EduCare’s Mission:
To inspire and empower young people
to become responsible citizens, compassionate leaders,
and to live their dreams.

ACE Program

EduCare’s Achievement and Commitment to Excellence (ACE) Student Success Program is a comprehensive student success, youth empowerment, and character-building program. ACE has been widely cited as an outstanding model for innovative and self-sustaining change.

Presented through over 200 schools, districts, and youth-serving agencies, the ACE has benefited over 20,000 students worldwide since 1987. It assists young people in becoming high achievers, promotes healthy relationships in the home and in the community, and it works to prevent destructive social behaviors like substance abuse, violence and crime.

ACE addresses students’ barriers to learning (i.e. negative attitudes, repetitive failure habits, disrespect for self and others) and helps young people develop the essential building blocks that create a foundation for successful learning, including:

Character development – positive decision-making, constructive choices
Personal management –study skills, verbal skills, project & time management
Emotional intelligence – managing anger, fear, rejection, peer pressure
Interpersonal skills – communication, conflict resolution, and team building

Program Content

ACE is a year-long comprehensive, student success, leadership, and character building program, with emphasis on student achievement, conflict resolution, and service learning. Offered at the elementary, middle school, high school, continuation high school and community college levels, programs are specifically designed to meet each school's or district's particular needs.

The ACE Program includes professional development for whole faculty, grade level, or departmental teams, student success workshops, parent involvement classes and curriculum, including Making the Best of Me teacher guides and student workbooks.

ACE is typically offered in a two-module format:

Module 1 focuses on:

• Academic Success
• Character development
• Personal leadership

Module 2 focuses on:

• Peer and Cross-Age Mentoring
• Community Service
• Goal setting and transitions (i.e. elementary to middle school to high school to college/career

Student workshops are offered for 60-125 students per group (designed for grades 3-12). A typical module includes a one-day staff development, a three-day student success workshop, a Family Night, curriculum, and on-site classroom coaching.

Benefits/ Results

EduCare’s ACE Program is widely cited as an outstanding model for innovative and self-sustaining change. In a documented study of over 500 students in seven senior high schools and continuation high schools in the School District of Philadelphia, statistics include:

• 39% reduction in drop-out rates
• 25% increase of students passing 4 or more core academic subjects
• 15% increase in daily attendance

In addition, in independent evaluations of ACE Program results for both elementary and high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, significant improvement was reported in:

• Attendance and tardiness rates
• Reading skills and oral comprehension
• Quality of work and completion of assignments
• Classroom behavior (cooperation, attentiveness, confidence, peer relationships)
• Responsibility/ownership for choices and behaviors
• Aspirations for future success

NOTE: For a more detailed review of the ACE Program including nature of services, research reviews, and alignment with standards, go to the ACE Program Details page.