ACEE Director Mary Ellen Isaacs.
“There is no greater gift than a child's spontaneous hug or smile, as that mysterious thing called 'reading' becomes something they own for themselves.”
Mary Ellen Isaacs
Welcome to the AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education website! ACEE is located at the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and represents a collaboration of AmeriCorps, the Austin Independent School District, The University of Texas at Austin, and private and corporate sponsors. Our program's mission is to build educational equity by ensuring that all children develop a strong foundation in literacy skills in their first years in school. We work toward this goal each year by combining the resources of a large research university and the talents and commitment of AmeriCorps members to provide effective, research-based early literacy tutoring and support to young struggling readers (preK-second grade) in low-income elementary schools in Austin, Texas.
Over our fourteen-year history, we have become a valued partner with Austin ISD in helping to accelerate reading skills in early readers. Each year at least 75% of the students we serve reach or exceed grade level standards/requirements in reading by the end of the year. We also work to engage parents and community organizations by providing literacy workshops for parents, implementing Family Literacy Nights at project schools, and co-chairing a citywide, bilingual literacy fair every April.
I have been a part of the AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education program since 1997. Working with this organization is fulfilling, challenging, and compelling. As a former teacher, I believe we are "changing lives through the ABCs." Learning to read in and of itself isn't enough to ensure a successful school experience, but if a child doesn't get off to a strong start in reading, there can be devastating consequences for that child's future. Many of the students we serve begin school without a strong foundation in early literacy experiences. Our partner schools do not have the resources to provide that "extra" support to each and every child who needs it. This is where we can and do make a significant difference.
Our ACEE members provide high-quality one-to-one and small-group literacy tutoring two or three times weekly to 1,000 children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade, and impact another 1,200 children each year through small-group instructional support, after-school tutoring and enrichment classes, and after-school mentoring. The ACEE program staff is dedicated to helping our AmeriCorps members become highly effective early literacy tutors through weekly individualized on-site support and whole-group training meetings. As a result of this careful attention to the research on early literacy and the research on effective use of volunteer and paraprofessional tutors, ACEE has developed a powerful early literacy intervention that is unrivaled in the district, and that has achieved national recognition from AmeriCorps.
But perhaps the most amazing aspect of living a year in ACEE is that it is a transforming experience—for the children, the AmeriCorps members, and the staff. Each year our AmeriCorps members dedicate themselves to a term of service, but in the process they learn that service is a two-way street and that they are will be forever changed by the experience, often in ways they couldn't have anticipated. This is one of the most compelling aspects of national service and our work together.
Our members are a very diverse mix, but typically are recent college graduates, current college students, or community members. Many choose ACEE because they are interested in pursuing a career in education or social service, but this is not a requirement of our program. About 20–25% of our members become teachers after their year in ACEE, but our alumni have pursued careers as varied as public policy, non-profit management, aeronautic engineering, school counseling, law or medical school, physical therapy, speech pathology, and veterinary technician. Regardless of the path they choose, we find that they retain a high level of civic engagement as volunteers in their community. They attribute this to their ACEE experience and to seeing firsthand the difference that involved citizens can make to schools and community organizations.
I encourage you to browse our website. If you are a potential member, you will find a great deal of information to help you decide if ACEE is a match for you. If you are interested in supporting ACEE financially or learning about other ways to support our work, please email me at meisaacs@mail.utexas.edu.
ACEE is making a visible difference in children's lives. There is no greater gift than a child's spontaneous hug or smile, as that mysterious thing called "reading" becomes something they own for themselves. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be involved in national service that truly makes a difference.