ACHIEVERS CENTER FOR EDUCATION

We are serving 15 children at this time. Each child receives 1,150 hours of instruction per school year, for a total of 17,250 hours of instruction provided per year by our three teachers. Our teaching strategies have proven to be very effective for students with special needs, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, Tourette Syndrome, and those with significant anxiety or depressive disorders, and significant learning disabilities. We also accept students who are academically and socially appropriate for ACE who were abused, neglected and/or bullied children. We are not equipped to serve ALE (life-skills) and BMC (behavioral management) public school students.

In addition to our academic program, we partner with Kinetic Kids offers a specialized physical education program to ACE students on Monday and Tuesday each week. Kinetic Kids is an organization that provides sports and recreation programs not typically available to children with special needs. Their mission is to "foster the development of courage, self-esteem, pride and joy so children can achieve new possibilities previously unimaginable." The program is geared towards teaching the students the fundamentals of a variety of sports while allowing them to develop coordination, good sportsmanship and an appreciation for working together as a team. They meet with the students twice a week for 90 minutes. Typical “warm-up” activities take place as soon as the students arrives. Proper social interaction skills and good sportsmanship are emphasized. Sports skills (basketball, floor hockey, etc.) are the main part of every class and are rotated every 3 weeks to keep everyone interested and focused. Since every session is led by at least one licensed occupational therapist or physical therapist, the best quality help is available to assist students in becoming the best athlete possible. In addition, as many as 4-10 OT, PT interns and college students volunteer their time to work with the students during the entire session, earning required hours toward their degree programs. They interact extremely well with our students and are a constant source of encouragement to every student on an individual basis.

Additionally, we offer fine arts classes to our students. These classes are presented by community and school volunteers.

Field trips are also an integral part of our students learning experiences-providing them with opportunities they may not otherwise have. The field trips for 2019-2020 are: Catholic Charities (service project), Natural Bridge Caverns Wilderness Ranch, San Antonio Aquarium, The Tobin Center – “Call of the Wild”, and the Cave with No Name (Boerne, TX). By providing these experiences in a group where the students feel safe and accepted, we are able to open a wider world to these special needs students-a world that they may not always feel comfortable in, but that is critical to their future growth and success.

Finally, while maintaining our excellent standards for academic instruction, ACE has expanded our program (in Fall 2018) to include comprehensive social skills training. Each week our guidance counselor diligently works with small groups and individual students to help them learn problem solving techniques, conflict resolution strategies, and works with them to develop the essential social skills required deal with their feelings and generalize appropriate behavior across various situations. This expanded segment of our curriculum has not only equipped our students with valuable skills for future success and aided them in their familial relationships but has proven an asset to their academic progress. As part of this curriculum, ACE also provides ongoing parent and family education to help the student assimilate what they have learned in real-time settings.

Achievers vocational program continues to evolve, and not only serves University United Methodist Church, but also now serves Lock Hill Elementary. This program allows students to have volunteer “jobs” at various areas on both campuses. This program gives students the opportunity to experience different environments and skill building activities, learn to accept instructions from someone other than the staff at Achievers and their parents, and it gives students insight into what they might want to do (or not do) after graduation.

Finally, we are excited to add a new teacher in the Fall of 2021. This teacher will provide a STEM focus at educationally appropriate levels to our students.
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