Rockdale Intermediate School

Program Description

Rockdale Intermediate is a Title 1 campus and many students are in need of the extra academic help they can receive through the ACE program. Intense tutorial sessions are offered to help students with struggling concepts and to help with STAAR preparation. Students also have social and speech needs, or need to be in a safe 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. Rockdale is a small community of about 5,500 people. There are many small businesses with most of them locally owned. Grocery stores like Brookshire Brothers and Walmart are located in the city. There are many churches of different faiths scattered around the city. There is one public library and two public parks, one with a swimming pool and the other with a splash pad. Families in the community have varied social and economic backgrounds. Families live in RV parks, trailer parks, apartments and single-family dwellings.

Students are selected to participate in the ACE program based on certain criteria which includes:

1. Being 1 1⁄2 grades level behind in ELA or Math

2. The children of staff members

3. Students identified at the RtI meetings and considering grades, social need, ESL, homelife, behavior

4. Teacher student recommendations due to student grade underperformance in class

5. Siblings of student’s in ACE

The selection of students for the ACE program begins with the process of identifying the students who meet the criteria noted above. Once identified, the site director then sends an invitation/registration form to the student’s parents. Once the completed invitation/registration is brought back to the school, the site director enrolls the student into the ACE program. 

The ACE program offers academic tutorial classes in each of the four grade levels. Teachers in each of the tutorial classes are the same school day teacher that the student has in class each day. This means that the tutorial teacher knows exactly what skills the student is struggling with. Homework help is also provided to students where they will receive assistance on missing homework or simply read for upcoming AR tests. It should be noted that a distinction is made between tutorials and homework help. Tutorials are small groups formed with selected struggling students so that the teacher has the opportunity to reinforce skills in ELA and/or Math. Homework help can be a large group where students work on a variety of tasks which may include homework due the next day, reading for an AR quiz, completing makeup work, or makeup time on a Mindplay. During homework help an adult is available can answer questions a student may have.

Samples of enrichment activities offered during the school year include:

• Gardening – Where students learn about vegetables and flowers that grow in the garden, as well as the growing cycle, the needs of the plants, and the insects that live in the garden with the plants.

• Math Board Games – Where students work on social skills, following directions, problem solving and how to calculate simple math problems quickly.

• Drum Fit – Where students have to follow directions with the group, beware of personal space as well as others, and it is a fun physical workout.

Family engagement opportunities are extended to the parents of ACE students and include Meet the Teacher Night, Parent/Teacher Conferences, Read Under the Stars, Trunk or Treat Halloween, Tamelada, Parent/Teacher Conferences, Community Easter Egg Hunt, Drum Fit and ESL Family Night.

Having the best and correctly identified ACE teaching staff is critical for an effective program. As directed by the campus principal all the regular classroom teachers work at least one ACE tutorial class. In selecting staff for enrichment classes and homework classes, the site director allows teachers and/or aides to indicate their preferred areas of work in ACE. Other individuals make significant contributions in the ACE program. These include the campus principal who supports both the site director and the ACE program in general. The regular school day teachers who not only are required to work at least one day a week in the program doing tutorial classes but also teach the enrichment classes. The school counselors who visit with students and parents if issues arise. The counselor also holds book clubs for certain girls and boys that need to learn a social or coping skill through the story the group read and discuss. In addition to the various individuals named above, there are also community resources that contribute to the ACE program. These include The Chamber of Commerce who partners with ACE for the Easter Egg Hunt and The Texas Department of Agriculture who pay for the supper meals that are served to the students.

The campus administration allows the ACE program to use a variety of campus locations during the ACE program hours. These include regular classrooms for the tutorial classes, for homework help, and for the enrichment classes, the cafeteria for the supper meal and enrichment classes.  Other locations used for enrichment classes included the gym, the science lab, the garden, the basketball court outside, the computer lab and the campus kitchen.

Family & Community Events

Rockdale Intermediate is doing a Family Game Night, Feb 27, 5:15 - 6:30 PM 

Monthly Newsletter

Intermediate - ACE Tigers

This spring semester, ACE Tigers teachers have already started teaching tutorial

classes for students during our afterschool program. Not only do our classroom

teachers tutor at least one after school tutorial class per week, but a number of

the teachers, along with some of our paraprofessionals, facilitate fun and

engaging enrichment classes for our students. A nutritious supper meal is served

to each ACE student between the tutorial and enrichment classes. At the end of

the ACE Tigers program, buses are available to take students home.

Over a hundred and thirty students attend the Reading and/or Math tutorials

classes that are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday from 3:50 PM - 4:35

PM. Tutorials classes not only reinforce the content that was taught in class, or

strengthen strategies and skills, but they also help prepare the students for the

upcoming STAAR tests.

Enrichment classes are offered after the tutorial classes from 5:00 PM to 5:45

PM, Friday is only until 5:00 PM. Enrichment classes are not only a little more fun,

but the classes also have a learning component. Some of the classes we offer on

particular days are: Math Board Games, Lego Challenge, Baking, Arts and Crafts,

Computer Class, Sports, Science, Build It, and a Gardening class is currently being

designed.

Upcoming: Parent/Family Engagement activities are being developed and

information will be sent out very soon, so please watch for those announcements.

Planning for summer school is already underway, June is coming fast!

For more information concerning the Intermediate ACE Tigers program, please

contact:

Sandy Robbins

Intermediate ACE Site Coordinator

512-760-6200 ext. 4130

srobbins@rockdaleisd.net