ACE (Accept Compete Excel)
Because we all need deep interpersonal bonds to thrive
ACE (Accept Compete Excel) is Princeton YMCA’s program for cohort 2 of the YMCA’s national Boys and Young Men of Color (BYMOC) strategy. The program includes students in grades 6-11 in collaboration with the Princeton Public Schools. ACE focuses on aiding the students academically, socially, and professionally.
Our middle school programming focuses on preparing our students for their high school careers. Study skills, time management, social responsibility, and goal setting are some of the skills we teach. Our high school program focuses on college and workforce readiness. ACE meets weekly in the high and middle schools during lunch and twice a week on-site at the Princeton Y. Once a month, we host a family dinner to include the families and friends of the participants. The program’s overarching goal is to create a sustainable village for our current, past, and future participants.
More simply, the ACE program, like THREAD, is powered by individual relationships that radically and permanently alter the social support structure of everyone involved. The work is premised on the belief that we all need deep interpersonal bonds to thrive.
This initiative, led by the Y, is a collaboration among the Princeton Public Schools, Corner House Behavioral Health and the Bonner Foundation to support qualifying boys and girls enrolled at PHS or PMS who are most at risk of missing critical school days for a variety of reasons. Working closely with school counselors and social workers, students and their families are referred to us to become a part of the program.
Each student is paired with a mentor who is dedicated to his or her success – assuring that the young person is attending school and classes regularly, is feeling supported and encouraged, and is welcomed and connected to the ACE and larger community. Family members of students are also invited and encouraged to be a part of the ACE community.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
- Mondays: Financial Literacy Course
- Tuesdays: Life Skills Class
- Wednesdays: Academic Check-ins
- Thursdays: Mind the Gap Workshop
*ACE Family Dinners on the third Wednesday of every month (subject to change)*
WHO PARTICIPATES?
In the first phase of the program (starting January 2019), we focused on boys enrolled at Princeton Middle School (eighth graders) and Princeton High School. Beginning in the spring 2020, girls were added to the program.
Each semester, a new cohort of 5-6 students are added to the program, and matched with volunteer mentors. Similarly, volunteer recruitment is on a rolling basis and training is ongoing, with new volunteers joining the ACE community throughout the year.
Meetings and activities are conducted at Princeton High School, at the Y, at partnering organizations, and at locations throughout the community.
HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
To volunteer, please register on VolunteerMatters to set up a volunteer profile and understand the commitment and the requirements to be a mentor.
About the ACE Paths to Success Series
Paths to Success is a series in which 6th-12th graders can hear from successful people with diverse backgrounds sponsored by the Princeton YMCA’s ACE Program.
WHAT IS CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
The Chronic Absenteeism Rate (missing 10% of the school year) for the Princeton Public Schools is 11%, and significantly higher for students who are faced with economic challenges, including poverty, chronic illness and food insecurity. 13% of students in Princeton are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals. Research demonstrates that students who are chronically absent lose opportunities to succeed throughout their lives. To learn more, please visit Attendance Works.