Mission Bay High’s ACES tutoring program reached a major milestone last week, marking 85,000 students since it began just over 10 years ago. Over the past decade, ACES has been recognized by the San Diego Board of Education, honored by the California legislature as one of the top three attended programs in the state, and featured on a national level at the BOOST Best Out of School Teaching practices conference.
The philosophy of ACES, or After School Center for Excellence and Support, is based on the suits of cards, namely. Hearts: a holistic approach to mentorship; Clubs: a community effect, providing a consistent place for students to gather to further their education; Diamonds: a balanced approach to curriculum with teachers across all subject areas; and Spades: digging deeper, offering key additional resources and access to one-on-one attention.
What began in a teacher’s classroom at lunch for help with essays, ACES ultimately transformed into four different programs. The traditional model, after-school tutoring, has been in place since the beginning, managing to stay available for students online throughout the pandemic. When Mission Bay eventually adopted a later start time, ACES opened its doors in the morning, providing parents and students with an early-care tutoring option.
ACES also partners with the basketball team for ASAP, or the Aces Student Athlete Program, and is focused on the 5 C’s: 1) promoting student-athlete Culture; 2) facilitating Communication between teachers and coaches; 3) supporting student-athletes to seek and navigate rigorous Curriculum; 4) developing student-athletes who are College-ready; and 5) building leadership and Character. When the squad won the championship crown for the City of San Diego, they boasted an overall team GPA of 3.2.
Most recently, Aces STYLE was created, or Student Tutoring Youth Leadership Experience, a peer tutoring team that volunteers to help their fellow students before and after school and practice service leadership.
Service has been a cornerstone of ACES, and the program’s partnership with tutors from the University of California-San Diego has led to four Martin Luther King Days of Service, where hundreds of volunteers from UC San Diego and MBHS collaborate on campus beautification and service projects. One of these anchor projects, the sensory garden, is a dedicated space for moderate/severe and medically fragile special education students to interact outside of the classroom and features accessible garden boxes and various installations that appeal to the five senses.
Currently staffed by 11 teachers, ACES is proud to serve Mission Bay’s diverse, magnet population and remains committed to positively impacting school culture into the future.
—
