Alliance for Catholic Education
On January 19, 2016, delegations of students, parents, teachers, leaders, parishioners, and other supporters from Notre Dame ACE Academies in the Dioceses of St. Petersburg and Orlando were among the more than 10,000 demonstrators from across the Sunshine State participating in the Rally in Tally. Advocates gathered at the capitol to champion the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, a program that benefits more than 78,000 students and is currently threatened by a lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association—the state's largest teachers union. These scholarships empower families to choose the school that best fits their children's strengths and needs by expanding access to a range of educational options, including nearly 1,600 participating private schools statewide.
Beginning their journeys well before dawn's early light, the Notre Dame ACE Academies used the trip to Tallahassee to bring civics lessons beyond of the realm of textbooks and Schoolhouse Rock! and into real life. The capitol grounds became a classroom and gave students a chance to learn about public policy and political advocacy first hand based on an issue that directly affects them, their peers, and their schools.
A seventh-grader from Basilica School of Saint Paul encapsulated the significance of the Rally by reflecting on the size of the crowd in Tallahassee: "Can you imagine if all these people lose their scholarships? What will they do? What will we do?" The participants from Notre Dame ACE Academies embodied their schools' root beliefs in doing the right thing at the right time and making every moment matter through this civic expression of solidarity for their schools and all the Florida students who use these tax-credit scholarships to seek excellence.
- Concha Prado and Jessica Smith—Notre Dame ACE Academies Advancement Specialists—and Fr. Matt Grady, RLP 14, contributed to this story.
Kristen M. Clark, "Thousands rally in Tallahassee urging teachers' union to ‘drop the suit,'"Tampa Bay Times, January 19, 2016.