Sophomore swimmer Connor Killion knows what to expect from his stringent schedule — morning practice, class, afternoon practice, homework — but the pea plants were an unusual surprise. The first-grade students at Venable Elementary were always energetic when Killion arrived for his hour-long shift as a volunteer through the Athletes Committed to Education program, but he remembers a day in the garden with particular fondness.
“I got to go outside with the kids, and they planted pea plants, which was really cute … it was just an hour out of the week, but I still thought that was perfect because as athletes you find it hard for free time,” Killon said. “This was just a complete escape from sports, school, everything college. You just go be with these little kids, you get to interact with them, and it’s really unique.”
The Virginia Athletics department launched ACE as a way to connect student athletes with volunteering opportunities in local elementary schools. Currently, the program has almost 70 athletes, and last fall, the program teamed up with Madison House.
Rachel Clark, Class of 2019 alumna and one of Madison House’s 2018-2019 community engagement interns, began the process of reorganizing the program with help from the athletics staff.
“[Madison House] has resources, we have recognition, so it’s a way to get student athletes’ foot in the door when it comes to getting involved with the University’s student community, as well as the Charlottesville community, too,” Clark said.
ACE sends volunteers to Cale, Jackson Via, Johnson, Venable and Walker Upper elementary schools. However, the program’s basic purpose — to connect local teachers with University students that serve as classroom aides — is not unique within Madison House programming. The well-established Cavs in the Classroom program operates in a similar way. What sets ACE apart is its total dedication to student athletes, including a method of pairing teachers and students that defers more to the volunteers’ inflexible schedules.
Under Clark’s leadership, ACE made it easier to send athlete volunteers into the classroom. She streamlined the process for athletes through checking athlete availability first, and then coordinating days and times teachers were available.
Moreover, because student athletes tend to have similar gaps in their schedules, the program offers a chance for them to work together. Beau Bradley, a junior midfielder on the Virginia men’s soccer team, thinks that Madison House’s volunteer carpools are a useful way to meet and spend time with classmates from other teams.
“I think it’s a really good way to get to know other student athletes,” Bradley said. “You’d think that we would all know each other by now, but it’s actually a really big population, and it’s been a good way for me to get to know other student athletes.”
Bradley joined ACE as a first-year student. He was assigned to Cale Elementary, where he has volunteered with the general afterschool program and an afterschool class for ESL students. Though his weekly shift only lasts one hour, he emphasized the personal importance of expanding his relationships with students beyond the school’s walls.
“I have had kids that I’ve volunteered with that I’ve spoken to … and then I’ll talk to their parents, and I can give them tickets for games,” Bradley said. “I think U.Va. does a fairly good job of connecting with the greater Charlottesville community, but I really do think there’s still a lot of room for improvement, so getting them to the games is great but maintaining that relationship outside of school is what I think is most important.”
Women’s rowing junior Grace Comerford also took on multiple roles at Cale Elementary, helping to organize gym activities for the afterschool program as well as tutoring students in math and writing. More recently, she has volunteered with first-grade students at Venable Elementary School. Some ACE participants, including Comerford, have used the program to fulfill the classroom experience requirements for education courses, like “Intro to Teaching.” The curricular connection helped her find pride in her successes as a tutor for ACE.
“I was working with this boy, and we were just learning multiplication with multiple digit numbers, and I think I had been explaining to him how to do it for the past couple weeks, and then he was doing a worksheet and actually got them on his own … It was really rewarding to see that, and I was glad to see he was actually learning it,” Comerford said. “I was really proud of him.”
Comerford joined the ACE program after its move to Madison House last year and credits it for helping her find service opportunities like those she enjoyed in grade school.
“I have a real deep appreciation for the program because it has exposed me to the greater Charlottesville community,” Comerford said. “It’s … allowing me to continue to do the service that I’ve been doing since I was little.”
This fall, ACE has five new program directors — each is responsible for coordinating volunteers at one of the five elementary schools. Building on Clark’s work, they aim to increase the scope and impact of the program. Bradley, now the director for Cale Elementary, is focused on expanding ACE’s volunteer base and encouraging participants to bring in other teammates.
“I want to make more of an impact with that school specifically, but also I think that student athletes not only should volunteer, but I think it really is their responsibility to get involved in the community because we can have a really large impact on young impressionable kids,” Bradley said. “I really want people to have the same experience that I’ve had and enjoy it in that same way because it’s been so great for me.”
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