May 20, 2025

Segue’s Academic Center for Enrichment (ACE Space) was designed to support middle school learners in a flexible learning environment. The new space builds upon previous projects that created smaller spaces for more focused science training. “With the ACE Space, the goal was to create a welcoming environment where our students could explore big ideas through various workstations, where they could create and feature their art, and where we could welcome guest speakers to enrich our academic programs” said Segue Institute principal Kevin Montoya. The ACE Space, a large room that formerly housed a church auditorium before the school acquired the property, is equipped with a library, a computer lab, art installment walls, and modular desks that can be situated based on the programming on any given day. In developing the space, teachers and administration worked together to identify changes in workforce demands and the skills their students would need to remain competitive. Rather than settle on a space with a limited focus, plans were put in place to create a space that could serve multiple functions for their students and encourage project-based learning—a methodology that research suggests is beneficial for students who may be emerging English speakers. The space is accessible to any teacher in the middle school at Segue to reserve, as well as any teacher in the Central Falls community to work on projects with their secondary level students.