ACE Scholarships (Dallas & Fort Worth)

Too many children in the U.S. do not have access to the quality education they deserve. While children of middle and high-income families have the privilege to attend high-performing public or private schools, children of financially disadvantaged families do not. Many of the schools that serve lower-income neighborhoods are poorly funded and underperforming, and as a result, their road to high academic achievement and success is far more arduous.

ACE Scholarships believes that a child's education should not be determined by his or her zip code. In order to break the cycle of inequality in education, ACE provides underserved children with access to quality K-12 schools via partial tuition scholarships. ACE is currently partnered with 78 private schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro area that offer diverse communities of teachers, classmates, and curriculums. An ACE scholarship is an opportunity for lower-income children to experience the value of attending a high-performing school. However, the positive effects of an ACE scholarship extend beyond the students and their families, helping establish stable neighborhoods and communities.

With $2,000 per-year scholarships for K-8 students and $3,000 per-year for high school, ACE is part of the solution to reverse the crisis of inequality in education. The average ACE scholarship is $2,500, and by partnering with dedicated individuals, businesses and foundations, we have the potential to give hundreds-even thousands of children the opportunity to receive a quality education. Our program is unique in that it is purely need-based: we exclusively serve children whose families qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch, and this is the only requirement for receiving a maintaining an ACE scholarship.

ACE believes that parents know the educational needs of their students, best. Students apply to ACE and their chosen school in the spring, and are notified of the decision in the early summer. An ACE scholarship will follow a student throughout his/her K-12 journey, provided the family continues to qualify financially and the student remains enrolled in one of our partner schools. ACE plans to provide 317 scholarships at 48 schools for the 2023-24 school year.

Our Needs

Currently, ACE's greatest need is funding for the K-12 scholarship program. With 72% of students in DISD qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch, the need for quality educational choices for lower-income students is quite high. As a result, ACE intends to grow the program in order to serve as many lower-income children as possible.