The Academics, Career and Essential Skills (ACES) program developed by the NYC Education Department (DOE) is now going to be launched in Staten Island as well. This development comes after an extensive campaign launched by a representative of the city assembly, Michael Reilly, who spent a lot of his personal time trying to explain to the DOE why it is worth it to expand the program.
The ACES program aims to provide quality and accessible education for children with intellectual or learning disabilities. The most important aspect of the ACES program is that thanks to it, children with learning disabilities can get the chance to receive quality education in a school which is close to their homes.
Mr. Riley’s effort to expand the reach of the ACES program has been continuous over the past several months. He started pitching the idea to the DOE all the way back in April 2019.
Thankfully from the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, the ACES program will start rolling out in schools around the Staten Island area.
What is the ACES program?
The ACES program is the result of the NYC DOE’s efforts to make schools accessible to children with intellectual or learning disabilities.
Once a school becomes a member of the program, teachers with specialized training are appointed to supervise classes for children with special needs. However, for students to be able to be part of the program, they need to meet specific criteria.
While teachers and program creators recognize the needs of children with special learning needs, there are still some behavioral and academic milestones that students need to cover to be part of the ACES program. To be effective participants in the program, students need to show that they have essential social and academic knowledge.
The ACES program is just another example of how educational systems around the world are evolving to accommodate the needs of children with intellectual and learning disabilities. The ACES program represents an encouraging trend of acceptance and understanding, which should serve as an example for educational systems around the globe.
