ACE News
ACEE Awarded Partner of the Year by Austin Partners in Education
May 2008
The AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education (ACEE) early literacy intervention program at The University of Texas at Austin was named Partner of the Year by Austin Partners in Education.
The award was given at the annual Salute: A Community of Heros banquet honoring teachers and community partners who work to improve education services in Austin Independent School District. ACEE, which received the award on Wednesday, May 14, was one of six programs nominated by community members in the medium-sized category.
The Partner of the Year award recognizes a business or community organization that exemplifies outstanding and consistent leadership and participation in education and exceptional and innovative contributions to a school, program, department or the district. ACEE was recognized for the significant contribution of its early literacy intervention and tutoring program, which serves over 2,000 prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first-grade children and 200 parents each year in six high-poverty elementary schools in AISD.
"This honor means a great deal to us. We value the strong partnership we have with the district, which makes it possible for us to provide research-based early literacy tutoring to children who otherwise would not be able to afford the extra help in reading. It's a privilege to work with so many outstanding educators in our project schools to help children build a strong foundation in reading during their first years in school," said Dr. Mary Ellen Isaacs, ACEE director.
ACEE is a program of the Charles A. Dana Center, a research unit in the university's College of Natural Sciences. Since 1994, ACEE has collaborated with Austin Independent School District to address the literacy needs of children in low-income schools. ACEE is the only national service program on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Each year, 75% of the children tutored by ACEE reach grade level in reading by the end of the year. A recent evaluation study found that kindergarten and first-grade children who received support from ACEE tutors outperformed a matched control group on the TAKS reading assessment three to four years later.
Currently, more than 80 ACEE tutors provide one-to-one and small-group early literacy intervention and support to the children ACEE serves. ACEE tutors also work twice a month with parents from the schools, providing literacy workshops to help parents gain confidence and skill in supporting their children’s learning at home.
AmeriCorps is a national service program, often referred to as the domestic Peace Corps, that provides people of all ages an opportunity to perform a year of community service in return for a modest monthly stipend and financial aid for college tuition and/or student loans. ACEE tutors are all AmeriCorps members; each tutor serves from 12 to 46 hours a week in project schools.