More about ACEE

About ACEE

In 1994, the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education (ACEE) program first came together with Austin Independent School District (AISD) to make a difference in the lives of young school children who struggled with reading.

This collaboration led to the implementation of a research-based literacy intervention program in two AISD elementary schools, Allison and Sanchez.

The current ACEE program includes 86 members (30 full-time and 56 part-time) working in six low-income elementary schools in Austin ISD: Winn, Walnut Creek, Graham, Allison, Sanchez, and the Lucy Read Pre-Kindergarten Demonstration School.

The ACEE mission is to ensure that all children develop a strong foundation in early literacy skills during their first years in school. With ongoing support and training from literacy specialists, ACEE members provide one-to-one literacy tutoring and classroom instructional support for students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade.

The ACEE program goals are

  1. to provide high-quality, research-based early literacy intervention to young struggling readers in low-income elementary schools in Austin, Texas;
  2. to provide AmeriCorps members a meaningful and productive environment for national and community service; and
  3. to involve families and the community in helping to meet the critical educational needs of their students.

ACEE members also work outside of the classroom to promote literacy through after-school tutoring programs, enrichment classes, Family Fun Nights, and ongoing parent-child literacy workshops and adult ESL classes.

In addition, ACEE members participate in and help organize educational community service projects such as Austin's largest family literacy event, Día de los niños/Día de los libros, and other projects. ACEE strives to engage family and community members as well as community-based organizations to support each school's educational objectives. (See Member Reflections for stories about members' work.)

The ACEE program also has additional sponsors that support the work of the project and assist in promoting literacy awareness.

About AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. Members serve with national nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, and Teach for America, as well as with hundreds of smaller community organizations, both secular and faith-based. Other members serve with AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), a team-based residential program for adults 18 to 24 years old, or in low-income communities with AmeriCorps*VISTA. In exchange for a year of service, AmeriCorps members earn a small living allowance and an education award that can be used to pay for college or to pay back qualified student loans. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. It is part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service.