Abstract

The purpose of this federally funded 5-year project, ACE (Actual Community Empowerment) for English Language Learners (ELL-ACE), is to develop, provide, and evaluate high-quality Professional Development (PD) activities that will result in improved academic achievement with enhanced English skills and motivation of ELL students. An online PD course is currently being developed based on ACE Reading and related research over the past decade. ACE Reading is a literacy improvement program, developed and implemented for students with reading difficulties in communities with high levels of need. With US Department of Education support, we developed a family of ACE programs, from preschool Pre-K ACE to TeenACE and beyond, incorporating multimedia and community resources. Our efficacy studies have demonstrated a reduction in students being placed in exclusionary services; 95% of project participants improve their reading 1-5 grade levels, becoming comparable to their classmates. The technology and protocols produced promising evaluations in mainstream US (Philadelphia and Kentucky), in English-as-second-language countries (Micronesia, American Samoa), and in Hawai‘i in between. This article provides a brief overview of diverse ACE programs, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and the current implementation status of ELL-ACE and lessons learned.