An ACEE member reads with a student.
April 2004
ACEE Members Launch Tutoring Program at Homeless Shelter
Nine ACEE members will help to launch an after-school tutoring program this month at SafePlace, a local domestic violence shelter. ACEE members will work one-to-one and in small groups with children whose families spend from 4 to 6 weeks at the shelter. ACEE members are looking forward to getting started and are excited about serving this often-overlooked population.
"This is an opportunity to bring our tutoring knowledge and experience to an underserved population. It sends a message to these children that they are important and we care about their school success" says Dr. Mary Ellen Isaacs, ACEE project director. This tutoring initiative is a collaboration between ACEE and the Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO), both housed at the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
AmeriCorps engages more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America.
AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education consists of 25 AmeriCorps members who commit a year of their lives to national service. ACEE members receive intensive training and ongoing support from on-site literacy specialists. Twice a week, each member provides research-based, one-to-one literacy tutoring to 3-8 children. ACEE members also become valued partners in the classrooms to which they are assigned, helping support teachers' literacy programs in many ways. Additionally, ACEE members do monthly service projects in the school communities. For example, they promote parental involvement in the life and work of the schools through science- or math-based family learning events conducted at each school.
Highlights
Of the 250 ACEE members who have participated in ACEE since 1997, more than 50 have gone into teaching. The ACEE members' commitment to children, passion for service, and sacrifice they make to serve the Austin community are less visible, but equally important features of the project.
In his 2002 State of the Union speech, President George W. Bush challenged all Americans to dedicate a time in their lives to service. These young people have taken seriously the President's call to national service. During the ACEE program year from September 2003 through June 2004, each ACEE member will contribute 1700 hours of service to participating schools. This adds up to a total of 10,625 hours of service a year for each of our four participating schools. The value of this infusion of talent, energy, and commitment into low-achieving schools in Austin is immeasurable.