Growing
from nothing more than an idea in 2003, the Trumbull Academic Challenge for Excellence
(ACE) Foundation is much like a booster club for competitive academic groups and civic engagement clubs throughout
the town's public schools, as well as for Trumbull students participating in similar groups in other schools.
It was originally conceived as a group to provide
support to Trumbull High School students and teachers interested in going "above
and beyond" activities traditionally available in the classroom. This included,
e.g., the We the People, Federal Challenge, and Math teams and the Eagle's Eye
and Trillium publishing groups.
Since then, the Foundation's board of
directors broadened its charter to enable it to provide its support to competitive
academic activities with similar academic goals in Trumbull's middle and elementary
schools too.
Continuing its evolution, the Foundation's charter was most recently expanded to enable support to civic engagement groups as well as Trumbull students who are members of these two types of groups outside of Trumbull's public schools.
In recent years, local and state funding has not fully supported
the escalating needs and responsibilities placed on school districts throughout
the country. Outside financial support for these increasing demands is now more critical than ever.
Fortunately in Trumbull, the ACE Foundation has emerged
as a major contributor of supplementary funding and other support to fuel competitive
academic groups that provide their participating students with additional learning
opportunities and greater intellectual stimulation as they apply their energies
in competitions outside the Trumbull community, as well as civic engagement groups that are focused on developing participating students' social sensitivities in improving the world around them.
We’re
sure you will be as proud as we are of these groups’ activities and
accomplishments, many of which are described in this website's Celebrating
Accomplishments, Teams We Support, and Teams
in the News section.
In addition,
the Foundation has sponsored annual Recognition Celebration events
the past seven years for the groups' participants and their family members of the teams. With a format expanded in 2010 to include the middle schools, more than 600 students, their families,
team advisors, and guests attended the 2011 celebrating, tripling attendance of earlier
years. Each event has featured speakers and a video to help celebrate the years'
successes as well as inspire underclassmen to build upon the teams' legacies.
The ACE Foundation has provided financial and other assistance totaling
more than $95,000 to more than sixty groups since its inception in 2004.
It has raised its revenue through various fund-raising events, sponsorship and sales income associated with
its production of the Trumbull Town Calendar, involvement with the town's annual
Summer Concert Series and Westfield's annual Fireworks Spectacular, participation in the annual Stew Leonard's Holiday Cooperative Work Program, and patron contributions.
There are additional
programs like these that we hope the Foundation's success may allow Trumbull's
schools to introduce for broader student participation and enhanced opportunities
to develop intellectual and leadership, and civic skills in the future. Students have demonstrated
their interest and teachers have shown their enthusiasm for additional resources
so that together we can advance the academic mission of Trumbull's public schools
even more.
The possibilities are endless, the opportunities exciting.
All together, these will provide enriched educational experiences for our students
that are, in many ways, hard to even imagine today. The Foundation - and your
active support - will provide unprecedented opportunities for Trumbull's students… and that's a very exciting prospect!
These activities enrich
our community for the benefit of everyone.
We hope you'll
demonstrate your support of the ACE Foundation's efforts by joining
our group of volunteers, purchasing the Trumbull Town
Calendar, and/or making a patron contribution. We
also hope you will show your support for our
sponsors and thank our patrons who together have provided the means to produce
editions of the calendar and resource guide. Perhaps the photos of Trumbull sights will inspire
you and your family to visit these places and events to enjoy the best of what
Trumbull has to offer.
We are very proud of our students'
past accomplishments and have faith that, with the type of support the ACE Foundation
is poised to provide, they will be outstanding in the future.
