History

For more than two centuries, Catholic schools in the United States have provided an outstanding education to millions of children. The excellent educational opportunities provided in parish and diocesan schools were made possible by the strong pastoral and academic leadership of the bishops, pastors and religious communities who founded Catholic schools and who continued to guide and sustain them for decades.

In these schools, students met the challenge of high expectations for academic achievement with the support of the community that welcomed them and in the context of the faith of their homes. Millions of children have reaped the enormous benefits, both academic and spiritual, of a holistic Catholic education, and today we find Catholic school graduates among the leaders in nearly every imaginable field. These benefits have been especially pronounced for immigrant families, from the Irish, Italian, and Polish children of the past to today’s recently arrived Latino families.  Catholic schools have always offered newcomers a path to success in American society without abandoning their roots.

In recent decades, however, the traditional model of parish schools has faced a variety of challenges that threaten their sustainability. From 13,000 schools serving 5.2 million students in 1965, Catholic schools have dropped in number to 7,100 serving 2.1 million students. The causes are complex, but two key points are especially important: First, existing governance and stewardship systems have proven difficult to sustain, and second, many of the families Catholic schools have served historically today believe Catholic schools are not an option for them.

The Notre Dame ACE Academies were founded in 2010 as a response to the U.S. Bishops' call for a “new model of sponsorship and collaboration” between Catholic institutions of higher education and parish schools.  While the NDAA network is in its early stages, the partners in this effort stand on a solid foundation of tireless service of religious men and women who established the largest private school system in the world.  Indeed, the NDAA model is inspired by the Catholic priests, sisters, and brothers who created dynamic schools that gave multitudes of children a chance at success.

With a deep appreciation for the value of community in the Catholic tradition, NDAA schools are a collaboration between ACE staff and the schools themselves, and are established in groups so that the leaders, teachers, children, and families of each school may strengthen each other.  At the invitation of Bishop Gerald Kicanas, the first cluster of NDAA schools was established in Tucson, Arizona, in 2010. In 2012, the Diocese of St. Petersburg, under the leadership of Bishop Robert Lynch, joined the NDAA network with two schools in the Tampa Bay area.