ACE Academy, a charter school located in East Portland, plans to close in June after being open for eight consecutive school years. ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) served Centennial, Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose, and Reynolds School Districts. The school provided junior and senior high school students with hands-on experience in the path of their choice, while getting to experience a little of everything to broaden their range of skills.

Westlake’s Jacob Billingsley, EIT attended ACE Academy from 2008 to 2010 and was part of the first graduating class. He mainly focused on civil engineering, but he also had a chance to learn about architecture, construction, mechanical and electrical engineering, and industrial manufacturing.

“Because I was able to be exposed to these facets, I was able to find what I enjoyed,” says Billingsley. “It actually allowed me and other students to really focus on a very particular interest that we had.”

While attending ACE, Billingsley had the opportunity to visit local firms and tour construction sites to experience the whole process and see how everything worked. In addition, ACE invited people from the industry to come and talk with the students about their profession. To further engage the students, ACE participated in various competitions, including the National Timber Bridge Design Competition. Billingsley’s team worked together to design and build a high-quality wooden bridge. “And even though I didn’t go into the structural side of things, it was a really cool experience and something that I never would have been able to do,” says Billingsley. The site visits, presentations, and competitions allowed students to gain hands-on experience and practice problem-solving skills.

The news of the closure came as a surprise and disappointment to Billingsley. “With the closure, in my opinion it takes away from students’ ability to focus on something that they’re actually interested and motivated in,” Billingsley explains. “By going to ACE, I actually felt pushed – both because the teachers were good at engaging with students, and also I was driven to do well in my classes and do well in the work I was doing because I enjoyed it.”

Billingsley believes the closure will introduce uncertainty for high school students, especially juniors and seniors whom are trying to decide their next step after high school. ACE students were able to focus on one area of interest and easily transition to another to help pinpoint their desired field of study after high school.

“Because of ACE I found I was really interested in civil and it helped me decide to go to Oregon State and go into their Engineering Program,” says Billingsley. “ACE heavily influenced what path I took for college, which ended up leading into my career.”