By james art The national aerospace-related youth STEM education program, Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE), begins each academic year with a national ACE launch event hosted by the previous year’s ACE National School of the Year. This academic year, the host school was Grayhawk Elementary in Scottsdale, Arizona. With more than 600 students, staff, community leaders and parents in attendance during the October event, AFA’s Frank Luke Chapter President, Stephanie Meyer, presented the school with a check to help support the cost of the “sea of purple shirts” that students and staff wore.
AFA has supported CAP’s nationwide ACE program for more than a decade to provide grants for ACE awards, AFA chapter representatives to support classroom programs, and donations to help provide the distinctive purple ACE shirts for classrooms. All ACE materials, t-shirts and certificates carry the AFA logo to help share the message that AFA and CAP are partners in aerospace/STEM education. In many areas, AFA chapters partner with CAP squadrons to support ACE classrooms in the ACE Plus program.
The ACE program is a grade-level specific program that supports kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms using the aerospace theme to promote all areas of academic education, good character and physical fitness to lead a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Since the program began in 2007, more than 750,000 students have been affected in thousands of classrooms across the country. Last year alone, over 100,000 ACE students took part in this motivational STEM program. Teachers boast increased science test scores, improved student behavior in class, and more students becoming interested in a variety of careers related to space science, taught through the 22-lesson curriculum provided for each grade level . Some students, ages 12 and up, are introduced to the CAP Cadet Program and join a local squadron to have an opportunity to better explore aviation, space and cyber programs and future careers.
During the 2024 ACE Lift-off event in Arizona, CAP’s national ACE Program Leaders presented the 2024 ACE National School of the Year Award to Head of School Eli Hubbell and the 2024 ACE National Coordinator Award .to the school’s STEM specialist, Michelle Lindstrom. Other guests from CAP were in attendance, including Arizona Wing Director of Aerospace Education Lt. Col. Ron Marks, Falcon Composite Squadron 305 Color Guard and several cadets who spoke to the students about becoming pilots and the opportunities in the CAP cadet program.
CAP also provided a special Cessna flight during the event, where the school nurse and PTO vice president were able to field questions from students on the ground to describe their flight from above.
School System Superintendent Dr. Jason Reynolds was joined by others from his staff, the Board of Trustees and the Central Office Cabinet, and Scottsdale Mayor Dave Ortega. Also supporting the event were parents of students and community members from the Scottsdale Fire Department, Native Air Life Flight Helicopters, the Arizona Astronomical Society and the Arizona Science Center, each providing activities and mentors for the students’ special day in STEM.
