Tracy Dace

Tracy Dace is the executive director for Driven to Reach Academic Achievement for Males (DREAAM). Founded with the support of his congregation at First Presbyterian Church of Champaign,DREAAM House partners with local schools to provide academic and social development for youngsters in our community, more specifically African-American boys . Dace is originally from Mississippi and came to Champaign-Urbana in 2007 to pursue a doctorate in special education. While he didn’t finish, he has used what learned from his studies to support youth and education in our community. He’s worked with kids from Don Moyers Boys and Girls Club as well as those who have spent time in the juvenile detention center. He’s tutored in the AVID program, and has been an instructor at Parkland. As Dace says, it was a “rich ground of experiences to think about what we can do to advance an agenda for boys.” I spoke with Dace a couple of weeks ago to find out more about DREAAM House and his vision for the program’s future. (Source: Smile Politely)