Nancy McAdams, an educator who has helped to give countless young people transformative experiences of learning and teaching, will retire as associate director of Notre Dame's Education, Schooling, and Society (ESS) minor program, effective Feb. 14, 2012.

Nancy's eight years in her crucial role with ESS—neither her first nor last term of service in education—have included teaching, advising, and otherwise assisting Notre Dame undergraduates who pursued the popular, interdisciplinary minor housed in the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI).

"My best experiences have been with the students, talking with them about their classes and their goals for the future," Nancy recalls. Among the approximately 100 enrolled in the minor, about 40 go into teaching after graduation, and she watches the entire group become "very knowledgeable and passionate about education."

ESS was only about a year old, with about 12 students enrolled, when Rev. Timothy Scully, director of the IEI, invited Nancy to help administer the program and to enhance the already close contacts with undergraduates.

"The minor has really grown in these years, thanks to Father Scully," says Nancy, noting the extra faculty support and other resources made available through the IEI.

Stuart Greene, associate professor of English, and Julie Turner, associate professor of psychology, had established the minor in 2002, and Greene has served as director of the program in recent years.

Now approaching its tenth birthday, ESS is poised for a major transition. Notre Dame psychologist and IEI Fellow Nicole McNeill will take the helm as director in the next academic year, with plans to build on the strong base.

Nancy's successor as associate director will be Julie Dallavis, a former teacher in and M. Ed. graduate of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). She recently served as managing editor of ACE Press.

Nancy credits Greene and Turner with having established a tradition of strong ties to students in the minor. With leaders focused on giving the students wide-ranging insights and experiences—including a capstone independent research project—ESS has grown to be one of the largest minors offered in the College of Arts and Letters.

Enrollment typically includes students who are majoring in business and science, Nancy says. Graduates often find ways to incorporate their education-related skills and perspectives in career paths other than teaching. One past ESS student who was an engineering major has gone on to design educational software.

Degrees and careers in education are a frequent path for ESS graduates because their five-course curriculum helps them explore "where schools fit into society." Nancy estimates that 10 of the graduates enter the ACE program in a typical year. By the way, Nancy's own daughter was an ACE teacher and married an ACE teacher.They are Jackie and Brett Guy, both ACE 12.

For many of her ESS years, Nancy taught the program's internship course. This provided a "student observation experience" answering the question, "What's life like in the classroom these days?" The internship, part of the fruit of ESS's excellent relations with educators in the South Bend area, "helped students to discern whether they wanted to go into teaching."

Nancy's valued ability to help in this discernment process comes partly from the experiences she had before coming to ESS. She was a life sciences major at University of California, Berkeley who also earned a teaching certificate for elementary education and biology. Years later, she added an M.S. in education degree to her credentials.

While a newbie elementary school teacher in the San Francisco Bay area, she met the man who would become her husband—A. James McAdams, a political scientist who now holds the Dr. Scholl Chair in International Relations and directs Notre Dame's Nanovic Institute for European Studies.

As a married couple, they lived in several places, including West Berlin (before Germany's reunification) and Princeton, N.J., until Prof. McAdams took a tenured position at Notre Dame. Before and during that latest career step, Nancy was continuing to teach in public and Catholic schools even as the McAdamses built a family.

Now, with daughter Jackie expecting a baby, Nancy eagerly anticipates becoming a grandmother soon after her retirement from ESS. "I'm really looking forward to my new role," she says.

But she adds that she hopes to volunteer in local schools in coming years, and she is sure to be maintaining close ties to Notre Dame through her husband's academic pursuits and through the ESS program.

She says she will cherish memories from her years of service to ESS, particularly the collaborations "making a program that we're all proud of."

Recently, we asked Marisa Foyle, ACE Service through Teaching (STT) graduate and now a second grade teacher in the ACE English as a New Language (ENL) program, what difference these experiences have made in her life. Here is what she told us:

My ACE experiences over the past few years have truly blessed my life. I look forward to the challenges and the exciting discoveries I share with my students and colleagues each day in the classroom. I appreciate that I continue to learn more about myself and the world around me than I could have ever imagined. And I cherish the relationships I have built. Some of my ACE classmates have become my closest friends, and I readily turn to these people with my prayer requests, challenges, and success stories.

So far in my teaching career, I have worked primarily with students who are English Language Learners. This has sparked in me a deep desire to teach them well: to implement "best practices," to read the latest legislation, and to learn teaching strategies that serve my students better. This desire was the driving force behind my application to the ACE ENL program.

Through the program I am learning strategies and implementing assessments that I've found are beneficial not only to my ENL students, but to all of my students. In a sense, all of my students are English Language Learners because they are still learning the rules that govern our complicated language.

Through the program I am also collaborating with and learning from many other dedicated teachers throughout the country. As a result, this semester I will be forming a professional development plan to bring this information to more of the teachers at my school.

I am truly grateful to be a teacher, and I owe much of my thanks to ACE, which has given me the tools I need to refine my teaching practices and to continue to learn from and with my students each day. My students never cease to amaze me, with their eagerness to learn and explore. When I see their faces light up with smiles at their "aha!" moments, when I witness them praying, sharing, and laughing with each other, my heart fills with joy.

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.

Rev. Joseph Corpora, C.S.C., director of university-school partnerships in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed a consultant to the Committee on Catholic Education of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Father Corpora, who is working to boost Latino enrollments in Catholic K-12 schools in his role as director of ACE’s Catholic School Advantage campaign, will consult with the bishops’ committee for a term extending to November 2014.

The committee provides guidance for the educational mission of the Church in the United States in all its institutional settings; its scope includes Catholic elementary and secondary schools as well as Catholic colleges and universities.

Chaired by the Most Rev. Joseph P. McFadden, Bishop of Harrisburg, Pa.,  the USCCB committee advocates for federal public policies in education that are consistent with Catholic values and uphold parental rights and responsibilities regarding education.

The Catholic School Advantage campaign partners with dioceses and schools across the country with the goal of doubling the percentage of Latinos who send their children to Catholic K-12 schools by 2020. This effort envisions offering greater educational choice and social opportunity to immigrant families while making use of available seating in Catholic schools, many of which serve at-risk children in impoverished neighborhoods.

Father Corpora co-chaired theNotre Dame Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools, which, in 2009, issued its report, To Nurture the Soul of a Nation: Latino Families, Catholic Schools, and Educational Opportunity. That report prompted the Catholic School Advantage campaign.

Father Corpora, a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is an alumnus of Notre Dame. He served at the University of Portland in Oregon for six years before beginning two decades as a pastor—first at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Arizona, a parish that is 90 percent Mexican-American and Mexican, and then at Holy Redeemer Parish in Portland, Oregon. In the former position, he founded the first Catholic school to be opened in the Diocese of Phoenix in thirty years.

He returned to Notre Dame in 2009. Among his duties on campus, he is assistant rector in Dillon Hall, one of the residence halls for students.

Regarding the appointment as a USCCB consultant, Father Corpora said, “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve the Church in this way. This kind of appointment speaks of the platform that Notre Dame has for serving the Church. Notre Dame continues to be a powerful means for doing good in the Church and in the world.”

 

 

As part of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, the CYO of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties is home to over 5,500 kids who represent their parishes while participating in football, volleyball, basketball and track each year.

When Peter Piscitello became the executive director of the CYO in 2010, he saw an opportunity to reshape the way these children, their parents and coaches interact with youth sports. "Youth sports are a tremendous vehicle for spiritual, physical and even cognitive growth," he notes. "It's important that in our Catholic parishes and schools we recognize the impact sports can have in a young person's life and treat it as a ministry, as an extension of their Catholic education." In the face of a society that can take youth sports too seriously and create poor environments for children, this meant finding a way to give parents and coaches the tools to lead a revitalized approach to youth sports.

Peter's search for a partner in the formation of coaches and parents led him to Notre Dame and the Play Like a Champion program. This past fall, the CYO implemented the "Sports as Ministry" and "Parent Like a Champion" workshops for coaches and parents. The response has been fantastic, with every coach in the organization attending along with a parent from nearly all of the participating families. "You can see the impact right away," Peter says, "the program helps parents and coaches to see sports as a way to develop their kids' relationship with Christ and grow as individuals. The feedback from parents and coaches has been fantastic and the environment at games has been great." The partnership has helped the CYO be a leader in providing an authentically Catholic opportunity for kids to participate in sports.

Peter developed his passion for this ministry at an early age, as he knows first-hand the impact of youth sports. A lifelong fan and competitor in a variety of sports, Peter came to the CYO from work in collegiate athletics. He met his wife Tessa while an undergraduate at Benedictine College and is thrilled to be settled in Kansas City with his family.

Last night, February 2, the Boston Advocates hosted a Happy Hour for all Catholic school faculty and administrators. On February 9, the group will host FACTS Night at St. Rose School, helping families complete FACTS forms for financial aid.  And on February 11, the community will have its monthly Mass and dinner, beginning at 4:00 pm at St. Cecelia Parish.

Coming up in Chicago this spring is a community-building Happy Hour and the region's annual Fundraiser.

Denver Advocates held their annual Happy Hour Fundraiser in January. Regional chair Sarah Grey reports, "[It] was a huge success! We raised $2,624 for Annunciation Catholic School, $700 more than last year!" Special thanks goes to the Denver ND Club for its generous donation.

On Saturday, February 18, the Indianapolis Advocates will hold a service project at Holy Name School. Gary Asher, the region's chair, said that when the principal of Holy Name told a local contractor what the Advocates are planning, the contractor offered to donate paint and labor to the effort. Gary said, "We love it when the Spirit inspires others to join our service to Catholic Schools."

In Richmond, Advocates will attend Mass together tomorrow night, February 4, at St. Joseph Parish, followed by a talent show and silent auction at that school.  They will cap off the night with a visit to the Convent, where the Richmond-based ACE teachers live.

As previously advertised, our Austin and Dallas Advocates will enjoy a weekend retreat together later this month at Balcones Springs.

Our active Advocates community in Tucson will hold an NDAA soccer tournament next month at St. Ambrose, and a one-day Lenten Retreat at Picture Rock. The group continues its bi-weekly Community Night at Santa Cruz, where they begin with Lectio Divina prayer at 5:30pm, offer free classes until 7:30pm, and then enjoy a shared meal.

"The word 'retreat' has military connotations," admitted Fr. Ron Nuzzi in a Sunday homily to members of the Remick Leadership Program's tenth cohort. He continued, though, "To retreat is to surrender temporarily, but in order to gather the resources that you need in order to return to the front."

When it comes to resources, what tops the list for a Catholic school leader? Not books, not the latest technology, not funding for athletics and fine arts programs--though these aren't unimportant. What tops the list for these committed educators is a sense of faith and mission that guides their daily work. The most cherished, most necessary "resource" to have on hand in the principal's office is a nurtured relationship with Jesus Christ.

That is why the Remick Leadership program gathers its participants, all of whom are engaged in the daily administration of Catholic schools, for an annual winter retreat.

First-year program participants met in January, soon to be followed in mid-February by their second-year counterparts. Every year, the resounding chorus of feedback affirms that the weekend provides a replenishment of those much-needed resources: precious time for quiet reflection, re-connection with one another, prayer, and a motivating charge as they return for the second semester.

Our Catholic schools are blessed by the efforts of these faith-filled men and women. Join the ACE community in praying for them and all Catholic school leaders, that with each new challenge they face in their service, they may be continually strengthened and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The University of Notre Dame has named two Catholic schools in the Diocese of St. Petersburg as Notre Dame ACE Academy (NDAA) schools.

The NDAA partnership marks a significant deepening of the relationship between Notre Dame and K-12 schools in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, begun in 1997 when the university first provided teachers to local Catholic schools through Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Service through Teaching program. 

Bishop Robert Lynch invited ACE to consider St. Petersburg as an NDAA site, and St. Joseph (Tampa) and Sacred Heart (Pinellas Park) were selected after a comprehensive feasibility study showed strong local support for the partnership and affirmed the schools’ capacity to serve area students effectively, particularly through the opportunities created by Florida’s private school tax credit. “These schools make an important difference in the lives of hundreds of families,” said Bishop Lynch.  “We welcome Notre Dame’s support for our efforts to extend the advantages of Catholic schooling to as many children as possible in our diocese.”

By designating Saint Joseph and Sacred Heart as NDAA schools, ACE and the diocese seek to sustain long-term, comprehensive excellence in these schools by implementing a unique model of Catholic schooling.  The NDAA model is built on the three pillars of ACE: educational excellence, the experience of community, and faith formation in the Catholic tradition.

The mission of the NDAA initiative is to provide a Catholic education of the highest quality to as many children as possible by mobilizing the resources of the University, the diocese, parental choice programs, and local communities. ACE faculty and staff will work closely with the NDAA schools and diocesan leaders in Tampa Bay to boost enrollment and enhance school leadership, curriculum, instruction, professional development, financial management, marketing and Catholic identity.  According to NDAA director Dr. Christian Dallavis, “We share Bishop Lynch’s vision of creating opportunities for more families to choose a Catholic education of the highest quality for their children.  We are excited to work in these Tampa Bay communities with dynamic teachers and incredible school leaders to help put more kids on the path to college and heaven.”

“These schools bring hope for the future to families, communities, and the Church. We at Notre Dame are honored to work alongside many caring people to buttress that hope and to support the Catholic school mission that serves our children so well,” said Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., founder of ACE and director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at Notre Dame.

St. Joseph principal Brenda Henson Budd added, “As St. Joseph Catholic School approaches its 116th year, we are overjoyed with our new partnership with Notre Dame. This new alliance gives us confidence that we will inspire academic excellence and form young people in faith in West Tampa for another 100 years to come.” Andy Shannon, principal of Sacred Heart, endorsed the partnership as well, adding, “We are thrilled for Notre Dame to join Sacred Heart’s mission of preparing children for a life lived in service to Jesus, the Church, and the community.”

These schools represent the first expansion of the NDAA model, which began when a pilot cluster was established in Tucson, Arizona, in 2009.

The NDAA initiative is funded by a generous grant from the Walton Family Foundation, with support from the partner dioceses, the University of Notre Dame, and private benefactors.

This announcement takes place during Catholic Schools Week 2012, which is celebrated nationwide January 29-February 5.

For more information about the Notre Dame ACE Academies, visit http://ACEacademies.nd.edu.

Contact:Christian Dallavis, Dallavis.1@nd.edu 574-631-4962

The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) is honored to be part of the career stories of three educators who were saluted by the White House on Jan. 25 as "Champions of Change." A fourth educator who was spotlighted is another supporter of ACE, as seen in the formation for leaders in her diocese. ACE is pleased to join in thanking all ten of the champions of Catholic education who were spotlighted in the Washington, D.C., ceremony. They share in ACE's commitment to offer all young people, especially the disadvantaged, the opportunity for a high-quality Catholic education.

Among the honorees was Joseph Womac, a graduate of ACE’s Service through Teaching program. In recent years, he has served as executive director of the Fulcrum Foundation, a Seattle-based organization whose fund-raising has helped more than 10,000 low income students attend Catholic schools.

Sister Rosa Maria Ruiz, C.F.M.M., superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona, was also one of the honorees. She noted that her purview includes an in-depth partnership with the Notre Dame ACE Academy initiative, in which ACE and Notre Dame are working with local educators to strengthen three diocesan schools.

A third honoree was Yvonne Schwab, principal of St. James the Less Catholic School in Columbus, Ohio.  As the White House press release noted, “Mrs. Schwab and her staff have worked closely with the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. This connection has provided the staff with necessary training for the new population” of her school, which is largely Latino. A recent news story posted at ACE’s website described the school’s adoption of ideas from the ACE Catholic School Advantage campaign.

Annette "Mickey" Lentz is chancellor of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Among the steps leading to success in this honoree's schools, the Archdiocese has built partnerships with higher education institutions to help teachers earn advanced degrees. "Reflecting Mickey's ardent support of ACE, her archdiocese has sent more candidates to the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program (RLP) —preparation for a principal's duties and other leadership roles—than any other diocese," said Rev. Ronald Nuzzi, senior director of the RLP.

The salute to the ten educators included individual comments and panel presentations giving voice to the honorees' love for Catholic education. Womac, in his reflection, said that preserving the American dream for millions of American families involves preserving Catholic education.

"I saw this first-hand teaching in Catholic schools in Louisiana as a part of the University of Notre Dame's service program, the Alliance for Catholic Education," Womac told the White House audience. "I see it first-hand every day at work in the hopeful lives of thousands of students attending school with Fulcrum's assistance."

At St. Benedict's Catholic School, in Blue Island, Ill., near Chicago, principal Susan Rys (pronounced Rise) and parents at the school are articulating a growing connection to their community. One of the parents, Roberto Reyes, reflects how the school has found its voice to call others into cooperation—and how that voice has acquired a Latino accent—with assistance from the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

Roberto is one of the school's "padrinos," part of a team of padrinos y madrinas (godfathers and godmothers) who help the school extend an invitation to local families. This team, inclined and trained to offer mentoring services and authentic hospitality while also recruiting children for the school, has come about as the result of training in ACE's Catholic School Advantage campaign.

"The best resource we have is the human resource," says Roberto, explaining that good relationships among the people in the area—many of whom are immigrants—are the best way to get the school's messages across. The Catholic School Advantage campaign, in which St. Benedict's is one of ACE's many partners in the Archdiocese of Chicago, helps schools become more accessible to Latino culture even as they convey the strengths they offer to local children in need of educational alternatives.

The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) is marking National School Choice Week, which spans January 22-28, 2012.

Rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, ACE supports school choice policies, also called parental choice policies, that give all children effective options for obtaining a high-quality education.

Official Church teaching has repeatedly and consistently reaffirmed the vital importance of Catholic schools and school choice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own personal convictions." The Catechism adds that "public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and ensuring concrete conditions for its exercise" (CCC #2229).

As part of our support for principles of school choice, ACE's Program for K-12 Educational Access (PEA) is dedicated to empowering low-income families with access to a quality education, with a particular focus on parochial schools. PEA advances educational access through teaching, research, and outreach, and it seeks to cultivate data-driven, parent-centered education reform.

The Notre Dame ACE Academy (NDAA) initiative, currently operating innovative, in-depth partnerships with three Catholic schools in the Diocese of Tucson, strives to remove the cost barrier for families whenever possible. As a result of Arizona's parental choice policies, allowing scholarships funded by tax credits, NDAA schools can provide tuition assistance to families facing financial hardship.

During the past year, the state of Indiana—where ACE is headquartered as an initiative of the University of Notre Dame—has been a center of action on school choice through a new voucher program.

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program experienced unprecedented success in 2011. National experts indicate this is the most successful first year implementation in the history of the parental choice movement. More than 3,900 students across the state have received Choice Scholarships, and more than 2,500 of those are now attending Catholic schools. The new program's benefits were most deeply felt by the families facing economic struggles, as 85% of voucher recipients qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunch.

Support for the principles of school choice, or parental choice, finds affirmation in Catholic thought.
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Christian Education stated: "The public power, which has the obligation to protect and defend the rights of citizens, must see to it, in its concern for distributive justice, that public subsidies are paid out in such a way that parents are truly free to choose according to their conscience that schools they want for their children."

In 1987, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith expressly communicated that "whenever the State lays claim to an educational monopoly, it oversteps its rights and offends justice.... The State cannot dwithout injustice merely tolerate so-called private school. Such schools render a public service to civil society and therefore have a right to financial assistance."

The 2004 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church focused attention on the lack of public funding for non-public schools: "The refusal to provide public economic support to non-public schools that need assistance and that render a service to civil society is to be considered an injustice."

Pope Benedict XVI, in a 2008 Address to Catholic Educators, declared: "Everything possible must be done, in cooperation with the wider community, to ensure that [Catholic schools] are accessible to people of all social and economic strata. No child should be denied his or her right to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation."

You can find out more about the official events and messages accompanying National School Choice Week at http://schoolchoiceweek.com.

Antonio Ortiz, a graduate of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) who has embodied a commitment to Catholic schools throughout his career, will become president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, effective June 25, 2012.

The school's board of trustees and presidential search committee announced recently that Tony had been elected to succeed Rev. Jim Garland, S.J. The announcement is headlined at the school's website.

Cristo Rey Jesuit, founded in 1996, enrolls more than 500 students. Located in the Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood, it serves low-income Latino communities. The school is part of a distinctive network of Cristo Rey schools that offer a college preparatory education to children for whom other private schools are not a financial option. Indeed, the Cristo Rey school model started at this Chicago site, and there are now 24 Cristo Rey schools across the country, of which Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is the largest.

"If you look at the education and experience that have prepared me for this very important responsibility, I would have to credit Notre Dame—both my undergraduate studies and the ACE Program—as having inspired me to focus on the mission of Catholic schools," Tony commented following the Cristo Rey announcement. "As enthusiastic as I am about the opportunity, I'm also a little bit nervous to be the first lay president. However, I know I have the ACE Program, resources, and ACE Advocates to lean on for support and prayers!"

Tony previously served at Cristo Rey Jesuit for ten years, with titles including Associate Principal and Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations. His experience in the ACE Service through Teaching program, during which he earned a Master of Education degree, included teaching for two years at a Catholic grade school in the border area of Mission, Texas. He graduated from ACE in 1999 as a member of the program's fifth cohort.

In 2010, Tony received ACE's Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education.

"I was raised in a family where my parents emphasized Catholic education as our absolute number one priority," said Tony in his recent email. "My experience in the ACE Program shaped my value system, work ethic, and spiritual life. I am now eager for the opportunity to return and continue advancing [Cristo Rey Jesuit HS] as one of the most important works of hope and opportunity for so many families who simply want the best education for their children."

Tony was among the ACErs profiled in the 2010-2011 ACE Annual Report. At that time, he was serving as director for partnerships and outreach at the Big Shoulders Fund. The fund provides millions of dollars annually for scholarships, instructional equipment, and facility improvements in Catholic schools in Chicago's neediest areas.

In the profile, Tony described his vision of ACE's future—providing more and more graduates the opportunity to enter leadership positions in education and public policy and giving more children access to the transformational benefits of excellent schools.

"The most important expression of ACE's mission," he said, "will be when traditionally underserved students, who have benefited from ACE teachers, reach their personal and professional dreams, as well as improving the quality of life for families and communities."

Tony holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. He and his wife Brenda have two children, Gabriela and Antonio.

Using the Cristo Rey model adopted in other cities, Cristo Rey Jesuit utilizes the Corporate Internship Program. All students participate in this work-study program, through which they work five days per month in entry-level jobs in Chicago firms. In this way, they fund a majority of the cost of their education.

ACE congratulates Tony and joins in prayers for his continued success in service to young people through Catholic education.
# # #
Photo above: Antonio Ortiz at center.

Recently we asked Grainne Carroll, who hails from Ireland, to tell us about her experience with ACE. Grainne is a graduate of ACE Service through Teaching (STT, cohort 16) and has completed one semester of ACE's Teaching Exceptional Children (TEC) program. Here's what she had to say.

My experiences with ACE and ACE TEC have been truly wonderful. From the joyous moment I received my letter of acceptance to the master's program in 2009, to sunny summers of intense studying at Notre Dame, to late night TEC assignments this fall, ACE has truly challenged me, pushing me to reach my potential as a teacher and minister of Christ.

During my undergrad years in Dublin, Ireland, where I gained my bachelor's degree in education, and the two years I spent in Texas completing my master's degree, one area that really intrigued me was special education. In my few years of teaching, I have encountered so many beautiful and talented children of God who have been denied their right to an equal and adequate education, specific to their individual needs. This reality hit home when one of my students in Texas left for the public school system due to insufficient funds and resources available at our Catholic school. It was heartbreaking to realize that we were unable to provide that student the education he needed in a Catholic environment. During this time, I decided to apply for ACE TEC.

ACE TEC has been a tremendous gift to me. It has provided me with the tools and information needed to actually make a difference in my classroom and in my school. Many times in my (short) teaching career, I felt unsure and unaware of the best approach to take with a student with special needs. But after just one summer and one semester of ACE TEC, I feel a greater sense of comfort working with these students, because ACE TEC has given me strategies that can help them succeed. For example, I am now a member of my school's Intervention Assistance Team, which exists to provide support of and/or guidance for teachers and parents of students with special needs. In the first two quarters of the year, our team met to address the unique learning needs of seven different students. We created implementation strategies for the teachers and parents to help these students achieve success.

ACE TEC has reinforced my belief that teachers must be equipped to address the unique needs of every student, because all students are special. I am grateful for the tools and encouragement the program provides so that an equal and excellent Catholic education is available to all.

Antonio Ortiz, a graduate of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) who has embodied a commitment to Catholic schools throughout his career, will become president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, effective June 25, 2012.

The school's board of trustees and presidential search committee announced recently that Tony had been elected to succeed Rev. Jim Garland, S.J. The announcement is headlined at the school's website.

Cristo Rey Jesuit, founded in 1996, enrolls more than 500 students. Located in the Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood, it serves low-income Latino communities. The school is part of a distinctive network of Cristo Rey schools that offer a college preparatory education to children for whom other private schools are not a financial option. Indeed, the Cristo Rey school model started at this Chicago site, and there are now 24 Cristo Rey schools across the country, of which Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is the largest.

"If you look at the education and experience that have prepared me for this very important responsibility, I would have to credit Notre Dame—both my undergraduate studies and the ACE Program—as having inspired me to focus on the mission of Catholic schools," Tony commented following the Cristo Rey announcement. "As enthusiastic as I am about the opportunity, I'm also a little bit nervous to be the first lay president. However, I know I have the ACE Program, resources, and ACE Advocates to lean on for support and prayers!"

Tony previously served at Cristo Rey Jesuit for ten years, with titles including Associate Principal and Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations. His experience in the ACE Service through Teaching program, during which he earned a Master of Education degree, included teaching for two years at a Catholic grade school in the border area of Mission, Texas. He graduated from ACE in 1999 as a member of the program's fifth cohort.

In 2010, Tony received ACE's Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education.

"I was raised in a family where my parents emphasized Catholic education as our absolute number one priority," said Tony in his recent email. "My experience in the ACE Program shaped my value system, work ethic, and spiritual life. I am now eager for the opportunity to return and continue advancing [Cristo Rey Jesuit HS] as one of the most important works of hope and opportunity for so many families who simply want the best education for their children."

Tony was among the ACErs profiled in the 2010-2011 ACE Annual Report. At that time, he was serving as director for partnerships and outreach at the Big Shoulders Fund. The fund provides millions of dollars annually for scholarships, instructional equipment, and facility improvements in Catholic schools in Chicago's neediest areas.

In the profile, Tony described his vision of ACE's future—providing more and more graduates the opportunity to enter leadership positions in education and public policy and giving more children access to the transformational benefits of excellent schools.

"The most important expression of ACE's mission," he said, "will be when traditionally underserved students, who have benefited from ACE teachers, reach their personal and professional dreams, as well as improving the quality of life for families and communities."

Tony holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. He and his wife Brenda have two children, Garbiela and Antonio.

Using the Cristo Rey model adopted in other cities, Cristo Rey Jesuit utilizes the Corporate Internship Program. All students participate in this work-study program, through which they work five days per month in entry-level jobs in Chicago firms. In this way, they fund a majority of the cost of their education.

ACE congratulates Tony and joins in prayers for his continued success in service to young people through Catholic education.

A major new study of teachers' long-term impacts on their students affirms ACE's commitment to form and support excellent teachers as a key part of its mission to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic K-12 schools.

The New York Times summarized the results of the study in a January 6, 2012, story: "Elementary and middle-school teachers who help raise their students' standardized-test scores seem to have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect on those students' lives beyond academics." The effect includes higher college enrollment rates, higher earnings, and lower teenage-pregnancy rates.

The study, conducted by three Ivy League economists who monitored 2.5 million students over a period of 20 years, asserts that high-quality teachers can make a large, measurable difference for their students over time. The scholars have been disseminating their results in a report, The Long-Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood, not yet peer-reviewed but available online. Value-added is measured here by students' improvements in standardized-test scores.

The report "underscores that by focusing on teacher quality, ACE has been investing in all the right things," comments Dr. Christian Dallavis, director of the Notre Dame ACE Academy initiative in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at the University of Notre Dame. "And the study highlights the urgency of our mission to help teachers focus on student growth."

ACE's formation programs have been educating teachers for service In Catholic schools since it was founded in 1993. Participants in the Service through Teaching program are selected in a competitive process from among talented college graduates across the country who are passionate about serving young people through Catholic education. Three "pillars" in ACE's approach to formation of educators emphasize professional service, community life, and spiritual growth.

Other ACE programs also support the teaching function in a range of ways. One program, the Notre Dame ACE Academy (NDAA) initiative, currently supports three under-resourced elementary schools in partnership with the Diocese of Tucson. The commitment to provide an excellent education to the at-risk children in these schools emphasizes resources for high-quality teaching and measurement of student performance.

"This research informs our NDAA efforts by helping us deploy our resources more effectively," says Dallavis. "We use value-added test scores to identify both the teachers who need the most support as well as the teachers whose skills qualify them to mentor their colleagues."

The study—by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman, both of Harvard University, and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University—can be accessed at the harvard.edu website. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof highlighted the importance of the findings in a Jan. 11 op-ed piece.