Press Releases

ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School Awarded Grant to Develop Arts Program and Enrollment Efforts

September 16th, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(North Haven, CT – October 3, 2022) Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) is pleased to announce that ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School has been awarded a $5 million Federal Magnet School Assistance Program grant over a 5-year period to further develop its arts program and diversify enrollment efforts.

ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School or ACES WIMS, where the arts inspire learning, is a K-8 school in North Haven, CT, that serves over 600 students primarily from the following districts: Hamden, Meriden, New Haven, Wallingford, and Waterbury, as well as, from other districts within New Haven County. Students can enroll through the ACES Magnet School Parent Choice program. ACES WIMS provides students the opportunity for creative expression, critical thinking, building self-confidence, developing communication skills, and appreciating the arts by providing multi-cultural experiences for all students through our unique artistic disciplines (dance, drama, music, choir, visual and media arts.) Classroom teachers and arts specialists collaborate to connect the academic concepts studied in the classroom to the arts, in annual grade-level performances and Arts Showcase Expos.

“We are thrilled and so grateful for this grant, which will help provide a high-quality educational experience for all students and also help develop Wintergreen’s arts program and enrollment efforts,” said Dr. Thomas Danehy, Executive Director of ACES. “The MSAP grant will support our efforts to enhance and transform lives through education, innovation, and leadership.”
The Magnet Schools Assistance Program was announced by the U.S Department of Education and awarded 19 grantees totaling $110 Million. The grant supports innovative education methods and practices to develop programs and bring students together from different social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.

### About ACES: Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) is the regional educational service center for New Haven and parts of Middlesex Counties. Established in 1969, ACES strives each day to fulfill its vision of creating an equitable and socially just world, one life at a time. ACES serves its members districts and others through an ever-growing array of programs, services, and schools that meet the needs of a changing educational landscape. As a school district, ACES operates three magnet and eight special education schools. ACES services range from transportation, professional development, school improvement services, technology, translation, international, security, and occupational and physical therapy. ACES operates the Open and Magnet School Parent Choice programs for New Haven County. Its programs include a federally funded Early Head Start Program and ACES ACCESS, a vocational and life skills program for developmentally and physically disabled adults ages 21 and older. For more information, go to www.aces.org.