The ACE Blog

“I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan” …

Well not exactly, but that didn't stop me from humming this tune when I first arrived in Los Angeles for my internship with the Specialty Family Foundation this past summer.

I had a lot of thoughts about what the Frassati Internship would entail, but, to be honest, I didn’t know what exactly to expect.  

“Umm... sure.”

A hesitation, and a jump. This was my response to my principal on the way home from school one warm Wednesday evening when he asked if I could cover an extra class for CCD—8^th grade girls. I wanted to make a good impression on my principal, and since it was a slower week, I figured an extra hour wouldn’t kill me. After I hesitated, I said yes.

I distinctly remember the first time I walked into Rebecca Buller’s middle school math classroom at Saint Alphonsus Catholic School in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

The energy was electric and students were buzzing with excitement while talking about...MATH!

Rebecca uses the station rotation model. She divides her students into three groups – a technology station, a collaborative work station where students apply math learning, and her small-group instruction station. She combines this model with her version of the flipped classroom model to make math concepts attainable for all students.

Many people who are familiar with ACE Teaching Fellows have probably heard a thing or two about our December Retreat, a time for all our teachers, faculty, and team members to gather near Austin, Texas for a weekend of spiritual, communal, and professional nourishment. 

What some people might not be aware of is the fact that our team regularly travels around the country to offer regional retreats for our ACE Teachers. Fr. Lou DelFra, Fr. Joe Carey, and members of the Pastoral Team plan and deliver approximately 10 such retreats each year.

Members of the ACE communities from Phoenix and Tucson were part of a recent retreat to the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Arizona. 

The Program for Inclusive Education is privileged to collaborate with many amazing educators across the country who support and advocate for inclusion in Catholic schools. It is my honor to welcome Sean Jorgensen and Jason Linster from Monroe, Michigan, as guest authors. Saint Mary Catholic Central High School (SMCC) is committed to opening its doors to all learners, and it is a blessing to share their story. Thank you for your tireless efforts towards inclusive education!

~ Christie Bonfiglio, Ph.D.; Director of the Program for Inclusive Education

My classroom layout matched the colorful, vibrant personalities of my students. And similar to the lovely, ever-changing, adolescent personality, my classroom was constantly changing. I am a big fan of the flex model, particularly for older students because it gives teachers more flexibility to pull groups or individual students. I constantly adjusted my groups to keep instruction “fresh,” as my kids called it. My flexible groups also removed the stigma that can sometimes accompany ability grouping.

This is the third and final post in a series from ACE teachers that center around the pillars of teaching, community, and spirituality. It is authored by Alaina Owen, a member of ACE 25 in Tucson and focuses on her gratitude toward the spiritual nourishment she has received on campus and at her ACE school.

This Thanksgiving, I thank God for the opportunity to join ACE Teaching Fellows and the spiritual formation I have received from the program. When I was first admitted to ACE and was told that I would be teaching high school biology and chemistry in Tucson, I had to trust in God’s plan for me. I chose to take the leap of faith and move to a new city across the country to teach students who were only a few years younger than me. While I was incredibly nervous at the beginning, I have learned so much more about myself and my faith throughout these past two years.

This is the second post in a series from ACE teachers that center around the pillars of teaching, community, and spirituality. It is authored by Andy Miles, a member of ACE 24 in Philadelphia and focuses on his gratitude toward the vocation of teaching.

The pretzel salt was everywhere.

No matter how many times I swept my classroom after school, a new layer of salt dust seemed to coat the checkered tile floor each morning. It was beneath the corners of the rug in the back and within the pages of textbooks kept inside the desks. My housemates may claim I exaggerate, but I think I even once found pretzel salt in my shoes when I returned to our row house at the end of a long day.

You finish a class and think to yourself, “Wow! What a wonderful lesson. I can’t wait to grade these exit tickets.” 

However, after grading, you find a handful of your students ROCKED the lesson–but a group of students completely misunderstood the concept. How will you make sure these students don’t fall behind on future lessons?

Reteaching small groups of students is an effective way to ensure students receive instruction that targets their misconceptions.

Throughout this month of gratitude, we will be publishing a series of blog posts from ACE teachers that center around the pillars of teaching, community, and spirituality. The following post is authored by Maria Lynch (ACE 19, ENL 13) and focuses on the love that she felt from her ACE Plaquemine community, as well as how she continues to witness transformational moments with a new community in Denver, Colorado.

Smile - you paid for this.

A heckler with a sense of humor waved this sign at me as I passed the eleventh mile marker of a recent half marathon. Touché, dude.

Since its founding in 1993, the Alliance for Catholic Education has been committed to serving Catholic schools by forming talented individuals into the next generation of school leaders, expanding access to high-performing Catholic schools, and enhancing the high-quality education that Catholic schools have historically provided.

Each year, the ACE Teaching Fellows program welcomes approximately 90 talented, faith-filled college graduates to enter formation as beginning teachers. For those who already serve as skillful teachers, ACE offers a variety of programs to foster their continued growth as educators and leaders.

Below, find an introduction to some of the programs that are strengthening and transforming Catholic schools across the country.

We are called to welcome, serve, and celebrate every student.

That is our motto at the Program for Inclusive Education, and the goal to which every inclusive educator aspires. Moreover, we pray that all Catholic schools will embrace this mission by opening their doors to those academically on the margins and by supporting students so their God-given potential shines. Being grateful for what we have is the key to truly giving. PIE is grateful for what you have–your heart of inclusion!

Some may wonder, “If I have blended-learning, what is the point of pre-teaching concepts if I can go back and remediate?” In response to this question, a significant element of blended learning is equity: giving students exactly what they need. When teaching a whole-group lesson, every student must be able to access the lesson's objective. Equity is the reason why pre-teaching is essential.

When considering pre-teaching, the next logical question is:

How do I know which students will be in my pre-teach small group?

My morning meetings are a time for the students in my homeroom to start their morning with the right energy. Over the course of our morning meeting, students:

• Greet each other
• Share something
• Complete an activity

Students have ownership and are allowed to come up with certain parts of the meeting, but the structure always remains the same.

An effective morning meeting allows my students to learn new things about their classmates and teachers, while creating a place that is safe and welcoming.

How can Title III help Catholic schools? Title III is an element of the older No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the new Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA), and it authorizes the use of federal funds to benefit immigrant and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students in public and private schools. The funding is designed to support the development and implementation of new instructional programs, the expansion or enhancement of existing programs, family engagement initiatives, and/or professional development for teachers of English learners in order to help LEP and immigrant students achieve English proficiency and meet the same academic content standards as their grade-level peers.