FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/2/16 Contact: Mary Ellen Isaacs Tel. 512-232-2286 Email: meisaacs@austin.utexas.edu FIRST LADY OF TEXAS SHOWS SUPPORT FOR UT LITERACY PROGRAM REBRAND Cecilia Abbott was the guest of honor Thursday morning at an unveiling of the new name and logo for ACE: A Community for Education, an early literacy program based at […]
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Blog
ACE Reveals Our New Name and Logo
ACE: A Community for Education, based at The University of Texas at Austin, unveiled a brand new name and logo today. The new name, Literacy First, positions the organization as a regional leader in early literacy tutoring. “We have over 20 years of experience helping young children become successful readers, yet very few people […]
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Learning and Leadership: Meet Henry Jaeger
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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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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