At a Glance

Organization

  • Sector: Educational Services
  • Non-profit 501(3)c
  • Founded 1994
  • Launched current services model in 1999
  • HQ: Los Angeles, CA
  • Staff: 10

Mission

  • Provide  middle school through college learners with supplementary experiential learning and mentoring by peers and professionals. Current curriculum focus on Arts, Digital Media, Humanities and Technology classes to foster creative, leadership, innovation and 21st century skills.

Curriculum Service

  • ACME Animation (www.acmeanimation.org), a mentoring and curriculum service focusing on animation and illustration, currently serving 8,500 students – 180 classrooms (95% California + Alabama, Texas, Michigan, Wyoming) – 105 teachers – 100 professional mentors (50 Hollywood companies)  – 244 live On-Air telecasts.
  • Students must learn to communicate, support their peers, and accept constructive criticism.  PAY IT FORWARD mentoring encourages them to participate through uploading work and offering comments – this qualifies them to participate in 1-on-1 mentoring sessions with professionals over ACME On-Air video conferences.

Technology Infrastructure

  • ACME V3 Online Platform: a participatory (social network style) online community where students post projects (art, animation, digital media, graphics, games) for review, critique and feedback by peers, teachers and professional mentors, mastering the language and practice of collaboration, communication, revision and presentation.
  • ACME On-Air: multipoint h.232 videoconferencing, using dedicated hardware (usually Polycom/Tandberg) over California’s “CENIC” and/or “K20″ broadband networks.  Plans to migrate all videoconferencing to IP video over the Web using 3rd party solutions (e.g. Adobe Connect).

Results

  • 52,200 students served since 2004 -  98% of ACME students graduate high school (w. 92% of those planning to go on to college) – 1000 ACME Animation students are now working in creative companies (Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Blizzard)

Recognition

  • Cited as model program in 2008 Career Technical Education (CA Governor’s report), and 2008 WestEd Report on Work-based Learning in California: Opportunities & Models for Expansion