Since the organization’s founding in 2008, the ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland has awarded $944,815 in scholarships to Cleveland and Warrensville Heights high school students aspiring to further their education in college or trades careers.
The ACE Mentor Program is an after-school career pathways mentorship program that introduces high school students to the worlds of architecture, construction, and engineering through project-based learning from A/E/C industry professionals. Students work diligently through the school year to prepare a design and construction project in response to a program RFP addressing real-world problems in their communities.
During the course of the 2018-2019 program year, the program engaged 175 students across 11 schools (10 of which are within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, with one additional site being at Warrensville Heights High School) and is supported by a network of over 130 A/E/C industry professionals.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) attests to the successful impact the ACE Program has had on its students and says improved test scores directly correlate to the program’s learning style.
Eric Gordon, CMSD CEO, attributed ACE’s true value to the program’s structure which facilitates “demonstrations of learning.” Demonstrations of learning are a teaching strategy increasingly being used within CMSD to highlight and foster student knowledge by giving them a platform to learn applicable skills. “It [demonstrations of learning] says so much more than simple test scores but is also the reason our test scores are continuing to climb,” stated Gordon.
As ACE comes to the end of their 11th program year, the true value of the program can be seen through the ambitions of the 2018-2019 ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland Scholarship Award Recipients. Congratulations to the following students on their annual scholarships which will help support their advancement in their chosen career path with continued support from the ACE Program.
Shelton Appling - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Thomas Aston - $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Kavon Black - $1,000 Trades Scholarship Recipient
Percy Bradley - $200 Trades Scholarship Recipient
Joshua Carr - $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Khadazia Conner - $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Nia Estrada - $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Abel Fehn- $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Amari Gambrell - $1,500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Delonte Goodman - $2,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Shelton Henry - $1,250 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Ronald Kincaid - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Junlong Kwan - $1,500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
John Lemus - $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Mikhael Macon - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Orlando Martinez - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Christina McClain- $500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Caleb Moore - $2,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Jashua Phagoo - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Felicity Reiland - $1,500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Shekina Rodriguez - $1,500 Annual Scholarship Recipient
Anthony Settles - $1,500 Trades Scholarship Recipient
Latashana Smith - $1,000 Annual Scholarship Recipient
The ACE Program looks forward to continuing to support program graduates and to welcoming future and returning students to next year’s program. Through mentorship, ACE truly hopes to affect positive change in predominately African-American and minority neighborhoods in the Cleveland area.