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 Missouri where only 80.1% 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 2017, Missouri joined ACE’s national efforts, now serving 86 students across the state in 41 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 $35,280 a year.

So far in Missouri we’ve awarded nearly $800,000 in scholarships to low-income families helping to send 342 kids to the schools their families have decided are right for them. 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.*

*All ACE graduation stats based on national numbers.