Meet the ACPS Partner: Ethiopian and Eritrean Alliance for Education

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is fortunate to count dozens of dedicated businesses, community organizations and institutions of higher education as partners working with us each day to inspire students and address barriers to learning. Our “Meet the ACPS Partners” series is how we proudly thank these organizations and share their powerful, positive work with the community. This week, we caught up with Ethiopian and Eritrean Alliance for Education President Bihel Tafesse. The Ethiopian and Eritrean Alliance for Education serves ACPS divisionwide. 

Tell us about your organization. What’s your mission statement? How do you work with ACPS students, families or staff?

Our vision is to support parents of the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities to work in partnership with each other and ACPS to bridge a cultural gap between members of the community, foster better communication between schools and families, and provide the tools to be active and engaged in tenet students' academic lives.

How long has your organization been (officially/unofficially) partnering with ACPS?

The Ethiopian and Eritrean Alliance for Education has been partnering with ACPS since 2019.

If you could describe the impact of your work with ACPS in three words or less, what would they be and why?

Valuable, consistent and exceptional, these words are the most accurate descriptions of our work with ACPS because of the results we have seen through that work in our students' lives. The aid we offer serves as a catalyst toward the future of our students and would not have the effect it does without the partnership and help of ACPS.

What is a recent bit of good news about your organization or a feel-good story that you can share about your work?

We have recently helped a student pass her English as a Second Language (ESL) exam with the help of our tutors.

What is one thing most people might not know about your organization's work?

We tutor every subject, focusing on math and English, but we have tutors who are fully equipped to aid in subjects such as history, science, statistics and any other potential elective courses students could be taking in school. 

How can community members get involved and support your organization's collaborative efforts with ACPS?

Community members are highly encouraged to support both physically through aiding in our tutoring work force or digitally through different forms of donation, or simply spreading the word to the larger community of our organization and our work.