the kind of assistance that I got in ACE in mainstream. 

​

​

​

​

 

 

​

ACE works really hard to make sure that you are succeeding. You don’t just get thrown in here.  It is so supportive from the start.  You really learn how the program works…not just from teachers but also from the older students. You are really supported through the whole process.