Naomi Pasemann Elementary School

Welcome! 

Read below to learn about our Taylor Flight School (ACE) program at Naomi Pasemann Elementary.

Contact Information:

sperez@taylorisd.org 

254-231-7783 

Program Description

For the spring semester, we will be focusing on getting ready for the STAAR exam. A gym in Taylor will be doing a running program with the 4th and 5th grade students. I will be having an Easter event for the students and their families. The kids will get to decorate eggs, play games, and then we will have an Easter egg hunt. 

In the fall semester, the enrichment activities involved the kids doing crafts with the art teacher, learned about music, and learning about theater arts. At the end of the semester, the kids performed a Christmas play that was written and directed by the High School theatre teacher. The children received homework help and one on one tutoring when needed. The younger kids worked on reading and practiced sight words. Most days, the kids would go outside and play. For Lights on Afterschool, we did a trunk or treat for the kids and their families. We also did a family game night! The families enjoyed an evening of playing games, eating snacks and making memories. 

There are several reasons why an afterschool program is needed at this site and were identified via the Texas Academic Performance Report as well as district and campus staff discussions. There are many at risk students who display behavior and student academic achievement gaps. There has been a significant loss of learning these past two years due to the COVID pandemic. The ACE program provides additional reinforcement of academic and enrichment skills that complement the school day classes through intensive academic tutorials, STAAR prep and homework help. Prior to the current school year, Main Street Intermediate did not have an afterschool program that focused on providing students with help in improving their skills and confidence in math and reading. The ACE program goal is to get students involved in an active and meaningful learning environment afterschool that will provide them growth in at least one subject area each year. The program also focuses on student wellness and social emotional learning by providing activities that build the student’s social emotional wellness as well as provide a safe and welcoming learning and engaging environment.

The uniqueness of this center’s population can be found in the description of the community and the characteristics of the families it serves. The city of Taylor contains several churches and small shopping centers that include fast food and Mexican restaurants, as well as a laundry mat. A hospital is located next to the campus and a McCoy’s and Walmart are situated within walking distance. The nearest park is about a mile and a half away from the school and the housing near the park is mostly apartments and low-income housing. The neighborhood next to the campus is generally a newer subdivision with two story homes while the neighborhood behind the campus is mostly occupied by retirees. and nearest the park is mostly apartment and low-income housing. The ethnicity of the community population is mostly Hispanic and white. 

The selection of students for the ACE program involves a process that begins with recommendations received. The site director sends out a flight school (ACE) application to all prospective applicants and includes an information sheet with additional details regarding flight school. An invitation letter is sent to parents to attend an orientation. During the orientation detailed information is shared regarding the time frames, important upcoming events, slide presentation with schedules, class offerings, transportation details and contact information. Students are selected to participate in the ACE program based on certain criteria which include assessment scores, targeted students and recommendations by campus administrators. 

Each day the ACE program schedule offers a focus on academics. An academic block which focuses on Math and ELA skills is provided daily. The ACE program utilizes the lesson plans that are generated during the school day to compliment the skills that are taught after school and the after-school teachers practice these skills with students. There has been an improvement in flight school students' Math and ELAR skills as evidenced by their school day teachers’ surveys, emails from their teachers to the site director, and by each semester’s school day award ceremonies. Several of the ACE students have won the most improved math and most improved reading awards. ACE students also have shown improvement in their Renaissance assessments. It should be noted that a distinction is made between tutorials and homework help. Homework help is short-term assistance with assignments from school day teachers, which include worksheets, project completion or study guides/notes. Tutorials are long-term and are focused on growing the students’ skills in academics.

Tutorials for math and ELA focus on small group reinforcement of those skills and a breakdown of those skills so that students can learn these skills more easily and help them retain the information better. A variety of enrichment activities were offered during the school year. These included cooking classes that focused on Math and ELA skills. Art classes that allowed students to feel empowered to self-express through art and involved student independent and collaborative work. Wellness  Wednesdays that focused on nutrition, fitness and social emotional learning. A running club that was sponsored by HT fitness and was a collaboration with Taylor ISD Family Support Services and NPE Flight School. Additional enrichment activities included music, dance and gardening. Gardening that employed science, math and ELA skills.

Family engagement opportunities were extended to the parents of ACE students. A combined NPE and TMS Flight School Trunk- or-Treat event was a huge success. 80% of students attend with their parents. It was also a literacy event where books were given and families were given take-home activities. Many of the families participated in online offerings by Austin Community College (ACC).

The on-line activity with the most participation was Snackin’ with Science online cooking provided by ACC and the family support specialists. Also successful was “Reading Under the Stars” with athletes from Texas State Soccer reading a book to families via Zoom. The biggest successful event student/parent was the in-person Christmas Event. Approximately 250 participants attended. It was a combination of Taylor Middle School and NPE flight school programs. It was held in the NPE cafeteria and events center. Parents and students were treated to a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Mrs. Claus read to the families and a 4th grader read the Night Before Christmas in Spanish. Carnival type events continued with “Winter Wonderland” where participants had ornament decorating, a donut eating contest, ring toss, pin-the-tail on the reindeer, snowball count, and various other activities. The feedback from the event was fantastic and everyone had a great time.

The success of the ACE program can be attributed to a number of individuals. The selection of ACE program staff is critical for an effective program. This year was a challenge in the recruitment of staff due to the COVID pandemic and teachers not being able to commit to after school. However, the site director was able to hire from the community and that resulted in a very consistent staff. this semester. The site director met each month with the campus administration to update flight school progress and student success. While communication with regular school day teachers was limited, the site coordinator did have access to shared drives that provided access to the school day lessons and ensured that the program was complimenting the instruction after school. In addition to the various individuals named above, there also were community resources that made contributions to the ACE program this year. These included:

• Durcon -Manufacturing company-sponsored our Truck-or-treat family event and our Christmas Event.

• Family Support Services- Collaboration for Wellness Wednesdays/Nutrition and Fitness Classes.

• HT Fitness - Provided volunteer coaches this semester that facilitated our Flight School Run Club.

• Condra Funeral Home-provided supplies for our family events.

• Tim Crow- Photos of our family events to date.

• Taylor-Aides- Provided volunteers for snack time.

• Ortiz family- Volunteered during our Trunk-or-Treat National Lights on Event. Donated our Run Club t-shirts for our fun run.

• Taylor High School Color guard and Taylor High School NHS- provided volunteer hours for our Christmas Event.

• ACC family Support Specialists- Tonda Turner and Jayme Johnson.

The campus administration allowed the ACE program to use a variety of campus locations during the ACE program hours. These included a dedicated office for the site director, classrooms, the library, the cafeteria, the science lab, the gym, - the outdoor patio/field adjacent to the cafeteria, the computer lab.

Family & Community Events

Monthly Newsletter