At a time when teachers are the whipping post for all that ails America's schools, Julianne Corroto (ACE 18) brings hope, embodying as she does the Holy Cross ideal to educate, expand, and enlighten minds and hearts.

"I lead my students from behind," writes the teacher in ACE STT cohort 18, "supporting, encouraging, sometimes shouting directions to those at the head of the pack." Covering 8th grade science, 10th grade religion, and high school chemistry, Julianne also seeks to lead by example. "I learned really quickly," she says, "that sophomores in my morality class are more likely to watch me than they are to actually listen!"

Ultimately, her aim is to help students find—and use—their gifts, and Julianne attests to the importance of doing this in the context of a Catholic school classroom. "We talk about faith, vocation, life-plans, God at work in our lives--on an almost daily basis," she says. "Hopefully I inspire [my students] to do more than just pass chemistry: to problem solve, to look and listen for God, to find life in service, to love our neighbors, and to ultimately be the people that God created them to be."

Julianne's students frequently ask her if she likes teaching at their small Mississippi school. Her answer is always the same: "I love it." She tells us, "The other day one asked me why I didn't go to medical school or become a researcher to find the cure for cancer. And another student chimed in, 'She's here to teach us how to find the cure for cancer!'"

Julianne Corroto, a teacher with hope to bring, is pictured above with her housemates, also ACE teachers in Biloxi. Learn more ACE Service through Teaching program here.

The Holy Spirit won't take "No" for an answer. Just ask Laura Knaus. Early in her career as a teacher in Chicago's inner-city, she felt the nudge toward administration. But she explored other opportunities in education first. Still, the call to administration beckoned, and eventually she became principal of Sacred Heart School in Lincoln, Nebraska—and landed in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program (RLP) at ACE.

Hearing Laura speak about Catholic schools reveals why the Spirit must have led her to a position of leadership. "The Church speaks of Her schools in such a beautiful way—as places that foster the growth of minds and souls, that help students grow intellectually, socially and spiritually...[They are] 'at the heart of the Church.'"

And not only that, Laura says, but Catholic schools are at the heart of society has a whole. Thus, her commitment is "to fully participate in the movement to strengthen and restore our Catholic schools, especially those that serve under-served populations."

As principal, Laura brings that commitment to her Diocese, staff, parents, and students. (One example, as pictured above: She has instituted "Kingdom-Builder Awards." Each quarter, one student per grade is recognized for this honor.) She also brings what she's learned in RLP, such as professional development for her staff, and modified policies to move her school forward for the benefit of its children. And Laura is using her Action Research at Sacred Heart "to revamp our approach to parent involvement and to more effectively collaborate with parents, who are the primary educators of their children."

This leader in the Alliance for Catholic Education concludes, "I believe wholeheartedly in what ACE and ACE-modeled programs are accomplishing across our nation. Bringing awareness to [this work] is critical to the expansion and sustained success of the ACE mission." We are grateful for the central role Laura and others like her are playing to strengthen the heart of the Church--and the soul of our nation.

One never knows what brings Catholic school principals to their positions.

When Roseanne Villanueva moved to Tucson seven years ago, she says, "I didn't know about Catholic education. I didn't go to Catholic school. I didn't think I could afford it, and it wasn't something I really believed in."

So when she enrolled her two youngest (of four) sons in the preschool at St. John the Evangelist, she was initially happy just to have a place for them to go.

Within the first month, though, "I noticed a difference between the two older boys, who were in public school, and the two younger ones. The two little ones were talking about God in a way that I never had heard little kids talk, and I hadn't realized that could happen at that age. I liked the way they treated each other and the topics they brought up to talk about."

Naturally, Roseanne brought her older children to St. John the Evangelist as well. A teacher in a public school at the time, she asked the principal to keep her in mind for any future openings. That very spring, a position became available, and despite the pay cut on top of the expense of sending all four boys to Catholic school, her family decided to make the switch.

This teacher who once had never considered Catholic education was now teaching in a Catholic school--and loving it. She especially appreciated subbing in religion classes: "You learn about something when you teach religion in Catholic school," she says, "and I learned about my faith when I taught it. It's still one of my favorite things, to get to sub religion if a teacher is out."

Roseanne became principal of St John the Evangelist, a Notre Dame ACE Academy, in 2009. About it she says, "There's no school anywhere where the teachers are getting the kind of training our teachers are getting. The quality of education has gone up here. All the resources have made such a difference for the kids." Roseanne also points to the collaborative culture of the Academies, where the principals of the three schools can turn to each other and teachers who once worked in near isolation can share ideas, as a major factor in the success of St. John the Evangelist.

This is how the Holy Spirit works. Under Roseanne's leadership, the school where she first enrolled two of her children simply because it was a good place for them has gone from struggling to thriving. Under her leadership, the school about which she initially knew so little is now on a steep upward trajectory with enrollment increasing, school culture growing stronger and more defined, and student achievement scores up as much as two years in some classes. This is how the Holy Spirit works. Thanks be to God!

If all that we read about today's generation of 20-somethings is to be believed, it would be easy to lose hope for the future. News reels, magazine articles and the like murmur the merciless message that young adults are wasting away in the mire-y bogs of technological addiction and entitlement-driven self-absorption.

Until we meet young ACE teachers like Patrick Graff, a Notre Dame graduate just completing his first year in ACE Service through Teaching.

Listen to what he says when asked what motivated him to enter this intensive, trial-by-fire service program: "When Blessed John Paul II spoke of the New Evangelization, I could only think of the tireless effort of those educators who made me into who I am after 17 years of Catholic education, and I wanted to be a part of those invisibly small acts of love that shift the balance of the world."

Then hear how he has been changed in his first year as a third-grade teacher in Tampa, FL: "The phrase 'redemptive suffering' [has taken] on new meaning for me....ACE is a truly unique experience because it teaches you how to love, how to die to yourself so that your work may be used to point others toward their true end. One finds identity with Christ in this mission, knowing that He comes to suffer as one of us, revealing that in loving we come to know who we are and who we are meant to be. This is a lesson I am constantly learning, and I have ACE to thank for the secret joy that purposeful striving brings."

Patrick Graff represents hope for the future, a shining light of the Holy Spirit's continual work through God's people.

Over the years, Fr. Joe Carey has worn many hats in his service to Catholic education. The 1962 graduate of Notre Dame earned his M.A. in Theology from Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C., was ordained a Holy Cross priest in 1969, and went on to teach at Notre Dame High School for six years.

Fr. Joe then served as Director of Vocations for the CSC order for four years. At the University of Notre Dame, he was both an Assistant Rector and Rector, a Financial Counselor, Assistant Director--and then Interim Director--of Campus Ministry for Religious Education and Retreats. During that time, Fr. Joe also served in Campus Ministry at St. Mary's College for five years.

Recently, this long-time friend of the Alliance for Catholic Education officially joined the ACE family as its chaplain.

Fr. Joe notes, "I believe that God loves all people and ministry is about bringing all people the good news that they are made in the image and likeness of God."