The Alternative Center for Excellence, (ACE), is a one of the oldest buildings in all of Danbury, and with its age comes many memories. This year at ACE, the students and teachers both face a very critical situation. The board of education has had a set budget for schools, but due to the failing economy and debt in Connecticut, a budget cut has been made. Now, because of the budget cut, one staff member at ACE might loss their job.  Within the past couple of weeks, both students and teachers came together and decided upon having small speeches and presentations at the Board of Ed meeting that had occurred on Wednesday, April 14^th, 2010.

Taylor Garcia, Rick Cherico, Jazmin Marcy, Cassie Urban, Nicky Flynn, and Juleesa Philips are all current students who had attended the Board of Ed meeting that Wednesday. “It seemed like well over fifty percent of the people at the meeting came to speak on behalf of ACE,” says Jazmin Marcy, a student currently attending ACE who also spoke that night. Many people that night had gathered together to speak about ACE, and how every staff member shows their own bit of significance at ACE. Both students who have attended ACE years ago and parents who were just huge supporters of ACE showed up to the Board of Ed meeting.

Here at ACE, we are a little family. Everyone here takes care of each other, and everyone around us, and everyone at the meeting made sure to emphasize the importance of that to whomever was at the meeting. “Removing a staff member from ACE is like taking a parent from their child,” said multiple students and graduates that night at the meeting. It became pretty clear that many people that night were very worried about the loss of a staff member, mostly because of how close everyone at ACE is. Many people who went up to talk on behalf of ACE illustrated that they were nervous to stand before the Board of Ed, while others came off very strong and dignified. Some of the people claimed to be nervous due to the fact that they were worried about being looked down upon because of the reputation ACE has, while students and graduates who came off proud said it was because they were determined to break the reputation.

As stated earlier, many students and staff members were worried about who they were going to lose. But the day after the Board of Ed meeting, good news spread through the school as teachers congratulated the students that came to speak. Many people that night were nervous, but once they finished speaking became very content with what they said. “You did a good job you guys – we’re proud,” Dave, the principal of ACE,  said many times to the students who went to the meeting. In the end, everyone was very content.

All in all no one but the Board of Ed members are quite sure what’s going to happen at ACE. “I’m a little nervous but I think everything will be okay,” Jazmin Marcy of. Everyone at ACE seems rather confident in what has happened, and surely enough they have a reason to be. Everyone at the school stuck together pretty well, and made what could be a very upsetting situation seem all right.
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CAPTION – Cassie Urban and Jazmin Marcy speak at the Board of Education meeting in support of ACE teachers.