Xionaja

This high-energy eight-year-old loves action sports and always seems on the edge of laughter. Xionaga (pronounced “Zionaja”) tells us, “I really like school, and especially music class because it’s fun to perform and I have the gift of gab – my mom told me that!” But don’t pigeonhole him quite yet because he quickly adds, “I also like language arts because I like writing sentences and spelling.”

Xionaja attends one of the original ACE partner schools in northeast Denver, founded by a veteran education innovator and disciplinarian who passionately preaches that, “Education is a commitment. If you run a school as a business versus a commitment to change lives, then something gets watered down.”

But if you think that approach is a relic of some educational past, don’t tell Xionaja: “I like school because it’s a challenge every day. I have to study hard and keep my name off the board for getting in trouble – or at least ‘earn’ it back off,” he says with a grin. This kid’s gonna go far.