Girls Inc. of Central Alabama’s Accelerating Confidence in Education (ACE) program is designed to provide recurring educational and emotional support to girls at our Crestwood Center, ranging in age from six to eighteen.

Through this program, trained mentors are assigned to tutor the same girl or two each week for an entire semester. In particular, mentors focus on assisting in Math, English/Literacy, and Science. 

The ACE program grew out of the challenges faced by our girls in recent years. According to 2020-21 test results compiled by AL.com’s Education Lab, only 9% of students in Jefferson County met grade-level standards for proficiency in math last spring. Just 21% of students achieved proficient scores in Science, while 33% met standards for English Language proficiency.

These results aren’t due to a lack of effort. According to our Annual Survey, 94% of girls say that even when they get bad grades, they try their best in school. Unfortunately, schools just don’t have the resources to work with each individual student on a one-to-one basis.

Each ACE mentor helps to fill this gap by developing positive relationships and providing educational assistance to one or two girls over the course of a semester.

 Our mentors also help identify social and emotional challenges the girls may be facing. Our Crestwood Learning Coordinator, who holds an MSW, works with each girl and her family to identify additional resources the student may need.

Do you want to help us make a difference in accelerating girls’ education? We are still looking for mentors willing to dedicate ONE hour of their time each week to inspire girls’ confidence in education.

Apply today by clicking here!

This article was featured in the February 2022 edition of the Bold Bulletin, Girls Inc. of Central Alabama’s monthly e-newsletter. Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe below!