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Alfred

When we met Alfred this past spring, this four-year-old had just finished his “Pre-K” early childhood curriculum and was excited about kindergarten. He already reads at a first grade level and loves his teachers, along with the lunch that they provide every day.

Alfred’s ACE school serves an inner-city neighborhood suffering from a crime rate triple the rest of Denver; 45% of births are to single mothers. By necessity, this private school specializes in teaching kids whose angelic faces often belie a lifetime of trauma. In this case, Alfred witnessed the tragic suicide of his father.

“He really needs the stability of our school,” explains his principal. “Alfred is being raised by extended family members for now and getting bounced from home to home. To be truthful, there are some days they simply fail to get him to school.

“Yet,” this veteran educator continues, “once instilled with a proper respect for self and others, along with appropriate boundaries and lots of personalized guidance, children like Alfred can learn to succeed, versus getting lost in a bureaucracy.

“While inner-city school ventures like this are not cheap, these young lives are well worth it.”