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When the Academy for Career Exploration (“ACE”) closed its doors in June 2020, it marked not an end, but a transformation in supporting technology education in Providence. Joe Devine, former Chair of ACE's Board, saw an opportunity to continue the school's mission through an innovative approach to educational funding.

The story began fifteen years earlier when Joe, then working in the information technology staffing field, noticed a critical gap in Rhode Island's tech sector. "Local companies were struggling to fill IT roles due to a lack of qualified candidates in the employment pool – some had to take their business outside of Rhode Island," he recalls. This observation led him to collaborate with local colleges that offered computer science programs and eventually, form an academic advisory committee.

Says Joe, “What became obvious was that we were missing over half of the potential employment pool. Women and minorities were woefully underrepresented, and the education systems didn’t have computer science career pathways in our poorest districts.”

Originally established in 1997 as the Textron Chamber of Commerce Academy, ACE evolved into a public charter school serving Providence students in grades 9-12. The school featured career and technical engineering programs, offering pathways in computer networking, cybersecurity, programming, web development, and data science. Students could graduate with industry credentials and college credits, positioning them for immediate career opportunities.

After ACE's closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe recommended creating a donor advised fund at the Rhode Island Foundation using the school's residual assets, with a focus on creating sustainable computer science and IT career pathways for women and communities of color in Rhode Island.  

"This is where we wanted the money to go to develop the next generation of talent in the tech field," explains Joe. "I knew there wasn't any other organization that could do this type of work."

Through careful collaboration between the Providence Public School Department and the Rhode Island Department of Education, this creative use of public funds will continue ACE's mission. The newly established Computer Science Career Pathways Fund will provide grant funding to Rhode Island nonprofits with similar goals to the now-shuttered charter school, supporting curriculum development, technology tools and equipment, after-school and summer programming, internships, and scholarships.  

Today, an advisory committee comprised of educators, computer science leaders, and industry representatives will guide the fund's grant recommendations, ensuring its impact aligns with ACE’s original vision of expanding access to technology careers for Rhode Island’s women and minority youth.