Stories

ACE Blog

Students talking to each other.

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...

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ACE Teachers posing before So-Cal Marathon 2026

Running Through Discomfort

I feel great. Granted, I’m only 3 miles into my 13.1 mile journey, but I feel better than ever. It’s hot, but I’ve run in this weather countless times. After...

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Frassati_Twin Cities, Cohort 6

A Meditation on Purpose

Purpose. Calling. Fulfillment. Mission. Whichever word you use, I believe this aspect of one’s life is perhaps the most important there is. When one discovers their purpose, it seems that...

Los Angeles Hike Photo

Here as in Heaven

I regret to say that in my childhood, few paths were less appealing than the one to sainthood. Sainthood, to an 8-year-old learning from Sunday School lessons and black and...

Chicago Frassati Community, Cohort 5

What Comes Next?

How often do we encounter the narrative that we must pay our dues to a major accounting firm, consulting company, or bank by spending “just a couple of years” working...

Maureen Bowling and Andrea Bergener

Where Two or More are Gathered

The Program for Inclusive Education (PIE) has been blessed to work with several schools that sent multiple educators to participate in our 18-credit hour program. When multiple inclusive educators work...

Tulsa at December Retreat

December Retreat Diaries

One of the highlights of my ACE experience, both in my first and second years of teaching, has been December Retreat. After four months of living in community and teaching...