Houston area ACE Scholarship students head to college

Among the thousands of ACE Scholarship Recipients with a brilliant future ahead of them are two exceptional students. This includes a young man from Houston who will be attending Clemson University next month, and the daughter of a single mother from Austin who is on her way to the University of Texas.

A gifted basketball player, Jason recently graduated from St. Pius X High School in Houston. During the ninth grade he suffered an injury and sank into depression impacting his grades. Jason’s school came to the rescue helping Jason and his mother with counseling and academic support so he could get back on track. Jason’s mother shared that she didn’t know what she would have done without the generosity and support of St. Pius X. After successfully completing the ninth grade Jason continued to work hard throughout his remaining high school years and will be attending Clemson University in South Carolina.

After her father passed away when she was only four years old, Nadely was raised by her single mother who spoke little English. While attending an ACE Scholarship event, her mother shared that Nadely had been in many different schools. With the support of an ACE Scholarship, Nadely was able to attend Chinquapin Preparatory School in Highlands just outside Houston. The school was a great fit for Nadely providing the support she needed to perform academically while also helping her come out of her shell and more fully engage. Forever changed, Nadely is now headed to the University of Texas in Austin.

More than 90% of ACE Scholars graduate from high school each year and are enrolling in and graduating from college at rates that are comparable to students from predominantly high-income high schools.  

Founded in 2000 by Alex Cranberg, Charlie Gallagher, Ralph Nagel, John Saeman, John Walton, and the late Ed McVaney, ACE Scholarships allows low-income parents the freedom to choose the K-12 school that provides an ideal learning environment and best fits their child’s academic, social and personal needs.

ACE serves Texas children from families that qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program (FRLP) with an average household income of only $36,557 a year. ACE has provided 3,393 scholarships to low-income families in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth over the last few years. Students can apply for an ACE scholarship by contacting a participating private school which are awarded applications each spring based on available program funding. Private schools who would like to become an ACE partner may contact the program online at schools@acescholarships.org. If you’d like to donate to ACE and help more students get the quality education they deserve, please visit acescholarships.org/donate