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ACES Academy recruiting students

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ALPENA — Alternative Choices for Educational Success (ACES) Academy is now recruiting students for the 2019-20 school year.

The school is for students who want to learn in a different way, catch up on lost credits, or be in smaller classes. Principal Matt Poli said the goal next year is to have around 80 students. The school currently has 74 students.

Current ACES students must also apply to return as students.

“We have students that need credit recovery, but we also have a group of students that are interested in finishing high school maybe at a faster pace and here you can do that,” Poli said.

Before a student can enroll at ACES, they have to go through an interview process. They complete the application, then sit down for an interview to see if they’re a fit for ACES. During the interview, the school looks at the student’s transcript, talks about the student’s goals, and tries to figure out how the school can help the student.

“The nice thing about this place is, when we interview, it’s got to be one of those win-win for both sides,” Poli said.

The classes at the school have around 20 students each. Poli said having smaller classes is easier for some students, because they can have more one-on-one time with the teachers.

“When you ask the kids, their number-one reason for coming over here isn’t … that they’re trying to get away from something, sometimes it is, but usually what they’re trying to get away from is size,” Poli said.

ACES has four community partners — the Alpena Senior Citizens Center, Performance Locker, Art in the Loft, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — with whom the students work on different projects. Art in the Loft will be new next year, Poli said, and the students will be able to visit Art in the Loft and complete large projects.

“We’re hoping October or November to do a couple of days of it and then roll it out in January,” Poli said.

The school also has Flex Friday every other week, during which students can go to school and get work done or take time to earn extra credit with the school’s community partners. Poli said students wouldn’t be able to do that anywhere else.

Applications are now available at the Alpena High School main office and counseling office or at ACES, 700 Pinecrest St.

The first interview window is from May 28 to June 5, with another window in mid-August for students who wish to start at ACES in the fall.

For more information, visit the Alpena Public Schools website at alpenaschools.org or contact ACES at 989-358-5170.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.

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