Arts in Community Education (ACE) Program

This nationally acclaimed program enhances students' education through the integration of music and art into the school curriculum. Teachers at 23 ACE schools in the greater Milwaukee area receive comprehensive materials, in-service training, grade specific repertoire and concerts, as well as ongoing support through arts integration.

35 ensembles, comprised of over 100 MSO musicians and local cultural partners, visit the schools throughout the year providing arts experiences while supporting the ACE and core curriculum.  ACE extends beyond the classroom by providing families with an exclusive opportunity to attend ACE Family Night Concerts (evening performances held in their own schools featuring ACE ensembles and creating a bridge between in-school education and family activities).

The ACE program also provides a grade specific concert at Uihlein Hall.  These performances support and reinforce the ACE themes and repertoire presented throughout the school year.  

ACE at a glance:

• ACE integrates music and arts into daily core subjects, giving students a comprehensive learning experience
• Nationally recognized as a model in arts education
• 2009/10 school year is its 20th anniversary
• 24 public and private schools (8 districts)
• 9,000 students and 700 teachers
• 26 Cultural Partners – local arts orgs including Milw. Ballet, The Skylight, American Indian Center
• Primarily grades K-5, also a middle school component
• Half of participating students are minorities; half come from low-income families
• Twelve ACE schools are in the Milwaukee Public Schools District

ACE has six main components:

1. ACE Curriculum – Teachers receive an ACE resource handbook, lesson plans, integration activity ideas, project planning frameworks, musician/artist visit preparation and follow-up, an ACE repertoire CD and more. Each grade level has a different ACE theme, which is reinforced throughout the year through all ACE components.

2. Teacher In-Services – Six teacher in-services annually facilitate orientation of new teachers, interacting with ACE music, teaching ideas, activities, planning, etc. 3. Musician/Artist Visits – Each year, each ACE classroom receives three visits from ACE Ensembles, which are comprised of MSO musicians and/or artists from local arts organizations such as the Milwaukee Ballet, The Skylight and many more! These visits energize ACE themes and classroom learning.

4. Family Concert & Parent Newsletter – ACE involves parents as well as teachers and students. Each school hosts an ACE ensemble for a school-wide evening Family Concert and parents receive regular newsletters to update them on ACE happenings.

5. ACE MSO Concert – The MSO performs a unique concert for each grade level, incorporating the themes and bringing all ACE classrooms of the same grade to Uihlein Hall.

6. Culminating Experience Project – ACE classrooms work throughout the year on a culminating group project which integrate the themes and grade learning targets and is used to assess progress.

ACE Themes:

• Kindergarten – Family of Music
• 1st Grade – Musical Tales (Storytellers)
• 2nd Grade – ACE Detectives
• 3rd Grade – ACE Architects
• 4th Grade – Children of Wisconsin, Children of the World
• 5th Grade – ACE Inventors

ACE is generously supported in part by grants from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Chase Bank, Rockwell Automation and Joy Global Corporation as well as the Halbert and Alice Kadish Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Joseph R. Parker Foundation, Krause Family Foundation, Albert and Flora Ellinger Foundation, Gene and Ruth Poser Foundation, HH Camp Foundation Stacker Family Foundation, Ralph Evinrude Foundation, The Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and the Maihaugen Foundation. ACE is also supported by an endowment from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.