ACE Teaching Fellows Blog

Moving to a Place You Do NOT Want to Go

Part of the reason many of us signed up for ACE was to experience a new place and a new culture. I can live anywhere for two years, right? In...

Christmas Morning in a San Jose Summer

My principal started off our first professional development meeting of the new school year by exclaiming, “I just can’t wait for the kids to get here, the first day of...

Sydney Brown and her 2nd Grade student at Redemptorist St. Gerard

Ready, Set, Teach: Starting the School Year Off Strong

Imagine this: you wake up way too early, gulp down breakfast, dress nice, brush your teeth until they shine, locate your keys with shaky hands, and rush through the door...

Introducing the 2024-25 Blog Team!

We are so excited to introduce this year’s blog team! To help you get to know these seven bloggers, we asked them to complete a brief Q&A to introduce themselves...

From left to right: Lydia Heinen, Emma Bradley, and Stephen Kurt

Every Ending is a New Beginning

“So raise up your glass, here’s to brand new beginnings And don’t shed a tear for the things that are ending Cuz tomorrow will bring us a new morning sun...

ACE 30 Teacher Grace Rakestraw (left) chatting with student (right) and pointing to worksheet on table in front of them.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less

It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. There is a word, an Igbo word, that I think about whenever I think about the power...

Ms. León's class holding their hands in prayer

An Ode To...

Inspired by the poem "Ode to Broken Things" by Pablo Neruda, Camila León's (ACE 29, Tulsa) class wrote a poem about their ode to 5th grade. Please enjoy the video...

Students in a circle writing on a poster

Dodging the Dog Days of the Classroom

As the end of the year approaches, students and teachers alike are bound to daydream of the impending golden beams of sunshine, refreshingly crisp watermelon slices, and countless days of...

The Illusion of Idolatry: A Lesson Sponsored by Hozier and Jane Eyre

I know what you’re thinking: How could Hozier, an agnostic musician openly critical of the Catholic Church, possibly be any good for your faith life? As an ACE teacher, I...

Riding the April Retreat High

"It's so weird to think we won't see each other for another six weeks." "I know, right?!" I was sitting around a food court table at the Midway airport with...