ACE Teaching Fellows Blog

Image of all ACE bloggers for the year. Top row left to right: Christopher Pistrang, Lizette Mendez Ramirez, Lauryn Sweeney. Bottom row left to right: Will Garey, Maria Vaquero, David Moretti, Ellie Poling

Meet the 2026-2027 Blog Team!

Please join us in welcoming this year's blog team! While they will be sharing insights about their school year, community life, and spirituality life throughout the year, for now, take...

Four students with their backs to the camera writing on a white board

Go Forth!

When I was a student in ACE, I remember the sudden quiet that hit at the end of our summer class session. All of a sudden, the eight weeks were...

Image of ACE New Orleans on the basketball court. From left to right: Amanda Dempson, James Walsh, Jordan Pavlock, Caelan O'Connor, and Sophia Buonavolonta

Struggle Like Your Students

“It’s a whole body thing. Your shot should be one fluid motion.” “Follow through. Hold your hand up after you release the ball.” “Again.” While preparing for a beloved tradition...

Image of St. Mary's Lake on campus at Notre Dame

A Letter to My Future ACE Teachers

A letter to my future ACE teachers: “I think I’ve made a grave mistake.” This was a sentence I wrote on a teal post-it, tacked to the cork board of...

Clayton Glasgow (middle with blue button down and blue tie) talking to students on left (male in red sweater) and right (female in blue polo) or him. They are at a lab table looking at a worksheet on the table.

Slivers of Perfection

A few days ago, there was an incident in my classroom that I did not handle very well. On the contrary, I handled it quite poorly, and I ended up...

Image of Jack Hutter in blue tshirt posing with three of his students in red sweaters and red plaid skirts: two girls to his left and one to his right.

Spring Fever Isn’t Just for the Kids

As the school year starts to wind down, teachers know all too well the restlessness that resides in our classrooms. The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer...

Image that ACE 33's Seamus Dougherty took of Notre Dame's campus from St. Joseph's Lake where you can see the Basilica and Main Building from the other side of the lake.

What Do You Seek?

"What do you seek?" Triumphant in my acceptance into ACE 33 and a growing understanding of my new community in Detroit, the question above stopped me in my tracks. For...

Note from Sophia's student

Laugh at the Little Things

Though my first semester of teaching was a blur, it is defined by a sense of fun. Dropped into a new city, school, and job with only eight weeks of...

Screenshot of CBS On the Road Series. Picture of the bottom of a swimming pool from atop with text that reads, "If I couldn't handle not being good at something, then how could I consider myself a successful person?"

What's Not in the Lesson Plan

It might be crazy to admit that one of my objectives on Fridays is to get my students to cry, but it isn’t because I am giving an impossible test...