Introducing Henry Jaeger, who is returning for a second year of service as a bilingual literacy tutor. Why did you choose to serve with Literacy First? When I moved back to the States after teaching in China for six years, I knew I wanted to do AmeriCorps, but I wasn’t sure what program […]
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Blog
The Unbreakable Hope of Meghan Robinson
Meghan Robinson’s relationship with community service began long before she served as a Literacy First tutor. As early as middle school, Meghan was already an active volunteer, giving her time to organizations like Head Start and Big Brothers Big Sisters. In college, she continued to volunteer her time as a bilingual Spanish tutor, little […]
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Congratulations, Your Daughter’s Been Hired to Work for AmeriCorps! … Now What?
Incoming tutors are often full of questions and a little nervous about moving to Austin to serve with AmeriCorps…and sometimes their parents are a little nervous too! We asked Allen Ray Marks, Sr., father of second-year ACE tutor Mary Elizabeth Marks, to share a little about his experiences as a parent of an ACE AmeriCorps […]
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The End
Anna has tutored with Literacy First for the past two years and has taught nearly 40 children how to read. With the school year coming to a close, Anna had to say goodbye to her students this week. “Recently, I graduated one of my students that I’ve had over the last two years, […]
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Eight Gems to Consider Daily
In my time as a Literacy First tutor, I’ve learned a lot about kids. For instance, I’ve learned about ‘The Look’: the one kids will give you when you just don’t understand something so obvious. I’ve spent the past year and a half trying my best not to get that little grimace. The more […]
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Casa Marianella: A view to the world, hidden in East Austin
In addition to serving full-time teaching reading in schools, our members are required to volunteer with a local nonprofit for several hours each week. For his community partnership, first-year tutor Tzvi helps out at Casa Marianella. “Welcome, my boy!” A warm voice calls out to me as I enter the brightly colored kitchen of […]
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Cindy Tom: Compassionate Lawyer, Literacy First Champion
We’re proud to say that Literacy First was a stop on the way to greatness for Cindy Tom, who tutored with Literacy First in the 2001-2002 schoolyear before earning both her law degree and a Masters in Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin. Though Cindy has always wanted to work in law, […]
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Sheryl Prater: From Struggling Reader to Literacy Teacher
Sheryl Prater might have given 15 years to Literacy First before retiring in 2013, but she says that she still wishes we could have played a role in her life much sooner…in her early childhood. “If I’d had a tutor back when I was a very young struggler,” she says, “there’s no telling how different […]
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White House Recognizes ACE for Excellence in Hispanic Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Ellen Isaacs Tel. 512-232-2286 Email: meisaacs@austin.utexas.edu Date: 9/15/15 We have a new name! As of September 1, 2016, ACE: A Community for Education is now Literacy First. WHITE HOUSE RECOGNIZES LOCAL YOUTH LITERACY PROGRAM WHO: ACE: A Community for Education, an early literacy program based at The University […]
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From AmeriCorps to Peace Corps: A Tale of Two Tutors
It’s no surprise that some tutors choose to serve in the Peace Corps after their AmeriCorps service has ended. When President Bill Clinton established AmeriCorps in 1994, he wanted to create a domestic program sharing the Peace Corps’ dedication to aiding less fortunate communities. Some of our tutoring alumni, like 2013-2014 tutor Hope Passmore […]
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