A's & Aces

"providing academic assistance, life skills and tennis to New Orleans public school children"

Tulane University

Service learning is a new requirement at Tulane after Hurricane Katrina.  Students volunteer in a conjunction with a class they are taking.  This allows students to get hands-on experience with what they are learning in class and allows them to give back to the New Orleans community, of which they are now a part.  Tulane students write journals and reflection papers on their experiences to connect their community engagement with concepts covered in class. 

The Payson Center's service-learning program is one of the main service-learning partners of A’s & Aces. The mission of the Payson Center is to promote sustainable development among disadvantaged communities through its academic and applied development programs, including service-learning. 

For more information on Tulane University’s Service Learning program, visit http://tulane.edu/cps/index.cfm.

For more information on the Payson Center, visit http://www.payson.tulane.edu.

Loyola University

Loyola's student talks about her experience
with A's & Aces, click to read the article in the Maroon.

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Jesuit High School

Ben Franklin High School

A’s & Aces’ 1st Interscholastic QuickStart Tennis Team Tournament and Campus Visit

On April 10, thirty-seven children from five Orleans parish public elementary schools participated in the 1st A’s & Aces Interscholastic QuickStart Tennis Team Tournament held at the Goldring Tennis Stadium at Tulane University.  Participating schools were Arthur Ashe Charter, Edward Hynes Charter, Lafayette Academy, Milestone SABIS Academy, and Audubon Charter.   

After lunch in the University Center, several of the 80 service-learning students of International Development who provided tutoring throughout the school year led the children on a scavenger hunt to explore the campus (locate the library, find the School of Architecture, a dorm, etc) and show them what it means to be a college student.  Afterwards the children watched the men’s tennis match against ULL with other Tulane student-athletes (football players, etc) who then gave them a tour of the Athletic Center and talked to them with the Assistant Athletic Director about college life, discipline, sportsmanship and teamwork.  Participants then watched a few innings of the baseball game against Rice to end the day.