After-school program in Hooks has positive community impact
HOOKS, Texas — The Afterschool Center for Education here celebrated its annual “Lights On Afterschool Day” Thursday afternoon, continuing its tradition of providing opportunities to students and parents in the community.
Hooks Independent School District started its ACE program in 2014 after applying for and receiving a grant through the Texas Education Agency, which administers federal grants given out by the U.S. Departments of Education.
The grant goes to districts that meet the criteria of having economically disadvantaged students, lacking after-school resources and having geographical challenges of parents working out of the city, in addition to having a sound plan to use the funds.
According to Assistant Superintendent Tracy Cook,
about 250 districts applied for the most recent cycle and about 50 received grants.
The district now offers free after-school services Monday-Thursday, in addition to morning services focused on homework every weekday, to hundreds of students in all grade levels.
Friday’s celebration, which normally is a family event but had to be modified because of COVID-19, included a break from their normal academic and enrichment activities to decorate cookies and receive a few treats before heading home.
In addition to the celebration, the program was recognized by the Hooks City Council and Mayor Marc Reiter, who also made a proclamation for the city to back and support the ACE Program.
This support was put on display by ACE students’ paintings and decorations on businesses around the city of Hooks, including notes of their favorite things about ACE.
While COVID may have thrown them a bit of a curve this year, ACE coordinators at Hooks have found ways to make their presence felt in students’ lives, providing them with opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.
The long list of programs offered includes cooking, tutoring, fitness classes, Esports, DrumFIT and coding, among many others. The district also offer programs to parents like adult literacy, welding, money management and diesel technology.
ACE Project Director Carrie Moro said they are lucky to be able to have this program.
“Our district, we’re fortunate,” Moro said. “A lot of after-school programs who have had this grant, they butt heads with their district on what they want to do versus what the district wants them to do, and the support they get from the district, whether it be space or allowing their teachers to work or a plethora of things. And we are just very blessed to have a district that supports us 100% as a community.”
Moro said most of the feedback from parents is positive, in large part because of their effectiveness in helping youths get homework done correctly before they get home.
“Homework help is a huge offering that we provide,” she said. “Our parents, if they’re working, by the time their child gets home, they get home and have to tackle homework. It can be very stressful on the child and the parent. And that’s one of the things we hear a lot that they’re very appreciative for. There’s a focus every day on homework and allowing the kids to do what they need to.”
Help comes from teachers whom the students already know and who help tutor them, according to Assistant Superintendent Tracy Cook.
“A lot of our teachers actually work the program, so the kids don’t just have access to some random person to help them with homework,” Cook said. “A lot of times, it’s their regular teachers or a teacher that’s working within the school. So they already know them, they’re more familiar with the work and that kind of thing. And it really results in the homework being done correctly.”
A social media post provides one parent’s perspective: “We love ACE. My son is a transfer student and only child. So the program helps him interact with kids he might not normally talk to, and he loves his teachers! They are the greatest! Plus it makes him tired and not (bored) when he is at home (less electronics time).”
Moro and Cook both say it is rewarding to see this program have such a positive impact on students, borne out by some of them coming back to teach and contribute at ACE.
“It truly is a labor of love,” Cook said. “It’s very personal, and you pour yourself into it.”