Alliance for Catholic Education
This summer, teachers from all of the Notre Dame ACE Academies gathered at Notre Dame for the Notre Dame ACE Academies Summer Institute. In addition to the preexisting ACE Academies in Tucson, Arizona and Tampa, Florida, the faculties of Holy Redeemer Catholic School, St. Andrew Catholic School, Basilica School of St. Paul, and Lourdes Academy in the Diocese of Orlando joined the ACE Academies family for the first time.
The days they spent at Notre Dame offered teachers and administrators time to reflect and experience the calm of God's presence while also familiarizing themselves with the energetic community of people working toward the same goal.
Notre Dame ACE Academies teacher Michelle Watkins of Lourdes Academy remembers her first moments on Notre Dame's campus as a frenzied rush toward prayerful peace. Many of the teachers faced delayed flights and thus their first moments on Notre Dame's famously serene campus were spent running and hauling luggage to Keough Hall in order to arrive at Mass on time. After all of that, Watkins recalls, "We walked into the chapel, took a deep breath, and immediately felt calm and in God's presence."
Watkins likened this event to the lives of Catholic educators.
"We are constantly rushing, maximizing time, worrying about things beyond our control, but the second we sit and put ourselves in the presence of the Lord, a calm like no other fills our hearts, spirit and mind," she said.
Many of the teachers and administrators who attended the Summer Institute were new to the Notre Dame ACE Academies model. Gloria del Orbe, principal of Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Orlando, Florida, recalls first learning about the program in 2014.
"I didn't know any details about the program, but I knew it would offer hope and opportunity to Holy Redeemer Catholic School," she said.
Over the course of just four days, both of these women transitioned from questioning to confidence and calm as they grew to understand the Notre Dame ACE Academies model more completely.
While the concrete information the participants learned was valuable, both Watkins and Del Orbe spoke most passionately about the community of educators and advocates who they encountered at the Summer Institute.
"I never imagined that I would feel so united with our teachers," she said. "Notre Dame ACE Academies offered team building, self-reflection, and ultimately, commitment in our ministry and our school."
Watkins found inspiration not just in the commitment of her colleagues, but also in the greater Notre Dame ACE Academies community.
"One of my takeaways from my time at Notre Dame is the professionalism, enthusiasm, kindness, and graciousness of each and every one of the members on the Notre Dame ACE Academies central team," she said. "And I am telling you I saw that same fire and spirit in each member with every person they interacted with. It was a beautiful thing."
Ultimately, the Summer Institute was not only a beautiful thing, it was a transformative thing. And now, teachers at ACE Academies across the country have entered the 2015-2016 school year with vigor and hope.
"I believe that Notre Dame ACE Academies will help us work through obstacles so we can really push our students to new levels," Watson said.
Even the walls of Holy Redeemer Catholic School have transformed since the Notre Dame ACE Academies partnership. Now, elementary school bulletin boards remind students of their goals, College and Heaven. Further, in each classroom a banner hangs which charges students to Seek, Persist, Excel, Love, and Serve.
In the first days of school, families and students will notice these changes. However, these phrases are not just decorations, Del Orbe said.
"They are intentional and visual reminders of who we became this summer at the Notre Dame ACE Academies Summer Institute."