Our Story
A’s & Aces was founded in 2008 by Anna Monhartova and David Schumacher “to provide academic assistance, life skills and tennis for New Orleans public school children.”
The program started with about 30 children, through kindergarten to third grade. Due to scare facilities post Katrina, A's & Aces brought USTA's QuickStart tennis program to school playgrounds, gyms, and once a cafeteria. With the tools of portable nets, smaller courts and easy to handle equipment, their mission began!
The program started with about 30 children, through kindergarten to third grade. Due to scare facilities post Katrina, A's & Aces brought USTA's QuickStart tennis program to school playgrounds, gyms, and once a cafeteria. With the tools of portable nets, smaller courts and easy to handle equipment, their mission began!
"...A LOVE FOR TENNIS WILL KEEP STUDENTS MOTIVATED TO STAY IN SCHOOL, HELP THEM MEET FRIENDS AND HELP THEM DEVELOP BASIC LIFE SKILLS."
-DAVID SCHUMACHER, FOUNDER
-DAVID SCHUMACHER, FOUNDER
THE CONTINUING LEGACY
The number of children regularly impacted has steadily increased each year, and over 500 children now participate annually. Staff regularly works with over 350 children through our in-school, after-school, school-break and weekend programs each week throughout the academic year, and about 100 in summer literacy and tennis camps. With full time staff, 15 part-time and seasonal staff, and over 100 volunteers throughout the school-year, children’s individual needs can be addressed via one-on-one tutoring and private sessions.
A’s & Aces uses several venues and implements a variety of age/grade academic and athletic models. Currently, we partner with five schools to teach essential life skills using literacy (reading and writing) projects, and “physical literacy” (movement, eye-hand coordination using QuickStart Tennis). We focus on 1st – 3rd grade students during throughout the school day, and 2nd-8th graders can apply to our afterschool programs at Joe Brown Park Tennis Center. There, classroom literacy projects and tennis court activities are thematically linked through use of USTA First Serve Life Skills and ACE curricula and other projects. Our goal is to help prepare our students to succeed academically, socially/emotionally and physically in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and beyond.
A’s & Aces uses several venues and implements a variety of age/grade academic and athletic models. Currently, we partner with five schools to teach essential life skills using literacy (reading and writing) projects, and “physical literacy” (movement, eye-hand coordination using QuickStart Tennis). We focus on 1st – 3rd grade students during throughout the school day, and 2nd-8th graders can apply to our afterschool programs at Joe Brown Park Tennis Center. There, classroom literacy projects and tennis court activities are thematically linked through use of USTA First Serve Life Skills and ACE curricula and other projects. Our goal is to help prepare our students to succeed academically, socially/emotionally and physically in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and beyond.
Parental appreciation of our staff’s work is reflected by many testimonials:
- [My son] has enjoyed participating in the A’s & Aces program and as parents we have enjoyed watching him learn and appreciate the sport of tennis. We are also pleased with the focus on academics that helps to reinforce the importance of a strong education for anything that you want to do or become.
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- "This has been such a great summer at A's & Ace's. We can't believe next week is the last... Freya is so professional and kind. She runs a first class program. The counselors and volunteers are so committed and enthusiastic! Thanks for a great program - our entire family is giving tennis a try now.
A’s & Aces has been fortunate to have strong fiscal support over the years from scores of corporate sponsors, hundreds of individual donors, through government and foundation grants, and as a United Way Partner Agency. Our partnerships with Tulane and Dillard, AmeriCorps VISTA and Up2Us/Coach Across America , NORDC and numerous public schools are important relationships that have made it possible to provide high-quality programming for so many.