San Diego ISD will receive a $900,000 federal grant to continue funding its ACE afterschool program, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced. The funding has been vital to the program's growth over the last several years.
Fifth grader Ayelli Trevino has participated in the ACE afterschool program for three years. She said the program keeps her engaged and gives her opportunities she would not otherwise have after school.
"It takes a lot of my like time at home instead of being bored. I come here and I get to do fun stuff," Trevino said.
Trevino said ACE employees have tutored her, taught her social skills, and shown her how to be a leader.
"I actually like to come a lot because we like learn other things, we gain friends, we learn other adult like we get to see other adults and we get to like set it other, like a lot of examples for the littles," Trevino said.
Her classmate Ava Guajardo, who has also been in the program for three years, said ACE has helped her improve her grades.
"Let's just say that I got A's and B's and now since I've been in the ACE program for a really long time, I've been getting straight A's and just 1 B," Guajardo said.
ACE Program Director Yanissa Jasso said the grant funding will allow her staff to continue shaping students' lives and host family engagement events for the broader community.
"4th year with a grant and it is exciting because um we're continuing to grow in our programming and being able to offer more opportunities for not only our students but their families as well," Jasso said.
The goal of the ACE program is to help students step into their own and flourish within the classroom.
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