Across Denton ISD and Lewisville ISD, CISNT operates 10 federally supported Afterschool Centers on Education, or ACE, afterschool programs, providing enrichment and resources for students during the school year and over the summer. The ACE summer program kicked off on May 31st and finished up on June 30th. The summer program runs Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 4 PM, and is provided at no cost to students and their families.
This summer, Ms. Emily Basaldua, ACE Site Coordinator at Hodge Elementary, and Ms. Rachel Rodriguez, ACE Site Coordinator at Evers Park Elementary, joined together to provide a combined summer program for their students. Ms. Basaldua and Ms. Rodriguez often collaborate throughout the school year, and were able to pool their knowledge and experiences to create an amazing summer program. This year, their summer program had over 60 students enrolled, with about 50-55 students attending each day.
Each week, the ACE summer program featured a fun theme, including: Camping, Rainforest, Under the Sea, Outer Space, and Luau. Students participated in a variety of fun and engaging activities matching the week’s theme. During the Outer Space themed week, students created rockets out of fruit, made constellations out of marshmallows, participated in an astronaut challenge while mimicking astronaut costumes, and more! Additionally, students were able to participate in fun science experiments and guided painting, learn from a motivational speaker, watch movies, have outdoor water days, and go on a field trip to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
CISNT ACE programs enhance student learning through services intended to equip and empower overall academic success, social and emotional wellbeing, and 
access to enrichment and developmental resources. Ms. Basaldua says, “My favorite thing about the ACE summer program is that it’s all about fun for the kids. During the summer, the program is focused on building positive relationships with the students. I’ve seen next to no behavior issues because the kids are so engaged in all of the different activities. Having a combined program with Ms. Rodriguez has been great because the kids get to meet new people, especially for the kids who are going to middle school next year.”
CISNT is so proud of the hard work of CISNT’s ACE Site Coordinators and their teams for making this year’s summer program a huge success! A huge thank you to Cross Timbers Hope Center for hosting our ACE kids this summer! We are so grateful for your hospitality and for being All In For Kids!
