ACE Pathway-Architecture, Construction and Engineering

Digital literacy [where concepts of color, form, and collage are part of the everyday narrative] demands that we treat art as the next R, just as important as the traditional 3 Rs. This is one of the most pivotal shifts in literacy that the digital age has inspired,and we should not deny our students these important literacy skills. (Ohler, J., 2009, Orchestrating the Media Collage, Educational Leadership, 66(6) 8-13)

WELCOME CLASS OF 2025!

Do you have an interest in pursuing a rigorous college-prep pathway focused on math, science, art, engineering, and architectural design? If you are an incoming 9th grader and would like to join the ACE Academy, please send an email to me, Karen J. Melander at melanderk@sfusd.edu. ACE Academy is a fast-moving program for high achieving students that can be entered in any grade(dependent upon space- preference is given to existing ACE students). 32 ACE 1 students are cored in Art and Architecture and biology. They are also required to take geometry and algebra 1 concurrently. There is a summer assignment every year. 

Many gifted students are bored in school.  The ACE Academy (art, architecture, construction, and engineering) was created to offer motivated and/or gifted students a higher level of academic instruction in reading, writing, mathematics and the arts so that they will be able to access college level programs in architecture, engineering,  and or other more selective areas of study when they graduate from ALHS.  A complete education must be a vehicle to  incorporate tactile, visual, analytical, cognitive, social and emotional intelligences.  We hope to train students to be motivated, thoughtful and joyful learners, while also gaining the skills necessary to successfully compete for admission to selective schools such as Cal Poly SLO, the UC system and private colleges.

• Students will also be introduced to careers in art, architecture, engineering and related fields.

ACE 1 SUMMER ASSIGNMENT All ACE 1 students (incoming freshman and sophomores) are required to read three books of their choice. One of the books must be from the ALHS English dept. 9th grade reading selections (check their web page). Book reports will be submitted on the google classroom.

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WHO: Interested 9th-grade students should request to enroll in the ACE Academy. Preference is given to students who express a strong interest in architecture and engineering and who have demonstrated proficiency in math and reading in the 7th and 8th grades. Students who have a low GPA or attendance issues should apply in the 10th grade after improving their academic record in the 9th grade.  As soon as you receive your acceptance notification, contact Ms. Melander to apply- Melanderk@sfusd.edu. Spaces are limited and generally fill up by June 1st for boys.

WHAT: The curriculum in Art and Architecture is a “hands-on” application of principles explored in the required concurrent classes of geometry and algebra. 9th grade ACE students will also share a biology class to give them the opportunity to form a social community for their first year in a large (2,000+), urban, comprehensive high school. We also offer an after school studio/study hall, where students meet, snack and help one another catch up on their school work. __________________________________________________________________________

ACE Academy Instructors:

Karen Melander, Architecture, Advanced Architecture, and AP Art History

Jeff Kim, Science ACE 1

Daniel Stingle, AP 3D Studio Design ACE ¾

Kathleen Lussier- West, AP 2D Studio Design ACE 3/4

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ACE ACADEMY COURSE SEQUENCING (See the VAPA Web page for course descriptions) 

Recommended Classes for the ACE curriculum. Admittance to AP classes is chosen by lottery. ACE Students are guaranteed admittance to AP Art Classes. 

 Year One: Art and Architecture (meets UC A-G graduation requirement), algebra and geometry,( required) ACE Biology, PE, English ___________________________________________________________________________

Year Two: AP Art History (meets UC A-G graduation requirement) , chemistry and advanced algebra (or Pre Calculus), foreign Language, English, (AP) World History ___________________________________________________________________________

Year Three: AP Calculus or PreCalculus, AP Physics, AP English, Advanced Art and Architecture (meets UC A-G graduation requirement) OR AP Studio Art, ( AP) US History, foreign language

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Year Four: Advanced Art and Architecture OR AP Studio Art, AP Calculus or Calculus 2, AP English, AP Science, foreign language, (AP) Government/ Economics

Additional Classes are offered in conjunction with CCSF. Summer program: 6 weeks Intro to Engineering and CAD. 

Contact

VAPA Dept. Chair:Karen J. Melander, instructor. melanderk@sfusd.edu

 

Enrichment Programs

The following are websites that have access to programs for College Preparation

 

SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAMS

MInds Matter for low income students (free or reduced lunch) applications accepted from 9th graders only with a minimum of 3.5 GPA   http://www.mindsmattersf.org/

 

Youth Art Exchange( YAX) ( free) summer and spring paid internships and free classes during the school year.  www.youthartexchange.org.

Classes in music, photo, fashion design, architecture, printmaking

 

ACE Mentorship (for architecture, construction and engineering)

http://www.acementor.org/index.php/affiliates/california/san-francisco-bay-area/about-us/

 

SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS

Stanford Splash: https://stanfordesp.org/    Classes at Stanford taught by Stanford students- free

 

CSSA: California State Summer School for the Arts  www.csssa.ca.gov

animation, film, video,creative writing, dance, music , theater,and visual arts

 

SIG Summer Institute for the Gifted (866)303.4744  http://www.giftedstudy.org/programs.asp

 

GIRLS WHO CODE https://girlswhocode.fluidreview.com/

Free summer immersion program for rising 11th and 12th graders

 

ENTERPRISE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS http://enterpriseforyouth.org/

Workshops, internships and job shadows

 

University Prep  (866) 303-4744, (203) 399-5421  www.nsgtuniversityprep.org

 

Academic Talent Development Program at Berkeley

http://camps.berkeley.edu/camps-by-activity/academics-sports/academic-talent-development-program/

 

COSMOS; summer programs in science, math and engineering at UC campuses

https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu/main/campus_programs

 

Youth Art Exchange www.youthartexchange.org  (free) summer and spring paid internships and free classes during the school year

Classes in music, photo, fashion design, architecture, printmaking

 

Youthworks : Summer Internships in San Francisco http://sfyouthworks.org/

 

Build San Francisco Institute: Architectural Design  http://www.afsf.org/programs/build-san-francisco-institute/

 

California College of the Arts: scholarships available( grades 9-12) www.cca.edu/precollege      classes in the arts, architecture and industrial design, photography and creative writing

 

Spotlight on the Arts  www.calawyersforthearts.org/Community_Developmentpaid summer internships at arts organizations( low income SF residents)

 

Academy of Art University https://www.academyart.edu/academics/pre-college-art-experience/

 free summer scholarships for precollege arts programs

 

Summer Engineering Programs for High School Students

A great way to learn more about engineering paths and get some great experience that can contribute meaningfully to your college applications is to attend a summer engineering program. Here are some highly recommended programs:

 

Carnegie Mellon Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science

Cosmos Summer Programs (at various UC campuses)

Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation

Lives Improve Through Engineering (LITE) at Kettering University

University of Michigan Summer Engineering Academy

Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) at MIT

Purdue University’s STEP program

Society of Women Engineers SEE Camp at University of Michigan

Stanford Summer Engineering Academy (SSEA) for Women and Minority Students

Summer Engineering Seminar (SES) at Santa Clara University

 

INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE ENGINEERS

How exciting that you’ve identified engineering as a potential field of study for college! Because many colleges require that you apply to the College of Engineering when you apply for freshman admission (and at most schools it’s very difficult to move into engineering after beginning college, though it’s always easy to move out of engineering into something else), it’s important to investigate this career path thoroughly in high school to decide if it’s right for you. It’s important to look at each school’s admission requirements for engineering, as they are sometimes more rigorous than the college’s overall admissions requirements.

We suggest that you use the following resources to learn more about the various kinds of engineering (aerospace, mechanical, civil, computer, and biomedical are some of the more popular fields), what engineers do in their jobs, and what an engineering curriculum looks like in college and beyond.

 

Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) Try Engineering: http://www.tryengineering.org/

 

Sloan Career Cornerstone: http://www.careercornerstone.org/

Cal Poly SLO’s Viewbook (click on Colleges, then Engineering to explore the different kinds of engineering):   http://admissions.calpoly.edu/viewbook/#

 

Summer Engineering Programs for High School Students

A great way to learn more about engineering paths and get some great experience that can contribute meaningfully to your college applications is to attend a summer engineering program. Here are some highly recommended programs:

 

Carnegie Mellon Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science

Cosmos Summer Programs (at various UC campuses)

Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation

Lives Improve Through Engineering (LITE) at Kettering University

University of Michigan Summer Engineering Academy

Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) at MIT

Purdue University’s STEP program

Society of Women Engineers SEE Camp at University of Michigan

Stanford Summer Engineering Academy (SSEA) for Women and Minority Students

Summer Engineering Seminar (SES) at Santa Clara University