The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will once again welcome hundreds of visitors to the campus this summer for a unique series of conferences, all advancing ACE’s mission to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic schools.

The conferences, some of which are currently accepting registrants, constitute a growing part of the busy summer to be enjoyed by ACE participants. Hundreds of those participants will receive skills and personal formation to earn master’s degrees as K-12 Catholic school teachers and leaders.

Various units of ACE, which have multiplied during 19 years while remaining true to the original mission of service to under-resourced Catholic schools, host conferences that address today’s urgent issues. These include galvanizing top-notch teachers and school leaders; encouraging parental choice policies and informed financial strategies for Catholic school sustainability; promoting athletic coaching that ministers to young people; and introducing parents and South Bend-area educators to the summertime wellspring of Notre Dame’s commitment to K-12 schooling.

These are the conferences coming up:

ACE Teaching Fellows Annual Conference (June 5-10). Participants in the Melody Family ACE Teaching Fellowship program convene to assess and catalyze their growth as master teachers, educational leaders, and generators of problem-solving research. Several benefactor-supported fellowships support highly promising educators who wish to continue their careers in Catholic classrooms while pursuing advanced knowledge and skills. Fellows cultivate these leadership assets along with their mentors during the conference. Read more about the program.

Advocates for Parental Choice Symposium (June 15-20). This intensive formation experience gives participants a first-hand experience of people and places on the cutting edge in implementing school choice policies. Catholic school supporters will receive skills, insights, and working relationships to equip them as advocates in the parental choice movement. Major speakers and visits to Wisconsin and Florida will increase these future leaders’ understanding of the legal, social, constitutional, political, and moral dimensions of parental choice.

Play Like a Champion Sports Leadership Conference (June 22-24).

This annual conference, titled “Champion Character in Sports” for 2012, emphasizes developing the whole person through sports. Guest speakers offer professional development for coaches and athletic administrators at both the youth and high school levels. Hosted by ACE’s Play Like a Champion Today® experts in sports as ministry, the conference gathers representatives of parochial leagues around the country to network and share best practices. Go here to register.

Superintendents Strategic Leadership Conference (June 24-27)

ACE Consulting annually invites superintendents from dioceses across the country to hear expert speakers and conduct in-depth conversations about the many-layered challenges of leading Catholic schools. The goal is to help superintendents share best practices and obtain better tools to formulate and implement strategies that will sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic education. The conference is produced in collaboration with FACTS management company.

Principals Academy (June 26-29)

A four-day enrichment experience for Catholic school principal will focus on identifying and shaping a school’s culture to benefit leadership and learning. The values of a school, expressed actively and nurtured in a culture, provide a framework in which teachers can reduce students’ achievement gaps and leaders can promote continuous improvement in a school. This academy, hosted by ACE Consulting, will help principals develop action plans to improve and utilize their school culture. Register here for the Principals Academy.

Equitable Services Institute (July 8-12)

Students in Catholic schools across the country are not getting federally funded services to which they’re entitled; the Equitable Services Institute assists diocesan superintendents, principals, and other educational leaders to solve this problem. Attendees will receive updated information about complex federal funding policies plus practical roadmaps for the process of consultations by which educators obtain equitable shares for their students from Title 1, Title 2, and Title 3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Learn more here, and click to register.

School Pastors Institute (July 17-20)

Pastors whose parishes include schools are invited to this annual institute to learn to manage and leverage better the distinctive relationship between a parish and its school. The Institute develops many skills and perspectives that a pastor will need in overseeing a parish school, its people, and its finances. It provides insights for valuable reflection on the value of Catholic schools to the children and parents of a parish and to the future of the Church as a whole. 

ACE Parent Retreat (July 25-27)

Parents whose sons or daughters have just finished their first year in ACE Service through Teaching often have many questions about these first-year teachers’ experiences. ACE Advocates hosts a special retreat for these parents at Notre Dame to get their questions answered and to see the broader context of the journey their ACE teachers are taking. The retreat also allows these parents of the ACE 18 cohort to hear presentations, worship together, and swap stories. Learn more.

Mary Ann Remick Leadership Conference (July 13)

This conference, a capstone event for those earning their master’s degrees in educational administration through the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program (RLP), is a unique and informal venue for South Bend-area educators to discuss current research with ACE leaders and experts from across the country. The RLP participants present the action research they have conducted to help address key day-to-day issues facing Catholic schools, and local educational leaders attending free-of-charge may exchange useful ideas. Read about last year’s conference and read about the value of action research.

Students in Catholic schools across the country are not getting federally funded services to which they're entitled. By one estimate, the funds that Catholic educators leave on the table may total as much as $500 million annually.

Solving this problem is the purpose of the Equitable Services Institute, to which principals, diocesan superintendents, and other leaders are invited at the University of Notre Dame on July 8-12, 2012.

The institute is part of a series of professional development events offered this summer on campus through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

Registration for the Equitable Services Institute is open to "anybody who will need to represent their students in receiving all the services they have a right to receive," says Michelle Doyle, an expert on the process of obtaining and optimizing those services. Doyle, a consultant with Catapult Learning, will be a major presenter at the Institute. Catapult, a provider of varied services for K-12 schools and students, is co-sponsoring the event with ACE Consulting.

The Catholic School Advantage Campaign works with (arch)dioceses to open up the possibility of a Catholic education to more students. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Collete has seen a record 13% growth after working with the CSA Campaign. Read more about the wonderful story of St. Collete and other great news from Chicago Catholic schools in the Spanish newspaper Catolico. St. Colette.

ACE Consulting has had a wonderful collaboration with the Diocese of Joliet since 2010. Through our work together Joliet has created a new governance structure.

Joliet's accomplishments were profiled in two recent articles found below:

Catholic schools add director, board members

Lafayette Catholic Schools to hire executive director, craft new strategic plan

Yvonne Schwab, who recently was named among this year's 61 National Distinguished Principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), says many people and many forces have come together to transform Saint James the Less School, the Catholic school she leads in Columbus, Ohio.

Progressing toward the October 2011 NAESP ceremony and an earlier competition in which the National Catholic Education Association honored her as a Distinguished Principal, Yvonne wrote various essays describing accomplishments at St. James the Less. One of those accomplishments has been a surge in Latino enrollment during the eight years of her leadership—from two students to 260 out of a current student population totaling 497.

Rudy Vargas is ACE’s Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of New York. He sends this update on a success story he has seen while working with the people of various elementary and secondary schools in the Bronx and elsewhere in the New York City area.

“One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.”
– Scottish Clergyman Peter Marshall (1902-1949)

I have been visiting with madrinas in these past few months in my work with the Catholic School Advantage campaign in New York. The madrinas groups have been initiated since June 2011 as one of our major strategies to increase Latino enrollment and retention. These visits with madrinas have been a blessing.

St. Patrick Catholic School, located in Springfield, IL, has recently experienced some challenges. However, the 101-year-old school is on its way to making a serious turnaround.

"Despite the positive response from the community, Runkel said the school can’t simply rely on current donors to continue giving indefinitely. The school board worked with the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, also known as ACE Consulting, to devise a plan for the future. A main component of that plan, Runkel said, is a strong school board whose members not only contribute to the school, but also actively seek out new donors and funding opportunities. ACE will return in January, Runkel said, to train board members in fundraising.

Follow here to read the full article:
http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-9388-st-patrss-is-back-on-track.html

Juana Sanchez is ACE's Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of Chicago. She sends this update on a success story she learned about while working with the people of St. Genevieve Catholic School in Chicago.

At St. Genevieve, an elementary school not far from downtown Chicago, students from all backgrounds have been brought closer together by learning about the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe that is deeply rooted in the faith of the school's Latino community.

This learning takes a very tangible and compelling form every year on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12, when the school community gathers for the presentation of a play about the Feast. The play had its genesis in one teacher's personal spiritual experience and her desire to serve Our Lady, the Church, and her school.
Daisy Perez, director of development at St. Genevieve, prepared this report on this play, due for its third annual performance on Dec. 12:

A Children's Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe was written, directed, and produced by Heather Cleaver, St. Genevieve Catholic School's second grade teacher. It was co-directed by the fifth grade teacher, Julianna Flores. It was performed by the second and fifth grade students of St. Genevieve School for the past two years and will be performed again this year on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Genevieve Church on Dec. 12, 2011.

The following description of the play is an abridged version of Heather Cleaver's Preface to A Children's Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it explains the driving force for the production of the play within the St. Genevieve School setting. [Publication of the play, written by Heather Cleaver and edited by Otilia Nigaglioni, is planned for the late winter in 2012.]

"About ten years ago, I had a strong urge to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Virgen de Guadalupe) in Mexico City," Heather Cleaver writes. "I kept having visions in my mind of her image as I was praying. I knew little about her story except what her image looked like and that her image was honored in the Mexican culture. I had a gut feeling that these recurring visions were a sign from God to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe .

"Over the years, I read a lot of literature, looked her up on the internet, and spoke with different people about Our Lady of Guadalupe. People shared with me her story from their own knowledge base. I came to a better understanding about her appearance to Juan Diego. She is mother to all of us, so in her apparitions, she appears to one of the people in the form of a human in their own ethnicity. Mary appeared as an Aztec princess, speaking to Juan Diego in his own Aztec language.

"I didn't really understand why I was called to go to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe until a couple of years ago.... However, a couple of years ago, I had a strong desire to celebrate her. I felt a need to spread Mary's message to my students and the rest of the school. . .

"My school has a very large Mexican/Latin American student population, but as a school we did not celebrate her together. The parish did a lot for the church members, but I strongly felt the school needed to do something as well. I talked this over with my principal, and she agreed that a prayer service was a great idea to move forward in their religious growth. I wanted to create a celebration of their cultural heritage in writing about Our Lady of Guadalupe, so after pondering about it, I decided to write a play to help the students honor and celebrate her. This play is a cultural preservation of Mexican history for generations to come. Acting her story out would help foster children's understanding of Mexican culture and our Catholic history."

This invitation is open to all parishioners and to the community to come and join St. Genevieve Catholic School faculty, staff and students in celebrating La Virgen de Guadalupe."

Accompanying photo: Marlene DeAngelo as Our Lady and Nathan Houlihan as Juan Diego in the school’s 2010 performance of the “Children’s Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe” at St. Genevieve School.

Sylvia Armas-Abad is ACE's Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She sends this update on a success story she learned about while working with the people of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School in Los Angeles.

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School is located in the Northeast area of the City of Los Angeles. The Community of Rose Hills has a rich history, dating back to the time of the early native settlements of the Tongva Indians, who originally named this community Otsungna, which means "Place of Roses."

During the time of the Spanish missionaries, these lands were referred to as "Rancho Rosa de Castilla." The name still included a reference to the rose, because of the abundant roses growing on the hills and along the bank of the stream that was parallel to this area. In 1920, the Sisters of Social Services began teaching catechism classes in what is now the recreation center across the street from today's parish and school.

In 1924, the property was named "Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission," under Father Antonio Arias. The site continued to grow during the 1940's, and in 1953 the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill was built, followed by the construction of the parish school in 1957. The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary would administrate the school for many years to come.

After serving the Community of Rose Hills for the past 54 years, Our Lady of Guadalupe School has dedicated its efforts for the past year to re-establishing a strong connection between the school and parish and to provide a curriculum that will prepare the students to compete in a global market.

Serving a predominantly Latino population, Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill recognizes the importance of fostering the bi-cultural and bilingual journey that their students are experiencing in America. The school has also developed the following philosophy: "We, the faculty of Our Lady of Guadalupe School, believe that the parents are the primary educators of their children. We are dedicated to the Catholic formation of each student to be lifelong learners in the service of Christ and all His people. We challenge our students to be spiritually adept, academically superior, healthy and self-disciplined in a true Catholic environment."

In the summer of 2010, at a time of change and uncertainty in the parish, Victor Serna was appointed as principal of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill. An ongoing decline in enrollment had taken its toll on the school's budget, and there seemed to be very little room for improvement. However, it was a matter of taking small, but very important, steps to create effective changes.

The first step was to establish a positive working relationship with the parish's new leadership. Father Nelson Trinidad, an Archdiocesan priest, was appointed as the new administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill parish. Both he and Mr. Serna began their work at OLG in July 2010. Working collaboratively has resulted in positive changes. In May of 2011, the parish and school held their first parish-school fiesta. The organizational work was shared among both parishioners and school families. It was a true depiction of individuals coming together to rebuild their community.

Furthermore, as a partner school in the Catholic School Advantage campaign, the University of Notre Dame's initiative to increase the number of Latino children enrolled in Catholic school throughout the United States, both Father Nelson and Mr. Serna had the opportunity to participate in the Pastors Institute and the Principals Academy, respectively, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, in July 2011.

Victor Serna describes his experience at the Principals Academy as follows: "The Principals Academy, organized by the University of Notre Dame, opened my eyes to the type of forward thinking we can demonstrate regardless of the adversity we face. I have put the skills I gained at the Academy to good use, by implementing a vertical style of collaboration that allows teachers to examine the needs of our students of all grades. The experience was a God send for me! I was faced with declining enrollment and with limited resources. The practical ideas presented at the Academy helped me to reflect on how I can help guide my school towards excellence. I was also reminded that it is through the grace of God and through the cooperation of the community as a whole—parishioners, parents, students and staff—that we will overcome these trying times and truly impact the lives of our young children."

Over the course of the past year, Mr. Serna and Father Nelson have worked together on the Parish Finance Council, which aims to support the school in its strategic planning. Mr. Serna has also organized an alumni support base via Facebook, and he has identified a group of eight parents to serve in the Catholic School Advantage campaign's "Madrina/Padrino Mentorship Program." This marketing effort mobilizes parents to become parent ambassadors for their respective schools. The parents are trained to promote their school, recruit families, and mentor new families to ensure that they are adapting successfully to the Catholic school environment.

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill saw an increase in their enrollment this year from 135 students to 151 students. Mr. Serna attributes meeting this goal to the monthly marketing publications that were distributed throughout the community over the past year. Furthermore, he recognizes the importance of his parents being the school's best marketers. However, many of his efforts have also been focused on improving the academic and extra-curricular programs at OLG-Rose Hill. Mr. Serna is constantly providing his faculty and staff with professional development and seeks to offer comprehensive and well-rounded extra-curricular activities for the students.

His school was recently chosen to participate in a qualitative study led by Catapult Learning. Next year, the school hopes to have a fully enrolled Kindergarten. With this goal in mind, the objective is to continue to foster the growth of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School by way of recruiting aggressively in the early grades, therefore ensuring a natural growth process.

On Monday, December 12, 2011, the parish and school will once again collaborate in what is perhaps the most important date to the Mexican Catholic community, El Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe (The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe). On this day, the parishioners will participate in La Mañanitas to La Virgen at 5:00 a.m., followed by a Menudo breakfast in the parish hall. The students will participate in a special Mass at 9:00 a.m., where the fourth grade will provide a reenactment of the events that took place on the desert hill of El Tepeyac, near modern day Mexico City, from December 9, 1531, to December 12, 1531. During the Mass, the OLG students will also make an offering of "good deeds," written by each one of the students and every student will bring a rose to offer to our Blessed Mother. A reception will be held after Mass for all students and their participating families.

"I believe that Catholic schools reflect what our Virgen de Guadalupe would want for us—a safe, protected, learning environment, formed in our Catholic faith," said Principal Serna. "Furthermore, her apparition to a humble, indigenous peasant is a reminder that we are here to serve the ones who need us the most. The manner in which she manifested herself also reminds us that we must be relatable leaders. Cultural responsiveness is not just about language, it is about the sense of community and family that we need to evoke. We have to be nurturing, loving and inspirational."

Accompanying photo: Grandparents Day is celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe - Rose Hill School (this photo from the 2010 gathering of grandparents and grandchildren).

The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), alongside international partners including Catholic Relief Services and the Congregation of Holy Cross, is playing a leading role in the renewal of the Haitian educational system.

ACE Consulting is supporting the rebuilding, revitalization and improved quality of primary and secondary Catholic schools throughout Haiti.

• Renewal of Catholic education in Haiti. Under the leadership of Haiti’s Catholic bishops, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, and with support and partnership from Catholic Relief Services, ACE is coordinating a major Catholic Education Renewal Project. The project aims to improve the quality of and access to Catholic schools across the country.  ACE and CRS are facilitating a comprehensive assessment of the country’s estimated 2,400 Catholic schools. This diagnostic portrait will inform the development of action plans for raising quality, rebuilding schools, increasing access, strengthening governance, and expanding student services.
• Teacher formation. ACE is supporting the Congregation of Holy Cross in developing a model teacher certification program that would provide rigorous formation for Haitian secondary school teachers utilizing international best practices and leveraging technology. A pilot program in cooperation with six Holy Cross schools is planned to launch in the coming months.
• Rebuilding. Notre Dame and ACE have also supported the rebuilding of a major Holy Cross high school in Port-au-Prince, Basil Moreau School. Significant structural repairs have been completed on the primary school building, and construction is set to begin on a new secondary school complex.

To see more of ACE Consulting's collaboration with leaders in Haiti, please go to the Haiti photo gallery.

Join us on the campus of the University of Notre Dame this summer for excellent
professional development opportunities.

The third annual Principals Academy, offering a focus on STEM leadership, will be held
 June 25-29, 2012. More details to come in January 2012.

The Superintendents Conference will begin June 24 and conclude on June 27.

A new offering, the Equitable Services Institute, will welcome school leaders beginning
July 8 through July 12.

ACE Consulting is working with the leadership of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to envision and plan for a bright future in the Archdiocesan schools.

“It is very important to begin building this vision and plan,” said Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr. “Our schools are a vital ministry of the Catholic Church.” “Catholic school education has changed through the decades in the Archdiocese,” noted Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Jim Rigg. “Our schools have a long-standing and well deserved reputation for excellence. Our new vision and plan will allow our schools to preserve their quality, enhance their viability, and move thoughtfully through the twenty-first century.”

As initial steps toward developing a unifying vision for archdiocesan Catholic schools and a strategic plan for the Catholic Schools Office, the Archdiocese has:

• created a 12-member Vision Steering Committee composed of educators, parents and clergy;
• retained the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Consulting, an affiliate of the University of Notre Dame, to conduct an assessment and facilitate a visioning and planning process;
• begun collecting key qualitative and quantitative data on the spiritual and academic programs of the Catholic schools, as well as data related to finances, demographics, and marketing;
• planned 12 visioning sessions throughout the Archdiocese to solicit the ideas of pastors, principals, parents and parishioners, beginning in early May of 2011;
• initiated a restructuring of the Catholic Schools Office to facilitate the creation of this vision and plan;
• announced the absorption of the Catholic Educational Collaborative (CEC) in Dayton by the Catholic Schools Office, effective July 1, 2011.

The restructuring of the Catholic Schools Office will include employing regional school “directors” who will focus on the spiritual, academic, and operational quality of the schools much more intimately. Additionally, the office will employ specialists in the areas of strategic planning and financial planning/development to better support the schools.

The Catholic Schools Office will carry on the best of the services offered by the CEC and ensure that these services continue without interruption. The vision and strategic planning effort, entitled “Lighting the Way”, is already in progress. A series of initial conclusions will be released to pastors and educational leaders in the early fall of 2011. The complete plan should be fully formed by the fall of 2012.

“We are blessed with some of the best schools in the country in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” said Dr. Rigg. “I am convinced that, with prayerful and purposeful planning, we will ensure that our schools continue to provide authentic, faith-based programs, top-notch academic offerings, and warm family-centered communities. The future is bright for Catholic education in Southwest Ohio!”

Although the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 38th largest Catholic diocese in the country, it ranks eighth in the number of students enrolled – over 43,000 students in 112 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

  ACE Consulting partnered with the administration of St. Joseph School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to move the school in new directions.  Through the assessment process, ACE Consulting examined facilities, finances, demographic trends and asked local stakeholders for their input as well. 

St. Joseph is now in the process of a robust strategic planning process.  Bob Freund, the Academy's founding president, offered this insight, "The mood has always been about survival. Now, the feeling can be described as confidence. We're excelling. We're moving forward."

The full story of the work of St. Joseph can be found here.

To download a pdf of the article, click here stjoekenosha.pdf.