Community Collaborations

One of the goals of the ACE program is to empower parents, the schools, and the community to help meet the critical educational needs of children. To accomplish this, ACE works closely with several community groups and agencies that focus on literacy and learning. ACE members work after school throughout the year in various ways as partners in the following initiatives.

Bookspring

ACE tutors collaborate with Bookspring (formerly Reading is Fundamental and Reach Out and Read) to host Family Literacy Nights in local schools and childcare centers. ACE also helps support Bookspring's book distribution efforts by helping label and prepare books and reviewing books for future distributions.

Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros

ACE tutors work closely with the Austin Public Library to provide a family literacy fair for 3,000 participants in April that celebrates family, culture, and the gift of literacy.

Literacy Coalition of Central Texas

ACE staff and tutors participate in the pilot project to improve training and support for volunteers who teach English as a Second Language. ACE tutors are trained to provide ESL classes two evenings a week as part of their after-school partnerships.

Austin Area Interreligious Ministries

ACE tutors work with AAIM in their Refugee School to provide English as a Second Language classes twice a week for recently arrived immigrant families. ACE tutors work with adults and children from over 25 different countries.

Texas Book Festival

ACE tutors volunteer at this event in the fall to assist in the Children's Tent and provide a booth where children and parents can do literacy games and activities together.

Other partnerships

ACE tutors also work weekends and after school with many other organizations in town that support our target communities, such as Capital Area Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Casa Marianella, Breakthrough Collaborative, KIPP Austin College Prep, Urban Roots, Just Keep Living Foundation fitness program, Victory Tutoring, and Free Minds.