Notre Dame National Bus Tour
Highlights Stockton Catholic Schools on May 12
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill Schmitt, Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) /
The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) visits the Diocese of Stockton on Monday, May 12, 2014, to celebrate the vital role Catholic schools play in educating children from immigrant families and impoverished communities.
Notre Dame’s National Bus Tour will visit Our Lady of Fatima School in Modesto, CA, to celebrate the students, teachers, leaders, and achievements of the school and parish. Representatives of Notre Dame, including ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., will also honor local champions for educational excellence who have come together in a partnership to build a bright future for all the schools and children of the Stockton Diocese.
The partnership has included an in-depth strategic assessment of 12 diocesan schools conducted by ACE in 2013. The assessments by ACE Consulting, conducted at the request of the Most Rev. Stephen E. Blaire, bishop of the diocese, included an analysis of numerous factors, including Catholic identity, academic excellence, institutional governance and advancement, enrollment and demographics, and financial considerations.
“The Catholic schools in our diocese are an important resource, as their continued success can help our community break the cycles of poverty, violence, and social injustice,” said Bishop Blaire in announcing the assessment initiative in late 2012. “ACE Consulting will help us discern how to enroll more students in better schools—schools that can offer both a values-based and a rigorous academic education.”
The Alliance for Catholic Education, the nation’s premier provider of talent, research, and support for Catholic schools, is visiting Our Lady of Fatima School in Modesto as part of its 50-city national bus tour to highlight the success of Catholic schools and recognize its many champions. ACE is marking its 20th year of service.