Statement from ACE's Executive Director on COVID-19

When I was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, I didn’t imagine my research on after-school youth programs would take shape quite like this. I served as a school social worker in The ACE Project’s first school site, Washington Elementary in Riverdale, IL, for 3 years prior to launching the organization. During that time, I saw how funding cuts to after-school programs affected youth. Children oftentimes were going home to unsupervised environments, impacting their ability to successfully complete homework and engage in more play opportunities.

Thanks to our dedicated supporters and growing team, The ACE Project got moving in Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit, serving nearly 550 kids each year with an after-school program that features tennis instruction, academic enrichment, homework assistance, nutrition, and social-emotional learning. This type of model provides the best chance for youth to excel, and we’ve seen what a difference it makes looking at our ACE-ers’ grades, attendance, and behavior.

A week before school shutdowns, I completed data collection, which included measuring our participants’ 5 C’s of youth development: character, connection, confidence, compassion and competence. Initial data analysis revealed that youth felt as if they “could not finish things after they start them”, had a difficult time sharing with others, and are “helpful if someone is hurt upset, or feeling ill.” About half of our youth asked questions throughout the survey, indicating that some of the items were outside of their comprehension.

Now, with stay-in-place orders in effect, my evaluation has been put on hold until the 2020-21 school year; still, the initial research I completed was critical because it indicates where students were prior to COVID-19. Within the first weeks back, I will collect data using the same measures as before; these results will illustrate the effect of coronavirus and social distancing on youth development. Questionnaires will also be administered to program staff, specifically measuring their opinions on individual children’s strengths and difficulties as well as their previous engagement in our program. With this information, The ACE Project will launch our after-school programs, expanding services to accommodate the newly identified needs of youth.

We anticipate that as students return from the extended break, they will face many challenges reacclimating to the structure of the classroom. Using the collected data as our guide, ACE will adapt to get youth back to excelling in the classroom and on the tennis court.

Susan Klumpner, AM, LCSW-C

Executive Director, Co-Founder