May 2021
Making College Dreams a Reality
A Message from Berenice Cervantes, Director of College Completion

This school year has been a year unlike any other. I want to give a shout-out to our ACE Charter High School Class of 2021. I’m very proud of all of the seniors who are on track to graduate and committing to college next school year. 
 
A year of new challenges. 
The pandemic has underscored the importance of individualized support along the college journey. We transitioned all of our college support efforts online. The College Team has been working hard to provide college support to all of our seniors. We hosted multiple online workshops for our seniors around the college application and financial aid process. The College Team also hosted financial aid consultations with seniors and families throughout April to help them make a final decision by the national deadline, which was May 1st!
A year of hope. 
We are making dreams come to life and helping students create a brighter future. All of the universities have released their admission decisions. This year we saw our first-ever acceptances to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC San Diego, San Diego State, and private schools. Please click here to see a list of college acceptances to four-year institutions. The College Team is currently helping our community college-bound seniors with their application process and looks forward to celebrating our annual College Decision Day Celebration on May 6th!
Community Spotlight
In Conversation with Esperanza Lopez
Esperanza Lopez is an Alumni Peer Mentor at ACE Charter High School. In this role, she works alongside high school students to support them as they journey towards success in college and beyond. Lopez shares her unique college experiences with others in the hope that she can help more students shape a "college-going identity."
 
When asked why she returned to ACE as a mentor, Lopez responded, "I returned to ACE to work as an Alum Peer Mentor because I had some challenging years in my three years as a Community College student. Many of my problems came from not seeing myself as worthy of an education, I felt out of place, and I felt like those around me were waiting for me to fail."
Lopez also shared that ACE helped her, as a high school student, shape the confidence that she now has in school. Her sophomore World History teacher encouraged her to "become more interested in school, and think about college more seriously. ACE is special to me because it was the first place where I had teachers believe in me. In my previous schools, my teachers just saw me as another student who did not want to be at school and did not bother me any time." This individual attention encouraged Esperanza to pursue her dreams of attending college and return to ACE to inspire the next generation of ACE students.
ACE Charter Schools
408-295-6008