The year of faith is a celebration of our calling to follow Christ and how we can come to know Jesus in our commitment to the ACE community and Catholic Schools. Our prayer is that we can learn to find Jesus in the ordinary and routine things of our lives.

One of the first places a visitor sees on the Notre Dame campus is the Eck Visitors Center. A statue of St. André Bessette stands there as if to show that everyone is welcome. St. André was a Holy Cross Brother who lived a simple life as a doorkeeper at a school in Montreal. His superiors assigned him to this duty because he had not had much education; they thought doorkeeping was all he could do. He graciously accepted this as a ministry of telling people that God loved them.

This was the message of good news that everyone needed to hear. We continue to need this message in our lives. St. André proclaimed it by his welcome, patience, non-judgmental attitude, and loving acceptance of every person. He loved everyone like Christ. There were so many people who came to see him that the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal was built; the visitors wanted to be in the presence, and hear the message of, this holy man who became a saint.

We can learn much about living our faith and knowing Jesus if we read stories of the lives of saints. St. André reflected Jesus through hospitality. Hospitality and loving students is what a teacher can teach every day. This leads young people to Jesus.   Here are two stories that illustrate the point of how hospitality can lead someone to know they are loved and discover Christ.

An ACE teacher was teaching one morning, and, after a while, a little fourth grader came up to her and hugged her. The child whispered to her, “My mother was dead when I went into her bedroom this morning.” The teacher was shocked and could not think of a word to say, so she did what was natural. She hugged the little girl, told her she loved her, and walked her to the principal’s office.

Another ACE teacher had a boy in her second class that was very disruptive. She went home every day and felt that she was failing the student as well as all his classmates. She thought this was her cross that she had to carry. Part of her teaching was to prepare her students to make their First Communion. The mother of the problem student gave the teacher a letter on the day of the First Communion that read, “Thank you for loving my son. He loves you and appreciates you very much. He is excited to be united with Jesus in Communion.”

Both of these teachers, in the ordinary events of teaching days, did extraordinary things for their students. They were trying to be Christ the Teacher for their students. To do this, they had to know Jesus, act like him, and love the students. A way to do this is to be hospitable and provide a welcoming atmosphere for students. Jesus opened his heart and loved everyone. Hospitality helps a teacher to do the same. Students are in the process of learning; but as young as they are, they know what love looks like. The little girl whose mother died could go to her teacher and feel loved, and the disruptive boy was able to experience love even when he was his worst self.

Teachers show hospitality by opening their hearts to students. The students feel it, their hearts are cracked open, and they love back. If a teacher wonders about how to be Christ the Teacher, just be aware of the example of a saint like St. André Bessette and provide hospitality. Your love will make a difference in your life and help you and your students discover Jesus.

By Andrew Hoyt

On May 16th, Dr. David Yeager, an ACE 11 graduate, served as co-organizer and program chair for a special convening at the White House titled "Excellence in Education: The Importance of Academic Mindsets." An assistant professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin, Yeager is a leading researcher in the fields of adolescent development and social psychology.

The convening at the White House, sponsored by the Raikes Foundation and co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Education, gathered a diverse group of experts and stakeholders in order to identify channels for using insights from experimental behavioral science in U.S. educational settings.

Yeager and his collaborators at Stanford University—Carol Dweck, Greg Walton, Dave Paunesku and Geoffrey Cohen—have shown that there is more to academic success than raw cognitive ability or curriculum and instruction. Students' mindsets—how school looks and feels to them, from their perspective—can powerfully affect whether students rebound from difficulty and sustain motivation in the face of adversity. Importantly, Yeager and others have designed brief, web-based activities that redirect students' mindsets and unlock their motivation, in some cases resulting in dramatically reduced achievement gaps months and years later.

For instance, researchers have shown that when students believe that intelligence is a fixed trait, unable to be changed, they avoid challenges and respond to difficulty by giving up. However, Yeager and colleagues have developed brief interventions that teach neuroscience facts about the potential for the brain to grow and develop when it works on challenging tasks—called a "growth mindset." When this message has been taught via the Internet to thousands of students around the country, it has resulted in increases in GPA and reductions in course failure rates. Findings are generally strongest among low-income and racial minority students, who may have the greatest reason to question whether educators doubt their intellectual ability—something that makes this research especially relevant for efforts to promote social justice.

Yeager stresses that these interventions are not "magic." "Psychological interventions are carefully-calibrated tools. If we want to use them responsibly to produce educational change at scale, we need to think carefully about how to embed these ideas in everyday practice," says Yeager. "This meeting was designed to bring leaders together to talk about how we can achieve an R&D agenda that empowers practitioners to successfully address unproductive student mindsets and promote educational equality in their classrooms."

As a former ACE middle school teacher at Saints Peter and Paul School in Tulsa, Yeager notes that research on mindsets has much in common with the philosophy education he encountered in Catholic schools. He notes that at the heart of any kind of moral development is a belief that a person can fundamentally be developed and improved, with the right kind of support. He believes that having a "growth mindset" is essential not just for supporting learning but also for creating virtuous adults.

The presentations at the White House convening investigated three areas for future research: understanding how to maximize the effects of mindset interventions, expanding the array of effective practices that instill adaptive mindsets, and developing improved measures to learn from practice.

For Yeager, the work on mindsets exemplifies the fact that simple, well-designed social-psychological interventions can provide cost-effective and powerful ways to reduce achievement gaps and improve student learning. For more on mindsets, Yeager's work in adolescent development, and the White House convening, visit his website.

Every participant in ACE's formation initiatives has a story of faith and enthusiasm to tell. Recent references to the Alliance for Catholic Education in an array of media offer an up-close look at people who are passionate about Catholic schools.

Here's a quick tour of some "before" and "after" snapshots of lives, before or after the ACE experience. The "ACE Summer" of 2013 is just beginning, so these stories are just a few of the additional journeys that will bring inspiration to students, schools, and others nationwide.

· Allyn Doyle has graduated from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. She's an excellent scholar-athlete who will pursue a master's degree as part of the ACE Service through Teaching program for formation of Catholic school teachers.

· Across the Atlantic Ocean, two Irish graduates of St. Patrick's College in Dublin—Ciara O'Brien and Hannah Snowe—are also among the extraordinary applicants selected to join the 20th cohort of aspiring educators in ACE Service through Teaching.

· Jamie Tadrzynski, a dedicated teacher whose zeal for service most recently placed her at a Navajo Nation Reservation as a Mercy Volunteer Corps Missioner, is headed to Notre Dame as an ACE Teaching Fellow, and you can see her recently posted announcement about her blog.

· Rev. Timothy Klosterman, a young priest based in Los Angeles, recently wrote about his own journey and the fact that he has been accepted in ACE's Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, which forms future leaders for Catholic schools. For his story, see the second article in this package from the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper.

· Two newly ordained priests—Rev. Andrew Nelson and Rev. Luke Marquard—offer inspiring "after-ACE" stories; they are alumni of the 7th and 12th cohorts of ACE Service through Teaching, respectively.

· Jared Dees is an ACE graduate who has continued to follow his passion for teaching and has published a book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator. He is interviewed by blogger Marc Cardaronella. Jared, too, is a blogger about faith-filled education.

Andrew Nelson, ACE 7, was ordained to the priesthood of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire on June 1. As a teacher with ACE Service through Teaching (STT), Andrew lived in Biloxi, MS, and taught middle school and high school social studies at Mercy Cross HS. Describing his call to the religious life, Fr. Andrew says, "It was not one definitive moment or a shout from God, but rather a whisper in my heart. It was in the ordinary that God spoke to me, in prayer, the Sacraments, through coworkers, students, friends and the world around me."  Read more about him here. To see a 5 minute video highlighting what happens during an ordination to the priesthood, click here.

Also ordained this spring: Luke Marquard, ACE 12, who joined the priesthood of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on May 25. As an educator in ACE STT, Luke lived in Denver and taught middle school at Guardian Angels. Speaking of what most helped him take the step into seminary, Fr. Luke says, "Making daily Mass and regular confession a part of my life, which both disposed me to better hearing God's call and gave me the confidence to respond to it." Read more about Luke here.

Read Part I: Sr. Mary Paul and the Grace of Growth

This past school year, enrollments grew for the third year in a row in Chicago Catholic Schools, ending a decades-long trend of decline. More importantly, much of the growth occurred in schools that serve the communities most in need, where steady enrollment can be the most challenging.

Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, Superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools, credits the increase in enrollment to the leadership of principals and pastors, Archdiocesan donors, and organizations like the Big Shoulders Fund, which provides financial support for Catholic schools in under-resourced neighborhoods. In her view, a spirit of collaboration and a renewed sense of purpose have rallied these supporters in their efforts to make a Catholic education available and affordable for more students. By strategically coordinating support, the Archdiocese has kept schools available in the most challenged areas and accessible to the children who most need them.

Though growth is still modest, Sister Mary Paul calls these last few years “turning the ocean liner.” The increased enrollments act as indicators of a wider and more systemic transformation for Catholic schools – the entire ocean liner heading in a new direction.

In March of 2013, the School Board of the Archdiocese published a strategic plan to examine the success stories of the past three years and outline a plan to build on these examples. The plan suggests that leveraging strong leadership at the principal and pastor level, promoting best-practices for financial viability, and enhancing both Catholic identity and academic offerings have all been essential to renewing growth.

For example, the strategic plan shares the story of St. John Streamwood. Just a few years ago, the school struggled to serve its students, and in 2010 alone, enrollment fell by 28 students. This left the school depending on subsidy and loans at a time when the parish itself was challenged financially. However, with a new pastor and principal appointed to leadership positions, the school developed a strategic plan and revamped the budget with the help of a strong business manager. The principal worked with teachers to develop a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum, which centered on themes of ecology and stewardship of the earth. The school leaders decided to prioritize scholarship funding and sought help to improve their marketing efforts – both to enhance the schools reputation and to increase awareness of the school and its affordability.

As a result, enrollment increased from 188 in 2010 to 272 in 2013. In the same time period, the aid that St. John Streamwood receives from the Archdiocese decreased from $200,000 to $0.

For Sr. Mary Paul, schools like St. John Streamwood offers signs of hope – and clear blueprints for how to change the narrative in a struggling school. Furthermore, when the leaders of a school like St. John Streamwood share their story with colleagues across the Archdiocese, Sister Mary Paul says that she can see the hope sparked within educators, principals, and pastors. While they might have previously been lamenting their own challenges, she explains, they come to her and ask, “Do you think that I could do this too? Maybe God is calling me to do this.”

Sister Mary Paul explains that renewal becomes a real possibility for educators when they “see this modeled around them and know that there (will) be resources for them.” This transformation and renewal occur both in entire schools and in the spirits of the educators working within them. “I have seen these great sites that were ready to be shuttered – now flipped and turned around in the last three, four years, but I’ve also seen those who were just tired, who are deciding to be reenergized and to rediscover shared leadership.”

The strategic plan also illustrates a clear plan to attracting new and talented leaders, principals, and high-quality teachers to Catholic schools. Sister Mary Paul points to the number of young, lay educators finding vocations in Chicago’s Catholic Schools as a success to build on in future years and a testament to the power and grace present in the schools and the students themselves.

“I think that’s been a tremendous tribute to the schools where young couples are staying,” Sister Mary Paul explains, “and a tremendous tribute to ACE at Notre Dame with the Catholic School Advantage campaign.”

The Catholic School Advantage campaign, launched by the Alliance for Catholic Education in response to a 2009 Notre Dame Task Force, aims to improve educational opportunities for Latino students. In Chicago, Juana Sanchez Graber, Field Consultant for the campaign, works to help schools raise awareness in Hispanic communities, tailor their marketing and communications efforts, and utilize madrinas (and padrinos) programs to spread the word about school availability and build bridges into Hispanic neighborhoods and communities.

In the coming 2013-2014 academic year, the University of Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education will also send the first Service Through Teaching community to Chicago, to help provide talented young teachers and future leaders to Chicago Catholic Schools.

For Sister Mary Paul, it’s an exciting partnership. “I’ve always had a great love for Notre Dame, and a respect for the ACE program,” she explains, “I had followed it for twenty years since its founding, and always had kind of a nagging ‘Why not Chicago? Why not Chicago?’ So to have it come to Chicago and in really such a vibrant way (…) I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for us.”

Much like the success of these past few years, in Sister Mary Paul’s view, the future of Catholic Schools in Chicago will continue to rely on renewing the entire system through strategic collaboration and belief in the big changes.

“I am deeply grateful to Fr. Scully for his vision - and to that whole ACE team, really -for continuing to wrap their services, not just around the individuals who they might be coming to influence, but to profoundly influence a system. So it’s a very powerful thing for me to see the engagement of our university, particularly through the ACE programs.”

Read Part I: Sr. Mary Paul and the Grace of Growth

In February of 2008, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., appointed Sister Mary Paul McCaughey O.P. as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Since then, Sister Mary Paul has been working to write a story of hope, renewal, and grace for Chicago's Catholic schools.

At the time of her appointment, however, the narrative of Catholic schools in Chicago was dominated by decline, instability, and uncertainty. Despite the brilliance of a few beacons of hope, the big picture presented some serious challenges. For the most part, Catholic schools were struggling.

In 2008, Catholic school leaders in Chicago faced trends of declining enrollment and closing schools. Between 1984-2004 alone, there were 148 Catholic school closures in the city of Chicago. With a financial recession taking hold and rising costs hindering many students and families from paying tuition, the outlook for many of Chicago's Catholic schools was uncertain at best, especially for those schools serving students in poverty or in under-resourced communities.

In 2013, however – five years into Sister Mary Paul McCaughey's tenure as superintendent – that narrative has gradually started to change.

After plummeting for decades, enrollment has increased in Chicago Catholic schools for the past three years. To put that in perspective, the last time the Archdiocese had just two consecutive years of growth was in 1965.

"I think growth is a grace," says Sister Mary Paul, "We cooperate with God's grace in continuing to grow as students and as persons of service. Whether that's for the young people or the slightly older people who serve them, that's what energizes me. It's in the air."

A career educator and lifelong Chicago-area native, Sister Mary Paul graduated from Marian Catholic High School in the Chicago Heights area, an economically and ethnically diverse community just 30 miles south of downtown Chicago. She later returned to Marian Catholic High School to serve as both principal and president.

After an earlier stint as a principal, she thought that she might become a clinical counselor. However, she explains, "I found out kind of quickly that I had people who were complaining with twenty, twenty-four clients a week." She realized, "Why shouldn't we then try to change the system so we can have healthy people everywhere? Why not change the system?"

Sister Mary Paul describes discerning her vocation to be an educator and leader as a "gradual conversion." After successfully merging Sacred Heart Academy and Griffin High School in Springfield, Illinois, she had permission to pursue a PhD at the University of Chicago Theological Seminary. After only a year in the program, her community called her back to Marian, and she became principal and president there for the next 18 years.

"I thought I'd already done my duty to education while still young enough to do something else," she laughs, "but it turns out...God had another idea."

Trusting in the ability of the Catholic school system to adapt, Sister Mary Paul has worked to rally renewed efforts to bring a Catholic education to as many students as possible in Chicago. As Superintendent, Sister Mary Paul draws from both her 40 years of experience in education and her openness to new approaches in order to lead pastors, educators, Universities, and other community stakeholders in collaborating on plans for the future. "There's no greater thing than walking into a Catholic school and getting smacked with that feeling that everyone is on board with really wanting the best for one another," she says.

For Sister Mary Paul, reclaiming the narrative of Catholic education in Chicago will mean finding ways for educators and leaders "to challenge one another, to support one another, and to teach one another."

With a vision of trust and continuous improvement, Sister Mary Paul intends to build on the momentum of three consecutive years of enrollment growth. In that spirit, the School Board of the Archdiocese published a three-year strategic plan in March of 2013. The document highlights signs of hope from the past few years and outlines a plan to learn from and build on these successes in the future. The plan suggests a clear path forward for Chicago's Catholic schools, and though it is only the beginning, a new story of growth and grace is steadily taking shape in Chicago.

Read Part II of this story.

The Year of Faith is a celebration of our calling to follow Christ and how we can come to know Jesus in our commitment to the ACE community and Catholic Schools. Our prayer is that we can learn to find Jesus in the ordinary and routine things of our lives.

The academic year is coming to an end, and this can be a stressful time for both teachers and students. Both are eager for summer. But among ACE teachers there is a transition about to happen. Some will be finishing a two-year commitment and graduating—moving on to the next step in their lives. The first-year teachers will finish the semester and prepare to return to their own studies. Both of these cohorts know they have to say good-bye to their students.

A question for every person involved in Catholic education is this: How do I end this school year well and say good-bye to my students?

Chapter 17 of John’s gospel is called the farewell discourse of Jesus. He is reminding his disciples that he is leaving them. He is about to undergo his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension and then return to the Father. Take a moment and reflect on John 17: 20. Jesus says this in prayer:

            “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe

in me through their word, that they all may be one.”

Jesus is praying for both the disciples and us. We hear the Word of God through the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church. God’s Word is a gift to us, and it teaches us an important lesson. We are being invited to be one with each other—with the challenge to be one in the same way that Jesus and the Father are one.

How does this idea of unity help us learn to say good-bye to our students? Jesus taught the disciples that they were to continue his mission by creating community. This is what Jesus means when he prays that “they may be one.” We are supposed to be bound together with Jesus at the center of our lives.

Here is a concrete way this works out. When you applied to join ACE, you were asked to write about a teacher who inspired you. Do you remember whom you wrote about? I have read many of these essays, and there is a general pattern that can be seen. Think about the person you wrote about, and see if you recognize a pattern. The teachers who inspire us are the ones who cared about us, were generous with their time, inspired us to become our best selves, and were passionate about the subject. The relationship of a great teacher with his or her students makes a connection that will never be forgotten. You, as Christ the Teacher, are one with your students, and they are one with you.

Instead of saying good-bye, say farewell to your students.

This may seem like a small thing, but let your farewell remind both you and your students that you are, and always will be, connected by the love of Christ.

God bless you and your students as you bring this year to completion. Farewell, and Christ be with you!

ACE Service through Teaching is delighted to welcome three new pastoral administrators to its family. 

Alec Torigian is a 2010 St. John's University Math, Peace Studies, and Theology graduate. He spent the year prior to joining ACE 18 teaching Physics in Tanzania with the Benedictine Volunteer Corps. Alec is a man of many gifts, balancing middle school math, science, religion, and coordination of all athletics at Most Pure Heart of Mary school in Mobile, Alabama.

Emily Lazor is a 2011 graduate from Catholic University with majors in Theology, Philosophy, and Spanish. As an undergrad, Emily tutored at St. Anthony in Washington D.C., a school which now has a Remick Leadership Principal and ACE teachers! Emily currently teaches high school Spanish and Religion at St. Joseph Catholic School in Jackson, Mississippi as a member of ACE 18. Emily engages her students in the larger world, leading service trips to Nicaragua, coordinating the March for Life trip, and encouraging vocational discernment.

Patrick Graff is a 2011 Notre Dame Philosophy and Chinese graduate. This former Dillon Hall RA spent time studying in China and Taiwan (anyone who feels inclined is encouraged to test him on his conversational proficiency in Mandarin). He is a talented vocalist and was an active member of ND's Liturgical Choir. Patrick is currently teaching 3rd grade and coaching the varsity girls' volleyball team at Incarnation Catholic School in Tampa, Florida.

The three will come on board at the close of this school year.

Two years ago, if you had asked Principal Sr. Nancy Gannon, SFCC, about the future prospects of Aquinas Catholic Academy, she wouldn't have been able to hide her worries. This school in rural Kankakee, Illinois had been watching enrollment decrease by ten to twenty students per year for nearly twenty years. When the 2011-12 year began, Sr. Nancy knew the situation had become dire. She looked at her books and quickly estimated the school would operate at a loss of over $50,000 that year alone.

Around the same time she heard about the Hispanic Initiative, a movement within the diocese of Joliet led by Fr. Jeremiah Lynch, SJ to better minister to the Latino population by educating more of their children in Catholic schools. She attended an annual meeting hosted by the Catholic Schools Office, at which Fr. Joe Corpora, CSC, of ACE's Catholic School Advantage (CSA) campaign, was the featured speaker. Little did she know as she listened that her school was about to walk down a path of remarkable transformation.

With the help of CSA strategies, Aquinas Academy began the challenging and rewarding work of becoming a school where Latino families felt at home and valued. "The first thing I did was reach out to a madrina, a respected and influential woman in the community. I knew Lorenia Lara was just the right person. Her daughters had been students at Aquinas, she served on the school board, and she knew the ins and outs of the school. We had often called on her to help struggling Hispanic families and she always did it with such a gracious spirit."

Lorenia embraced the call and was soon out in her community with her laptop and financial aid forms. Largely because of her efforts, 26 new Latino kids were enrolled that year. "Fr. Joe's idea of filling empty desks was very important," says Sr. Nancy. "Not all the kids had the money, but that's how we started. With the Hispanic Initiative, we have good scholarships offered by the Catholic Educational Foundation, our school discounts tuition, and families pay a portion of tuition. All have 'skin' in the game." She continues, "We made it that year and, when it was all said and done, we finished with $60 in the black."

Since those bleak days just two years ago, Aquinas Catholic Academy has more than doubled its number of Latino students and, for the first time in decades, enrollment has grown instead of declined. Going into the 2013-14 school year, 67 students from the Hispanic Initiative are registered. "We've experienced such renewal, Sr. Nancy says. "These families have enriched our community. They've given with such a spirit of generosity. From painting parts of the school on the weekends to donating a magnificent statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe that travels from one classroom to classroom, this community has brought new life to us and we are the better for it."

Meanwhile, Sr. Nancy realizes Aquinas Catholic Academy's process of transforming its school community has just begun, and she recognizes the need for increased teacher training for her faculty. She has been collaborating with ACE's English as a New Language (ENL) Program to help her teachers meet the unique academic needs of their increasingly diverse student population. Clare Roach, coordinator of the ENL program, adds, "It's a blessing to help support Sr. Nancy and her school. We're in awe of their grace-filled transformation and are so happy they're experiencing the many gifts of a culturally and linguistically rich community. We hope more Catholic schools are able to walk their path."

Catholic schools and their students lost a singular witness to hope last week with Bishop Joseph McFadden’s passing into eternal life. Through a lifetime of joyful service as a teacher, coach, pastor, bishop, and mentor, Bishop McFadden embodied the Good News and inspired all those who knew him to do the same.

In his ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Diocese of Harrisburg, and the USCCB Committee on Catholic Education, Bishop McFadden served as a catalyst for the transformation of K-12 Catholic education throughout the United States. In the face of unprecedented challenge, he was a passionate and prophetic voice for the indispensable role that Catholic schools can and must play as agents of the common good – tirelessly inviting us all to “put out into the deep” to renew these national treasures. He was an architect of and driving force behind the ongoing revitalization of these schools, which remain such powerful agents of evangelization. When the story of these schools is ultimately written, it will surely and prominently feature Bishop McFadden.

On behalf of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at the University Notre Dame family, I extend my prayerful sympathy to Bishop McFadden’s family, the people of Harrisburg, and all those who mourn his passing.

Rev. Timothy R. Scully, CSC
Hackett Family Director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives
Founder, Alliance for Catholic Education

Hundreds of educators and school leaders eager to enhance the future of Catholic schools will attend a unique collection of summertime conferences hosted annually by the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

The June and July conferences, some of which are currently accepting registrants, are part of ACE’s mission to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic schools. They are a growing component of the busy summers when ACE conducts the majority of its on-campus academic programming and graduate-level classes with the hope of inspiring the next generation of Catholic school teachers and leaders.

Preparation of outstanding college graduates to teach in Catholic schools is the organization’s best-known activity, now welcoming its 20^th cohort of aspiring educators as ACE prepares a major celebration of the nation’s Catholic schools to mark its 20^th anniversary.

The conferences are hosted by various ACE units that have grown in recent years to respond to particular issues and needs. Those interested in attending or learning more can visit these conferences’ respective web pages:

ACE Teaching Fellows Annual Conference (June 11-14). 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.

Advocates for Parental Choice Symposium (June 14-19). 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 on- and off-campus will increase these future leaders’ understanding of the social, legal, political, pedagogical, and moral dimensions of parental choice.

Play Like a Champion Today ® Sports Leadership Conference (June 21-23). This annual conference, titled “Character Education through Sports Leadership” for 2013, 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. Register for the Sports Leadership Conference.

Equitable Services Institute (June 23-28). Students in Catholic schools across the country are not getting federally funded services to which they’re entitled; this institute assists diocesan superintendents, principals, and other educational leaders to address 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. Information and registration are available online.

Principals Academy (June 24-28). A four-day enrichment experience for Catholic school principals, entitled “Fueling the Fire of Leadership in Catholic Schools” for 2013, will engage expert faculty and practitioners as they develop an action plan to increase motivational practices for instruction, enrollment, and school identity. Principals will explore tangible, evidence-based strategies to increase teacher motivation and self-efficacy, improve supervision processes, and encourage teacher self-evaluation to improve the professional learning environment of schools. Register for this academy hosted by ACE Consulting.

Latino Enrollment Institute (June 25-28). The Catholic School Advantage campaign will invite principals from around the country to discuss strategic possibilities and pursue practical strategies to increase enrollment, particularly among Latino children, in Catholic schools.

Superintendents Strategic Leadership Conference (July 9-12). ACE Consulting will host its annual conference for diocesan schools superintendents, providing expert speakers and facilitating in-depth conversations to explore key issues faced by the invited school leaders.

School Pastors Institute (July 9-12). 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. Insights presented will support pastors’ reflections on the value of Catholic schools to parishioners and to the Church’s future.

Mary Ann Remick Leadership Conference (July 12). This conference, a capstone event for those earning their master’s degrees in educational administration through the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, 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 graduate students preparing to serve as principals present the action research they have conducted, and local visitors attending free-of-charge exchange ideas on school challenges and solutions.

ACE Summer Forum (July 12-14). The ACE Summer Forum is a professional development opportunity for Catholic school supporters and ACE graduates, focusing on urgent needs in Catholic schools and how aadvocates can address them. This summer, Forum participants will discuss raising local awareness for Catholic schools and connecting local initiatives to the broader ACE movement.

ACE 19 Parent Retreat (July 24-26). 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 19 cohort to hear presentations, worship together, and swap stories.

Kids who love science—and those who want to get to know it better—have a great opportunity for hands-on learning and fun in a Catholic school setting this summer.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) are once again teaming up to offer the “Catholic Schools Summer Science Educational Program” for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students.

Parents can choose from a June session, focused on forensics and early engineering concepts, and a July session, focused on ecology and life science. Both will be held at Christ the King School in South Bend and will utilize the lab facilities daily.

A student can attend one or both, with each three-week session costing $80.

Register by May 7 and save $10 off the cost of each session. There is a registration fee of $25 per child. Visit http://ace.nd.edu/summercamp/ to learn more and download a form for registration by mail.

Session one spans Mondays through Fridays June 10-28. Session two spans Mondays through Fridays July 1-24, with July 4-5 off. The sessions meet daily from 8 am to 11 am.

The Alliance for Catholic Education forms college graduates to be teachers serving in Catholic schools around the country. Teachers in formation, studying at Notre Dame during the summer as part of the highly selective Service through Teaching program, serve alongside current Catholic school teachers to lead the Science Educational Program experiences, sharing their own affinity for science. This yields an optimal learning opportunity, with frequent individual instruction.

This is the seventh year ACE teachers are offering the science program and a separate Catholic Schools Summer Camp Educational Program for students entering grades 2 through 8—also co-hosted by the Diocese and based at several area Catholic schools. Information on these camp opportunities is at the same online address. You can also contact Caitlin Cameron of ACE at 574-631-9332.

Play Like a Champion Today ®, an initiative of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), will host a symposium focused on protecting children from the tragedy of abuse.

In particular, the one-day symposium titled “Championing Children through Collegiate Sport Camps” will help college athletic departments plan responsibly to ensure every child’s full safety during the summer sport camps run by these departments.

“Camp coach counselors must be well prepared to protect the children entrusted to them,” says Clark Power, a Notre Dame psychology professor and founding co-director of Play Like a Champion Today. “Based on years of experience and extensive research, this symposium will help coaches understand what they need to do to respect all participants and create the most nurturing sport environment possible.”

Play Like a Champion Today focuses on character education through sport, offering a range of services that include workshops for coaches and parents of kids in K-12 athletics programs.

The symposium will take place April 26 on the Notre Dame campus, and online registration is requested by April 19. Experts from the legal profession, social work, developmental psychology, and coaching education will explore the moral, legal, and psychological issues. For more details on the subjects and schedule, see the full story at the Play Like a Champion Today website.

Rev. Ronald Nuzzi, Ph.D., senior director of ACE's Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, has received the C. Albert Koob, OPraem, Merit Award, with which the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) honors an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to Catholic education in the United States.

The NCEA presented the 2013 Koob Award to Father Nuzzi during the group’s annual convention, attended by 8,000 Catholic educators April 2-4 in Houston.

“I am honored and humbled by this gracious award from my good friends and colleagues at the NCEA,” said Father Nuzzi in a statement. “I am especially grateful for the many faith-filled colleagues with whom I share this important ministry, here at Notre Dame and across the country.”

Father Nuzzi made reference to his work in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), where he has served since 2002 as the founding director of the formation initiative preparing the next generation of principals and other leaders for Catholic schools. The Remick Leadership Program has become the largest program of its kind in the country.

"It is a blessing beyond measure for me to contribute to the success, perseverance, and development of Catholic school leaders in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Ireland,” Father Nuzzi said. “There is much work to be done, a new generation to reach, a new evangelization to proclaim. I hope that all of our efforts—those led by Notre Dame, ACE, the NCEA, and other Catholic institutions—may continue to bring life to Catholic schools and especially to those teachers and leaders who are so dedicated to the future and to our children.”

Later this year, Father Nuzzi will lead a new ACE initiative assisting Catholic schools as they assess and renew their Catholic identity in the spirit of the New Evangelization. ACE will seek a new director for the Remick Leadership Program, in which Father Nuzzi will continue as a faculty member.

As Father Nuzzi commented in a video posted April 2 by the NCEA, his perspectives on Catholic education have been shaped by his own service in parish and diocesan schools and at Notre Dame, as well as scholarly work at Saint Louis University and the University of Dayton.

He cited the inspiration he draws from the Catholic school teachers and leaders being formed in ACE—their “great commitment to the faith, a serious commitment to Catholic education, a quest and hunger for social justice.” Their energy, he said, gives him “great hope for the future.”

Father Nuzzi, a priest of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, has a distinguished academic background. He has authored or edited a number of books, including two published in recent months: Striving for Balance, Steadfast in Faith: The Notre Dame Study of U.S. Catholic Elementary School Principals and Building Assets: The Strategic Use of Closed Catholic Schools. Both were co-authored by ACE faculty members Dr. Jim Frabutt and Dr. Anthony Holter. The same team produced No Greater Work: Meditations on Church Documents for Educators in 2010 and Faith, Finances, and the Future: The Notre Dame Study of U.S. Pastors in 2008.

Books including the two-volume encyclopedia Catholic Schools in the United States and Handbook of Research on Catholic Education were edited by Father Nuzzi along with Thomas C. Hunt and Eillis A. Joseph.

The Year of Faith is a celebration of our calling to follow Christ and how we can come to know Jesus in our commitment to the ACE community and Catholic Schools. Our prayer is that we can learn to find Jesus in the ordinary and routine things of our lives.

We have just completed the week called the Octave of Easter, which gives us the opportunity to discover the variety of ways the Risen Lord was present to the disciples and the early Christian Community. The Resurrection is so special, we are invited to linger and spend time pondering what all of this means in our lives.

Take a moment and reflect on Acts 3: 1- 10. This is the story of Peter and John going to the Temple for prayer and their encounter with a crippled man who is begging by the gate of the temple. The man asks for alms, and Peter responds to him with these words:

“I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”

I love this reading because it shows us how the Resurrection transformed Peter and John and inspired them to share Christ’s love. Easter is a reminder to us to see where love enters into our lives. Observe acts of love and notice the perspectives of people loving God and their neighbor as themselves.

Here are two ways that I have recently seen love.

There is a picture taken on Easter Sunday of Pope Francis embracing a boy who has cerebral palsy. The boy’s mother said that, after the Holy Father blessed her son, a woman nearby said to her, “Your son’s vocation is to show us how to love.”

You may have seen the pictures of the basketball player who broke his leg in a basketball game. His teammate leaned over him, let him know he was not alone and prayed with him. He said later, “I didn’t know what to say or do, and the only thing I could do was let Kevin know I loved him and that he was not alone.”

Teachers walk into a classroom every day and do not know if what they are doing matters for their students. If they remember they are called to be Christ the Teacher, teachers’ vocation is to love their students. Teachers may not know what to say or do; but like Peter and John, they can give Christ to students.

You can let them know that their life has value and that they are loved. Teachers give Christ’s love by showing up every day and taking an interest in each student. They are willing to listen and learn the unique story of their students. You need to know that you have been invited by Jesus to be Christ the Teacher and this can make a huge difference in the lives of students as well as your own.

Remember, you have been given the gift of the love of God, and you are called to give it away.