Summer is here, and as schools finish their academic year during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CISNT is doubling down on serving students through ACE summer distance learning programs.
This summer, ACE teachers and Site Coordinators are updating ACE websites weekly with new videos, activities, and lesson plans, as well as sending links to students and parent participants with each update. ACE websites allow students and parent participants to access their ACE teacher’s page and featured activities, as well as view other teachers’ videos and materials.
Along with summer learning websites, ACE teachers also provide daily live sessions to facilitate interaction between students, parents, and teachers.
ACE Program Director Diana Vargas says that once ACE live sessions were launched for Lakeland Elementary students, quite a few students and parents experienced issues logging into the session – and one lucky student had a rare (and nerve-wracking) opportunity to check in with ALL of her teachers and ACE Site Coordinator, all at once!
Diana writes:
“Although the student was a little shy, mom later sent a text to the SC letting him know ACE had made the student’s day with the web call! Mom reported: ‘She told me she had the most fun today just being on the call! You guys are amazing! She sure misses y’all! Thank you all so much!’”
Toby May, Lakeland Elementary ACE Site Coordinator, was thrilled to receive the positive feedback. Toby appreciated the fact that parents support the ACE summer distance learning program, and that this program is making an awesome impact on students’ days!
Diana writes:
“Students and teachers miss each other on mini breaks and during these unprecedented times…Being able to connect them virtually has been amazing because they have been able to catch up and know that we are still here, working for them and caring for them from afar.”
CISNT is grateful for the support of our awesome students and parents as we transition to distance summer learning, and for the hard work and dedication of our ACE Site Coordinators and teachers!
This summer, CISNT will also be partnering with North Central Texas College (NCTC) in holding a Summer Bridge program over WebEx to address college awareness for secondary students.
Through the month of June, Dr. Roxanne Del Rio and NCTC staff are engaging students in virtual tours of each of their campuses, giving students valuable information about departments, careers, dual credit programs, and the overall college experience. Students not only receive information and virtual tours of facilities, but also have their CISNT Site Coordinators for additional guidance and answering further questions. So far, things have been going great, and students are becoming more comfortable with asking questions and participating in sessions!
Additionally, the organization Christ Child Society of Dallas-Fort Worth has partnered with CISNT for the summer in order to provide families with activities, board games, and other summer essentials.
ACE Site Coordinators have identified families most in-need of these hands-on materials and resources to keep students engaged in learning over the summer. In a world that has become largely virtual very quickly, Christ Child will be providing a very valuable resource to these families by dropping off baskets of board games, worksheets, and other supplies bi-weekly in the coming months, and ACE families are so excited about this partnership!
CISNT is thrilled to see ACE Site Coordinators and staff going the extra mile this summer for our students and families, and we are especially grateful to NCTC and Christ Child Society for all of the awesome additional resources.
CISNT is in schools and beyond, because CISNT is all in for kids!
