Zip Code Crisis and School Choice Alternative In almost all communities in America, schools are assigned to students based on 5 simple numbers, their zip code. Unfortunately, this crisis leads
There’s a crisis in American education. Too many kids from low-income families are falling between the cracks simply because they’re stuck in failing schools and can’t afford any other options. It’s happening right here in Louisiana where only 74.4% of students from low-income families graduate from high school.
ACE Scholarships was founded in 2000 to provide these low-income parents with school choice for their families through partial scholarships to K-12 private schools. In 2012, ACE Scholarships expanded its efforts nationally, to help more students receive the opportunity to have a choice in their K-12 education career. Louisiana was the third state of ACE’s national efforts, now serving 2,010 students across the state in 200 partner private schools.
ACE serves children whose families qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program, and the average income for our ACE families is $34,107 a year. So far in Louisiana, we’ve awarded 9,473 scholarships with a cumulative worth of more than $39M, helping to send kids from low-income families to the schools of their choice. And the results are amazing with 90+% of ACE scholars consistently graduating high school. Moreover, they’re graduating from college at a rate nearly double that of their peers from predominantly low-income high schools.*
Additional Information for ACE Louisiana:
- ACE qualifies for the Louisiana Tuition Donation Credit (TDC) Program.
- ACE Scholarships Louisiana is an approved School Tuition Organization (STO) participating in the TDC Program.
- Receive a 95% state income tax credit as well as a federal tax deduction on the non-credit portion of your gift—enabling taxpayers to earn a tax benefit of up to 97%.
*All ACE graduation stats based on national numbers.