During the Lights On event, special events took place on each ACE campus. Events included dance performances, science experiments, light bulb art creation, movie screenings and a fashion show.

The event also included “Bus Road-eo,” an outreach program where ACE coordinators rode home with the students to visit with parents and community members. During the Road-eo, gift bags containing donated gift certificates, parenting tips, and a list of local resources with contact information were disseminated.

ACE Program Director Johanna Friedel illustrates the importance of events like Lights On and active parental involvement, “During one of our past home visits, we visited a mom who has been homebound with a debilitating illness. Through our conversations she learned about the ACE Lionettes, an award winning dance group at the Sixth Grade Center that her daughter participates in. The mother now volunteers three times a week and told me that volunteering for the dance group literally got her out of bed. Although still recovering, she is an active and valued volunteer.”

Earlier this year, The Greenville ISD ACE Program won three Golden ACE Awards at a ceremony held in Austin, Texas. The group walked away with the “PRIME” Award, “Most Innovative Activity” award for Academic Assistance and “Most Innovative Activity” award for College and Workforce Readiness.

Over 1,000 students in Greenville ISD participated in ACE last year. ACE students, when compared to non-ACE students, had higher subject grades, higher attendance rates, lower discipline removals and higher promotion rates.