"That's really cool!"

Written by: Mary Forr

"Miss Forr! Miss Forr!!! Do you think they'll give us their autographs?"

The "they" my students were referring to weren't members of an NBA team or the newest pop band; they were two priests-Fr. Tim Scully and Fr. Joe Carey-and the next day in school, my students proudly reported that they had gotten the autographs of two men who would one day be saints.

Last Thursday, students from St. Peter School made the just over a half mile journey to the steps Capitol Building for an ACE event in Washington DC. When they got to the Capitol, they were greeted by the ACE staff and Fr. Joe, Fr. Sean, and Fr. Lou. They toured the ACE bus and talked with the ACE staff, and pretty soon, even our token Michigan fan was talking about how cool ACE was.

On the front steps of the Capitol, ACE presented awards to men who had devoted a significant portion of their career to helping Catholic schools, but more importantly, the ACE staff demonstrated why Catholic schools are so successful-they got to know and care about each of the students there. Fr. Sean asked the students if any of them had big aspirations, and cheers-and I think maybe a few tears-broke out as one second grader proudly exclaimed, "I have a big aspiration to be a Catholic school teacher!" Great job Liz Slamkowski-you've recruited another one!

Former ACEr Jack Kelly spoke about the goal of Catholic schools-creating saints and citizens. Jack talked about loving one another, about following in Christ's footsteps, about doing good things on earth so that one day we could be saints in heaven. He said that was the goal of Catholic schools; after twenty some years of being affiliated with Catholic schools, it looks like Jack learned quite a bit.

After Jack's talk, our students had a chance to meet the ACE staff. They were shocked to find out that Fr. Lou could drive the lane and pull up for a jumper with the best of them. They couldn't believe that Fr. Joe baked cookies for people just about every week, or that Fr. Sean played tennis for Notre Dame. They especially couldn't figure out why everyone there used the same, "clap once if you can hear me," method that I use in my classroom (yes, I'm still trying to be like you Sarah Greene!). They were impressed by the feats of these incredible people, but they were even more impressed by the fact that everyone there had devoted their lives to Catholic schools. "That's really cool, Miss Forr!" they kept saying, and they were right. It is "really cool!"

It's really cool that Catholic schools have such a huge impact on students' lives-that they can change the trajectory of a student's life completely. It's really cool that a group of dedicated people is doing something to make sure that Catholic schools not only survive, but thrive. It's really cool that this group of incredibly busy people is taking the time to tell the whole country about Catholic schools. Thank you ACE for all you are doing for Catholic schools; thank you for coming to DC; and thank you for being so incredible that my kids were able to meet great examples of not only citizens, but also saints.