The ACES – The Austin Centers for Exceptional Students

Specialties

Private Special Education School

History

Established in 1995.

The ACES is a state certified special education school for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-​12) special needs students ranging in age from five to twenty-​two. The ACES has been established to provide an environment in which the pursuit of instructional effectiveness and learning is valued for students with emotional disabilities, intellectual disabilities, autism or pervasive developmental delays, specific learning disabilities, and other educational challenges. The ACES provides its unique instructional opportunity on three campuses, in Peoria, Avondale and Tempe, Arizona.

The ACES was developed to meet the academic and behavioral needs of students who require more intensive special education services than can be provided within Arizona public school districts, charter schools and state placement agencies. The ACES adheres to the procedures, conditions, and standards set forth by the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services Division.

The mission and philoso

Meet the Business Owner

Francie A.

Business Owner

Francie Austin’s commitment to special education students began when she completed a degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology at the University of Colorado. Francie’s clinical experience gave her the opportunity to work with deaf children and she found their challenges to be monumental. She subsequently completed a masters in special education with an emphasis on Education for the Deaf at Smith College. After teaching in Denver Public Schools, Francie moved to Arizona and was disheartened to discover that there were no requirements for the districts to provide an education to students with special needs. As a result, Francie was privileged to be a leader in the statewide campaign to implement legislation requiring school districts to educate special education students in the state of Arizona. For five years Francie served as the director of special education in Creighton School District and later became a principal, assistant superintendent, associate superintendent, and superintendent