MCA/SMACNA of New Mexico is a strong partner of ACE Leadership High School. Ronda Gilliland-Lopez currently serves as the President of the Governing Board, which represents a cross-section of highly valuable professional knowledge (legal, financial, strategic planning, education, and industry relations).

Different from a traditional public high school, ACE Leadership High School is a project-based high school. Students engage with all academic content through Student Projects focused on topics from the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) industries. A Project-Based Learning academic model is used to provide active, hands-on, and relevant educational experiences.

Student projects are created from leading commercial construction projects in New Mexico. Teachers take challenging problems from these commercial projects and design Student Projects using industry experts to help them ensure that what they are teaching is relevant to the ACE professions and cutting edge.

These projects  create experiences allowing students to work on real life projects, develop and practice skills under the mentorship of professionals, and contribute to our community in very tangible and meaningful ways.