ACE activities are developed and appropriately scheduled to supplement the school-day content. These activities incorporate different instrumental methods from those used in the classroom, exposing students to a new learning experience. Often these activities have embedded academics that allow students to learn in an innovative fashion. Each activity is structured to encourage student and family participation through engaging, hands-on exercises. These activities are based on the Four-Component Activity Guide:
Enrichment: These are services and activities that provide positive social, cultural, recreational, interpersonal skills, health and wellness, and experiences to enrich and expand students’ understanding of life and involvement in the community.
Family and Parental Support Services: These are services and activities that support and help to increase the participation of parents in the students’ educational experience.
College and Workforce Readiness: These are services and activities that promote workforce awareness, job and/or college readiness, skills training, preparation for the workforce, and assistance in the attainment of employment and/or funding for college.
Below are examples of activities that are currently being implemented through ACE across Texas:
Engaging Parents as Partners in Their Child’s Education
Linda Perez, the Parent Support Specialist at Brown Elementary School in Austin, has developed activities targeting parents of students participating in the ACE program. On average 19 parents participate in these 90-minute morning activities, which are offered for four to eight weeks depending on the subject matter.
Examples of the activities include:
KLRU Reading Workshop—Parents of pre-kindergarten through second grade students learn techniques on how to teach their children how to read.
Nutrition Series—Led by 4-H Capital, these classes help parents plan nutritious meals for their family.
Science Series—Parents are exposed to the same subject matter as their children through hands-on-experiments. This series helps build parents’ confidence in being able to assist their children with science homework.
Parents who participate in these classes become more excited about the subject matter which will show as a parent assists a child with his reading and science homework. Parents learn strategies such as relating the subject matter to everyday activities and asking questions to stimulate conversation which helps engage their children.
Using Technology for Science Exploration
Shawn Petty, the Project Director at Be A Champion, Inc. has been a strong advocate for bringing technology into the classroom. One example of how this has been successful in improving student’s understanding of science is illustrated by an activity offered at Spring Branch Elementary. ACE participants followed Buzz Lightyear on his international space tour through NASA Kids’ Club. This online resource offered six games and within these games were a variety of activity worksheets for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8. These activities helped student with their spatial reasoning, writing, and problem-solving skills.
Engaging 8th Grade Students in TAKS Preparation
To build on the gains eighth grade students at Dunbar Middle School made on the science TAKS test last spring, Georgia Cooley, the Site Coordinator at Dunbar Middle School, in Ft. Worth, implemented activities that teach or enrich students’ science skills using non-traditional methods. ACE students taking the science portion of TAKS in April participate in a 45-minute science tutorial four times a week. One of the tutorial methods used is Study Island, which aligns to the 8th grade TEKS. This web-based tool offers easy to use “interactive-game” lessons which are tailored for each student based on student scores from the pre-test. In addition to Study Island, students participate in science lab experiments and games such as Objective-based Jeopardy and Science Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.
Discovering Career Opportunities
At Western Hills Elementary School in Ft. Worth, Becky Grimland, the School Counselor/ After School Program Academic Liaison, and others hosted the Fort Worth Afterschool Challenge Night in January. Approximately 130 parents and their families participated in the event which focused on promoting academic success and college attendance. The career exploration teacher, representatives from the local middle school, FWISD School Completion Office, and TCU spoke with the group, while students shared their academic goals and career interests.
Do you have an innovative activity you want to share with your peers that addresses parent engagement or college/workforce readiness?
If so, please express your interest in an email to TexasACE21@EdvanceResearch.com. A member of the Edvance Research team will contact you for further details.
