History
Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C, and Rev. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., co-founded the Alliance for Catholic Education in 1993 to address the need for talented and well-prepared young teachers in Catholic schools. By forming a new generation of committed, faith-filled Catholic school teachers, ACE sought to sustain and strengthen Catholic education, especially in under-resourced schools.
As a first step toward achieving these goals, ACE launched the Service through Teaching program. Best known for its innovative method of formation, this initiative has sent forth young teachers eager to serve in under-resourced Catholic schools and has commissioned over 1,200 teachers throughout the United States.
Recognizing the need for transformational school leaders in Catholic schools across the country, ACE founded the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program in 2002. It has become the largest of its kind in the United States, preparing over 230 educators who now lead Catholic schools in 41 states and 65 dioceses.
By 2005, it became clear that a more comprehensive approach to sustaining and strengthening Catholic schools would be necessary to revitalize the largest non-public school system in the United States. In response to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' call for Catholic higher education to help address the future of elementary and secondary Catholic schools, University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., assembled a national Task Force on Catholic Education to study and discuss the issues affecting our nation's Catholic schools.
After fourteen months of rigorous study and meetings, the Task Force released its final report in December 2006, entitled Making God Known, Loved and Served: The Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in the Untied States. The report outlined twelve strategic objectives for the University of Notre Dame to help meeet the most pressing needs of our nation's elementary and secondary Catholic schools, along with five additional recommendations for the Church in the United States to ensure the vitality of Catholic schools in the new millennium.
In response to the outlined objectives, ACE's scope and size expanded quickly. By 2010, the Alliance for Catholic Education was comprised of four academic formation programs and eight outreach and professional development programs. Now housed under one roof in Carole Sandner Hall, a beautiful new building on Notre Dame's campus, the units of ACE offer countless services to Catholic school teachers, administrators, parents, and supporters.
1. You can read about the founding of the Alliance for Catholic Education on Today in ND History.
