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ACE is “a model for the nation” says Mitt Romney

May 27th, 2010

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Mitt Romney speaking to 1,000 guests at the ACE luncheon

Today, close to 1,000 business leaders met in downtown Denver to celebrate ACE’s 10th anniversary and hear from former Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who called ACE “a model for the nation.”

“What you’ve accomplished here … is really a remarkable thing,” Romney continued. “I believe you’re going to find in this country more and more people who stand up to the forces that oppose choices in our schools, and recognize that choice and competition is good for our kids, and kids should come first.”

“These principles of choice and competition are making a difference, and they will make a difference across the entire nation. It’s a job we’ve got to get done.”

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Students for ACE partner school Excel Institute perform the national anthem.

ACE founder Alex Cranberg also addressed the audience, as did former Governor Bill Owens and Chairman of the Board Ralph Nagel.

But despite the influential business leaders who spoke, it was a college student who stole the show. Richard Vidal is a former ACE scholar who will graduate from Colorado School of Mines this December with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Business/Economics.

ACE Alumnus Richard Vidal

ACE Alumnus Richard Vidal

Richard was several years behind grade level before he entered his ACE private middle school. Through hard work and a safe and structured environment, Richard built an academic foundation that has led to his current - and future - success. He credits those tough years working to catch up with his classmates as motivation for his success in college.

Soon Richard will realize his dream of working in the oil and gas industry, as he already has job offers from Shell, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil.

“Your support of me was not wasted,” Richard told the 1,000 attentive guests. “And it is not wasted on the hundreds of other ACE kids.”

Richard will serve as the Chairman of the ACE Alumni Board that will seek to identify other successful former ACE scholars and get them more engaged in the mission and vision of ACE.

“Today there are thousands of children who are several years behind grade level, just like I was. Please take a chance on them, like you once took a chance on me.”

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Ed Reform in the NYT

May 18th, 2010

The New York Times, in yesterday ’s Sunday magazine, jumped headfirst into the ed reform movement with  in a lengthy article about, among other things, the shrinking power of the unions, and the growing realization from politicians that unions are on the wrong side of this issue.

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2010 Graduation Rate - 93%

May 1st, 2010

For the past decade ACE has increased graduation rates among Colorado low-income kids. When provided access to quality schools, and given a choice, kids can excel.

This year was no exception.

The Class of 2010 posted a 93% graduation rate! This compares to low-income graduation rates of 49% in Denver and 57% in Aurora.

What’s more, ACE kids graduate ready for college. 100% of ACE’s 2009 graduates are still in college today, and every single 2010 grad has specific plans to attend college.

We’re closing the achievement gap. What does this mean?

A high school diploma can improve the quality of life, and our entire state economy and society. Research shows that high school dropouts cost communities $2 million over their lifetimes when factoring decreased earning potential, increased reliance on government assistance and increased likelihood of spending time in prison.

In Colorado, 61% of the 21,178 low-income students who should have graduated in 2009 actually earned a diploma

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Posted in ACE Kids, Statistics | No Comments »

Meet Angel

April 15th, 2010

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Five year old Angel tells us that the best thing about his ACE school is “learning art and music and playing basketball with my friends during P.E. We even went to a Nuggets game a long time ago.” (That’s Kindergarten-speak for early last season.)

“I used to have a dog named Chulo,” he continues, “but he died and I was very sad.” It seems this five-year-old has endured more than his share of sadness. “He had an older brother who died and there’s never been any mention of his dad,” explains his teacher. Angel’s way of expressing how he copes is that, “My mom puts band-aids on me.”

“Angel had problems with social skills and fear when he arrived” says his principal, “but he has responded very well to the counseling that our staff provides.” It must be helping, because today he lights up as he says, “I like my school ‘cause I have lots of friends here.”

It seems that Angel’s mom has also struggled – with the ACE requirement to match her half of his tuition. But that has only motivated her to, “check with his teachers nearly every day to be sure Angel is doing his work,” says the principal. “And actually, I think it may be that mom feels safe here too.”

We ask Angel what he wants to be when he grows up, to which he confidently replies, “President!” Well, a quality education might prove useful.

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Posted in ACE Kids, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Marching for their future

March 25th, 2010

A colleague sent us this powerful photograph from a recent march in Florida. Thousands of parents, children and educators marching for school choice.

They marched to support a bill that will strengthen Florida’s tax credit scholarship program, that provides funds to low-income families to attend one of 1,300 qualified private schools. There are currently 28,000 students taking advantage of these scholarships.

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Posted in National News | 1 Comment »

Defeat of tax credits to attend private school

March 8th, 2010

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The Denver Post carried an op-ed online by ACE’s Executive Director Norton Rainey on the defeat of a tax credit bill that would have given low-income families access to quality private schools.

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Posted in CO Legislature, Colorado News | 2 Comments »

ACE Welcomes Mitt Romney to Denver!

March 2nd, 2010

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ACE has lots to celebrate during its Tenth Anniversary this year, and we can think of no better way than with a special luncheon with former Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney!

Governor Romney is a great advocate of school choice, and we are honored to have him join us for this one-time luncheon in support of ACE.


This luncheon is proudly brought to you by the Luncheon Host Committee and presented by our generous sponsors:


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ACE 10th Anniversary Spring Luncheon with

Governor Mitt Romney

Thursday, May 27, 2010

12 PM - 1:30 PM

Denver Marriott City Center

To RSVP visit www.acescholarships.org/romney

There is a cost to attend; visit our online registration page for details


Like us, Governor Romney recognizes the social and economic benefits to improving graduation rates and producing a well-educated workforce. He knows that our financial well being tomorrow depends on the quality of our education system today.


So please consider joining us for what should be an exciting celebration. This will be a unique opportunity to hear one of our nation’s leading policy experts discuss the critical issue of reforming our public school system so every child has access to a quality school.


Attendees will receive a complimentary, autographed copy of Governor Romney’s new book just released today, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”


We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate ten years of providing hope to at-risk children!

Seating is limited for this one-time event, so please visit our online registration page at

www.acescholarships.org/romney; all proceeds benefit ACE, a 501(c)(3), and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed under the law.

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ACE 10th Anniversary Spring Luncheon Host Committee

March 1st, 2010

Luncheon Host Committee

ACE Board of Trustees

William Armstrong, Chairman, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company

Don Bailey, Chairman & CEO, Triton Investment Company

Kendall Bailey, Arby’s/ The Bailey Company

Bill Bergner, President, Berco Resources, LLC

Richard N. Brown, Denver

George Caulkins III, Greendeck Capital

Jay Cleary, Principal, Financial Designs, Ltd.

Terry Considine, Chairman & CEO, AIMCO

Alex Cranberg, Chairman, Aspect Energy

Peter Dea, President & CEO, Cirque Resources

Steven Farber, President and Founding Partner, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck

John Fox, Chairman, MWHC Holding Inc.

Mike Fries, President  & CEO, Liberty Global

Steve Friess, Friess, Inc.

Charlie Gallagher, Chairman & CEO, Gallagher Enterprises

Francisco Garcia, Founder & CEO, Garcia International

Caleb Gates, Retired V.P. & Principal, Denver Investment Advisors

Henry Gordon, President, Strata Capital

John Ikard, President & CEO, FirstBank

Bud Isaacs, Chairman, RIM Operating

Mike Kennedy, President, Kennedy Real Estate Investments

Don Law, President, Prima Exploration

John Leede, Manager-Exploration, Leede Operating Company

Dick Lewis, Chairman & CEO, Avant Premium Water

Scott Lowery, Chairman, CEO & President, Collect America

Tom Marsh, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems

Anne McCarthy, Executive Vice President, Western Union

Ed McVaney, Retired President & Founder, J.D. Edwards

Julie Mork, Managing Director, ECA Foundation

Jim Mulvihill, Principal, Black Creek Capital

Ralph Nagel, President, Top Rock LLC and Chairman of ACE Board of Trustees

Michael W. O’Shaughnessy, President, Lario Oil & Gas Company

Jack Overstreet, President, Legacy Energy

Bill Owens, Colorado Governor 1999-2007

Roger Parker

Tom Petrie, Vice Chairman, Executive Client Coverage Group, Merrill Lynch Petrie

Jim Piccone, President, Resolute Natural Resources

Paul Rady, Chairman & CEO, Antero Resources Corporation

Ben Rainey, President & CEO, The Pando Group

Walter Rakowich, CEO, ProLogis

Scott Reiman, President, Hexagon Investments

Blair Richardson, Partner, Bow River Capital

Dick Robinson, Co-Chairman, Robinson Dairy

Jeff Ross, President and CEO, Ross Aviation

Dick Saunders, Chairman & Treasurer, Saunders Construction Company

Rick Schmitz, Partner, SKS Ventures, LLC

Vince Schmitz, Chairman, Citywide Banks

Scot Sellers, CEO, Archstone-Smith

Mark Sexton, CEO, Evergreen Energy, Inc.

Eric Sipf, Chairman, Imerica

Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas

George Solich, President, Cordillera Energy Partners, LLC

Dell Van Gilder, President, Van Gilder  Insurance Corp.

Luis Villarreal, President, Save Our Youth

Bonnie Vivian, Retired President & CEO, Denver Biomedical

Jim Wallace, Partner, BWAB Exploration

Eric Weissmann, Managing Director, Kachi Partners

Peter Wells, Chairman, Wells Property Holdings

Scot Wetzel, Chairman, United Western Bank

Pat Wiesner, President, Wiesner Publishing

Wayne Williamson, Partner, Plexus Capital

Don Wolf, CEO, Quantum Resources, LLC

Earl Wright, President & CEO, AMG National Trust Bank

ACE Board of Advisors

Ben Addoms, President, Quintess

Robert Attai, Partner, Husch Blackwell Sanders, LLP

Brad Billingsley, Partner, Lockton Companies

Tony Bolazina, President, Northern Trust Bank

Lindsay Brown, Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle

Judy Cain, Partner, EKS&H

Blake Carlson, Partner, Carlson Associates

Melissa Corrado-Harrison, First Vice President, Merrill Lynch

Michael Davis, Associate, Greenberg Traurig

Debbie Donner, President, Han Chaparral

Rick Eldridge, President and CEO, Intuitive Insurance Corporation

Nate Ford, Partner, Faegre & Benson, LLP

Eric Holt, Managing Director, Bessemer Trust

Mike Hommel, Owner, Designs by Sundown

Patrick Johnson, President, SimonDavis, Inc.

Hendrik Jordaan, Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP

Brian Jumps, Partner, Kamlet Reichert, LLP

Randy Kenworthy, Managing Partner, Caddis Capital

Kurt Kittleson, President, Concord Energy

David Livingston, President, United Western Bank

Bruce MacDonald, President, MacDonald Hardwood Floors

Tate McCoy, Executive Vice President, Lockton Companies

Bryan Miller, Vice President, InnerWorkings

Tim Miller, CEO, Synergy Services Inc.

Kevin Mitchell, Partner, RedCloud Capital, Inc.

Marcus Mollmann, Owner, New West Investments

Todd Neugebauer, Partner, CHx Capital, LLC

Rick O’Donnell, President, Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence

David Puchi, Managing Director, Baceline Investments

Tim Schafer, Principal, Schafer Thomas, P.C.

Joseph Smith, Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP

Jerry Sommer

Josh Stewart, CEO, X Jet

Shawn Stigler, Partner, Stigler, Wussow & Braverman Ltd.

Mike Ward, Owner, Mike Ward Infiniti

Eric Wolf, Partner, Bow River Capital

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School Choice Bill Killed

February 24th, 2010

Yesterday the House Committee on Finance considered HB 10-1296, sponsored by Representative Spencer Swalm and Senator Josh Penry. Norton Rainey, ACE executive director testified in support of the bill, as did Jacque Graham, Principal at Inner City School and Theresa Gallegos, the mother of an ACE scholar.

The idea behind HB 1296 came from former U.S. Senator Hank Brown, and it would provide low-income families with an annual $1,000 tax credit for enrolling their child in a private school. The bill would also provide a grant of $1,000 to any public school that loses a student to a private school as a consequence of the tax credit.

Regrettably, the bill was killed on a Party line vote, six to five.

It is unfortunate, as the bill would have given low-income families a tremendous financial incentive to send their child to a private school, reduced public school class sizes as more children took advantage of the tax credit, and provided public schools with a $1,000 grant to help them give the children that remain behind a better quality education.

The bill would have even had a positive fiscal impact on our state, with a savings of $4.9 million in the first year, $8.7 million in the second year, and as much as $36 million in ten years, according to the official fiscal note prepared by Legislative Council.

It’s hard to imagine rejecting a bill that would do so much:

  • Provide a much-needed financial benefit to low-income families;
  • Allow low-income children to attend quality private schools;
  • Support public schools with a $1,000 grant for not teaching a child who left for private school;
  • Save the State of Colorado millions of dollars during one of the worst recessions in our history and at a time when the Legislature is proposing to cut K-12 education spending.

During the hearing several comments stood out as particularly alarming:

  • The full-time lobbyist for the Colorado Education Association (the teacher’s union) testified against the bill, stating that the legislation “doesn’t support public education.” This statement perfectly sums up what is wrong with the CEA. The lobbyist was right that the bill’s intent was not to support public education, even though it would have provided each school $1,000 for every child they lost. The bill was intended to support children, not the bureaucracy of our public education system… and shouldn’t that be the point?

  • Other representatives who voted “no” agreed with the CEA lobbyist, saying the bill “undermined” public education. It’s hard to imagine that giving a public school $1,000 for every child that leaves their school would be seen as undermining public schools. After all, most of the children who would choose to leave would do so because the public school wasn’t effective. Talk about rewarding failure!

While it was frustrating to watch this bill go down in defeat, ACE was proud to support the bill and share with the committee some of the amazing things that are happening through this organization. ACE will continue to provide these low-income children with immediate relief from failing public schools, and we will continue to support efforts to extend school choice to every child in Colorado.

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Posted in CO Legislature, Colorado News | 1 Comment »

Betsy DeVos

February 1st, 2010

ACE was proud to host Betsy DeVos for a special businesswomen’s luncheon on February 1, 2010 at the Denver Country Club.

A special thanks to the Host Committee and our Luncheon Sponsor A. Line Boutique.

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Host Committee

Betty Arkell, Kendall Bailey, Judy Cain, Cathy Carpenter Dea, Debbie Donner, Sidney Gates, Emily Keimig, Laurie Leprino, Michelle Livingston, Anne McCarthy, Susan Morrice, Heather Mulvihill, Diane Padalino, Laurie Richardson, Jeanne Saunders, Janice Sinden, Michelle St. Pierre, Jennie Virgilio, Bonnie Vivian, Kristi Wells, Krista Wolf


Betsy DeVos

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As a leader in both the political arena and the national school reform movement for over two decades, Betsy DeVos combines a passion for equal opportunity in education with significant political experience.

As a board member of the Advocates for School Choice, a national advocacy organization for the school choice movement, and as a board member of the Education Freedom Fund, a Michigan-based scholarship organization she has led with her husband, Betsy has devoted significant time and energy to ensuring that children from disadvantaged families have educational options and hope for a brighter future.

She was also instrumental in bringing about the emergence of political action on behalf of school choice when, in 2001, she founded the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP), a Michigan-based political action committee which was the precursor to All Children Matter and which led the fight to build a bi-partisan coalition of supporters for charter schools in Michigan’s legislature.

Betsy has been deeply committed to working with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure that every child has equal access to a quality education. Betsy’s vision for All Children Matter is to continue building and expanding a bi-partisan political coalition that advances education reform and equal opportunities in education for all children.

Experienced in the private sector, Betsy DeVos is Chairman of The Windquest Group, a privately held small business founded in 1989.

Betsy is also very active in the community and currently serves on a number of national and local boards, including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Kids Hope USA, The Acton Institute, and Compass Arts.

A graduate of Holland Christian High School, Betsy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Political Science from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Betsy and her husband, Dick, have four children, aged 25 to 16.  They reside in Ada, Michigan.

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