When I came to Ace two years ago I knew in order for me to pass I needed an alternative, somewhere with fewer students where I could buckle down and get my work done. My counselor at DHS had recommended Ace to me before but from what I had heard Ace was a bad place, “where all the bad kids go.” After I visited I saw Ace was just what I needed a small place where I could get my work done without the, “he said she said drama,” that comes with going to the high school.

I’m sure you heard of Ace, if you haven’t Ace is the Alternative Center for Excellence, in other words an alternative high school. Truth is there are other reasons for kids to come to Ace besides them being a bad kid. There are kids that moved from other states and other places in our state that just couldn’t see themselves in a school with thousands of kids they didn’t know. Some kids here at Ace do need a little extra help, but the majority of us can handle our business.

Ace to a lot of kids is a second chance school. A place where I have seen a lot of kids make changes in their life and the way they live it. I’ve seen the class clown make a complete turn around and start being an adult. I’ve seen the bully become the friend that has your back. I’ve seen kids that never dreamed of going to collage starting their freshman years at WestConn and Naugatuck. I think it has something to do with the relationships you get to have with the teachers here. They become more then just a teacher. The students can actually talk to them about their real problems and get good feedback on what to do about them with out being judged. You really come to care about this place and the people in it.

Ace really isn’t the hell on earth everyone makes it out to be. It’s just another school in Danbury where kids can have a second chance to do what they need to. People make friends just like any other school. People learn new things just like any other school. Ace is just like any other school, the kids are just like any other kids, except they got a second chance.