The Texas ACE Why
Texas ACE empowers students to realize their potential and change the world! Every child, regardless of economic status, race, or gender needs equitable access to academic and nonacademic learning experiences outside of the school in order succeed in college, career, and life.
Program Vision
The federal Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC program supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic and enrichment opportunities, during non-school hours for students, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children. Title IV, Part B, specifies that 21st CCLC funds are to be used to provide opportunities for communities to establish or expand activities in community learning centers.
The Texas 21st CCLC program operates as Texas Afterschool Centers on Education, or Texas ACE. When referencing the federal program, 21st CCLC will be the naming convention, but in other circumstances, the state’s program will be referred to as either Texas 21st CCLC or Texas ACE. Texas ACE offers highquality out-of-school time programs through 96 grantees at 682 centers. Texas ACE programs are required to participate in state activities that support continuous improvement, including quality and compliance monitoring, state and local evaluation, training, and technical assistance.
Five Components to Why
Programs achieve the Texas ACE Why by continuously improving on the design and implementation of five essential components, as identified below.
Texas ACE Community
Successful Texas ACE programs regularly and meaningfully engage with a variety of stakeholders to build a strong Texas ACE community and prepare for program sustainability after the grant cycle ends.
Crucial Extra Times
More time engaged with high quality learning experiences enables students to accelerate their learning, particularly when using evidence-based design principles.
Key Strategies
Strong program operations, alignment with the school-day, and community partnerships.
Activity Types
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Targeted academic support that uses high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), high-impact tutoring (HIT), and/or school-day aligned academic activities.
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Student interest-based enrichment that reinforces academic and nonacademic skills while allowing students to explore their passions.
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College and career readiness that provides real world learning experiences and opportunities to practice 21st century learning skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.
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Family engagement that empower adult family members and connect them to the school community.
Measurable Goals
Local Texas ACE programs set performance measures at the grant-level and the center level. When setting goals, local Texas ACE programs consider local needs and assets, as well as the Federal GPRA and State Indicators.