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“The first thing in life is believing in yourself. Depend on yourself even if no one else does. Be unique. Be different. Don’t be afraid to break tradition. Don’t be afraid to break the cycle. Leave your print behind and make sure everyone remembers you in a positive way. You can achieve a higher education.”
Dulce Juarez - ACE Student |
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ACE - Achieving a
College Education
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In 1988, the Maricopa Community Colleges launched ACE (Achieving a College Education), a partnership between community colleges and local high schools that was designed to reduce dropouts among "at risk" high school students and transition them to community college and university studies. When ACE was first offered at South Mountain Community College, educators and community leaders were already concerned about two related problems - a high school dropout rate that was too high, and a college going rate that was too low.
Today, what was once cause for concern has assumed near epidemic proportions. ACE has demonstrated remarkable success over the years in addressing this crisis. ACE is not the only answer to the challenges facings our schools, but ACE is clearly part of the solution and does offer impressive benefits - proven success over many years at multiple institutions, high school graduation and college going rates far higher than state averages, and broad appeal to at-risk students from all backgrounds. What's more, ACE is cost effective. With MCCCD providing the staff support, the only long term, outside funding needed is approximately $750 per year per student for college tuition.
Just over $750 keeps one at-risk student in high school for a full year. The same amount dramatically improves that students chances of continuing on to college. The ACE program is cost effective, it's a proven success, and it's being expanded throughout the Maricopa County - where in a typical year almost 18,000 students dropout of high school.
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