Access to College Education (ACE) provides resources and services to expand and support the educational aspirations of high school students who may be limited by social and/or economic circumstances. Developed in 1989, ACE is an innovative, grassroots partnership among several local school districts and four area colleges.
ACE offers approximately 30 educational and cultural programs per year for both students and their parents. These events are provided throughout the school year and during the summer. A variety of events are scheduled at both the high schools and each college campus.
Presently, ACE includes 11 school districts and has over 700 students in grades 8-12 enrolled in the Program. Districts include:
(Candor; Cincinnatus; Cortland; DeRuyter; Groton; Homer; Ithaca; Lansing; Newfield; South Seneca; Tully)
The more students and parents participate in events, the more they benefit from being in ACE.
Students strive for specific levels of academic achievement and may participate in an assortment of fun and educational ACE-sponsored events throughout their years in high school.
ACE is a unique consortium of four institutions: Cornell University, Ithaca College , SUNY Cortland and Tompkins Cortland Community College , working in partnership with the associated school districts.
Each of the four colleges host various ACE events. However, these are grade based, educational ACE programs for both students and parents and are in no way intended as a "recruitment tool" for that campus.
The ACE program is basically designed around the idea of early identification of the factors in a youngster's life which might inhibit his/her aspirations toward a college education. Once selected by staff in schools, students are given the opportunity to participate in a series of activities based on their interests/abilities throughout their secondary school years.
