ACE News
ACE Partners with KLRU:
Fulltime Members Explore UT
March 31, 2011
Ever had the chance to run a television studio and hang out with celebrities, all while spreading the importance of early intervention literacy? That's exactly what ACE did with KLRU on March 5th.
KLRU, the Austin PBS station, has been providing educational programming that helps prepare children for success in school for many years, with a focus on math, science, and, of course, literacy. This is presented to children by classic characters such as The Cat in the Hat, Clifford, the Sesame Street gang, Curious George, and newer favorites such as Maya & Miguel and Miss Rosa. KLRU's slogan is "TV and Beyond", and on March 5th, they made good on the "beyond" by opening up their studio to the public during Explore UT on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Explore UT is one of the biggest college open houses in the country, and it is estimated that 50,000 people (mostly children) were in attendance at this year's event. Upon realizing the vast number of children that would be coming through, KLRU decided they would need a group of energetic and fun-loving volunteers to help everything run smoothly. Ideally, it was hoped these volunteers would love kids and if they also happened to love reading and education, big bonus! But who should they ask first?
That's where ACE came in. ACE had partnered with KLRU in past events to give out educational materials and spread the word about educating children prior to starting school. ACE instills lifelong literacy skills in the lives of hundreds of children everyday, so when told we'd be reaching out to thousands more, we jumped at the chance. ACE volunteers spent the day welcoming guests, giving studio tours, passing out books, promoting KLRU's educational programming, and keeping the crowd in check for the live showing of Miss Rosa. They also got to be bodyguards for one of PBS's (and children's literature's) biggest stars, Clifford!
ACE was proud to be a part of "America's largest classroom", and KLRU was equally grateful. Mary Alice Appleman, assistant director of the educational services department, said the event could not have been done without them. The joy of the day was also clearly seen on the childrens' faces. Armed with books and delighted by meeting some of their first teachers, they couldn't stop talking about what a great time they had.
Danielle Martinez
ACE Member and Leader 09–11