ACE Teaching Fellows Blog

Image of David Moretti and his students outside his school

The Difference of a Day

Every morning my alarm rings at about 5:30. I often won’t get out of bed until 6, but sometimes, if I feel especially ambitious—or if my roommate makes a 5:40...

Maria Vaquero (Left) taking a selfie with her students sitting at their desks with their hands in prayer

Wait, But I Don’t See Him!

When I was in 2nd grade, I thought it was a pain to go to Mass. I was incredibly good at zoning out during Fr. Fernando’s homily, and secretly jealous...

Image of Luke Milon (L) and Will Garey (R) with Mardi Gras striped shirts on and colorful beads around their neck at a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, LA.

Home Away From Home

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word community as a unified body of individuals that are connected through a common goal or belief. ACE uses this idea of community to describe...

Image of notes and drawings on Ellie's white board in her classroom

Making Room for Joy: A Classroom Tour

A classroom is so much more than a room with four walls. It is a place where learning, connection, strength, and passion are captured through problem sets, group activities, pep...

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...