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ACE Plus- A Squadron Classroom Adoption Program

                                                                                     

Civil Air Patrol squadrons are joining with upper grade Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) classrooms to provide "ACE Plus" aerospace/STEM support, student mentorship, and an introduction to CAP. (6th grade is the targeted grade level, but, also accepted are 5th, 7th, or 8th grade classes involved in the ACE program.)

Something GOOD has already happened at Custer Baker Intermediate School in Franklin, Indiana, as they have been "adopted" by the GLR-IN-069 Col James H Kasler Senior Squadron. Please allow Social Media / Sharing Cookies to access this content.

All teacher requests to be adopted by a CAP squadron should be coordinated through each state's Director of Aerospace Education (DAE).   (See state list HERE.)  

  • Teachers, please read and follow the Teachers Guide for further directions on the steps to follow to get started. 
  • The first step is to send the teacher section of the Request to Collaborate form to your state's DAE who will connect you with the closest CAP squadron to support you.  
  • If interested in getting ACE shirts for you and your students, check out the ACE shirt page. 

  • This program is open for "adoption connections" from 1 September until the ACE program registration closes 31 March each year. (The ACE program is the foundational program of CAP's ACE Plus program.)

  • All ACE Plus program resources are found in the right resource column. ------> 

Congratulations to the 2023 National ACE Plus Collaborative Team Award winners:  MAR-NC-070 Dan River Composite Squadron and Rockingham County Middle School in Reidsville, NC

  • Reading this award package will give other collaborative squadron and classroom teams ideas on how to make their program work.  Each collaborative team has different resources and opportunities, so each should make the best use of their own! 

  • ACE Plus participants for the 2022-2023 academic year were from all 8 regions; 21 wings; 27 squadrons; and 28 teachers with 2,228 students involved. 

  • Will YOU be an ACE Plus team for the 2023-2024 year? 

See ACE Plus info flier for squadrons, HERE. (Squadron PoC guide is HERE.)

See ACE Plus info flier for teachers, HERE.  (Teacher guide is HERE.)

Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) chapters, want to get involved?  Click HERE for details. 

Best Practice Example:

See video below of GLR-MI-059 Adrian Composite Squadron with Prairie Elementary School in Adrian, MI, and read about their collaboration, HERE.  The squadron recruited the teachers, helped them register for ACE, and then brought in adults and cadets to teach lessons and plan field trips for the students.  Next step?  Invite the age-appropriate students to visit the squadron and hopefully join as a cadet!                                

 

Read CAP.NEWS article launching the program HERE.

Read Spring '21 CAP Volunteer Magazine article about the program HERE.

View the ACE Plus Adopt Ambassadors'  introductory video HERE for a clear program overview.

                                                            

  • The ACE Plus Ambassadors have both been promoted in rank since this filming, but Col Brian Schmuck, currently the KY Wing Commander, and Cadet Lt Col Rylee Schmuck continue to not only promote the program, but participate in working with several IN Wing schools.  Their introductory video is found on the SCWG AE YouTube channel, HERE.  

  • Read about the Ambassadors' award-winning ACE collaborative program HERE.   

     Squadrons, to collaborate with the closest Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) chapter, find and contact your closest AFA chapter at the AFA Chapter Locator and ask them to partner with you.                                                      

      If the correct AFA chapter cannot be identified in the chapter locator, go to AFA/About Us/Leadership and scroll down to the Chapter Presidents section for city/state locations. 

Squadrons, click on the Program FAQs!  Any other questions, just contact adopt@capnhq.gov!

 

When collaborations begin, new opportunities for students and the teachers evolve:

                      

    

  • Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flights provide an opportunity for the teachers to see, first-hand, how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics are integral in the aviation experience. 

                  

  • CAP's STEM Kits are also great classroom enhancements! Flight simulators are especially beneficial when pilot members of CAP and the Air Force Association help with instruction!

                                                                        

  • The distinctive purple ACE shirts can be a part of the program!  See ACE shirt ordering information HERE.

               

ACE Plus partners will need to complete the ACE Plus Adopt Program Evaluation Form found HERE by the end of the school year.
If the team wishes to be nominated for the ACE Plus Adopt Program Award, complete the form HERE and return to adopt@capnhq.gov by 24 May. 

Inaugural 2020-2021 Adopt program report.

For more information, contact adopt@capnhq.gov.

 

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