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After observing Ash Wednesday to start Lent, we have been thrust into a season of intentional reflection and prayer. As a Catholic educator, I feel called not only to prepare lesson plans and materials for my students in these 40 days but to also curate opportunities for my students to reflect on the season of Lent in the classroom. The first of these opportunities for students was one that is a staple among Catholic school-teachers across this country. I had students write down their Lenten promises on small purple pieces of paper and posted them on a bulletin board.

4:57 AM | morning glory

The alarm clock rings and my feet hit the floor before my eyes open, scrambling to turn off the alarm before waking a housemate. After pole vaulting out of bed, the day begins with breakfast, coffee, and greeting housemates who make the arduous journey from bed before 6 a.m. The sun starts to think about peeking over the horizon while I juggle coffee, a lunchbox, and an oversized teacher bag into the car. This is where our day begins.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" – Isaiah 58:6-7

In the same way that many people mistakenly confuse one-to-one technology programs with blended-learning programs, many people also assume that technology is the key to blended learning’s success – but it’s not, at least not in our classrooms.

As I think back on my decision to say “yes” to ACE nearly a year ago, so much in my life since that moment that has confirmed that I am where I am meant to be. When I started my final year of college, I found myself in a position that is familiar to many seniors with an interest in education: I needed to choose between the countless alternative teacher certification programs that dot the country. In the moment, the only thing that mattered to me was picking the program that would best prepare me to walk into a classroom sometime in mid- to late August for my first day of school. On these grounds, ACE stood out to me based on the qualities that have made it a world-renowned program (intensive summer coursework and practicum placement, excellent academic support from a team of extremely accessible faculty, ability to earn a free Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame–the list goes on and on).

I recently had the privilege of joining my colleagues from the Notre Dame Center for STEM Education for the third annual RISE Summit in Palo Alto, California. The RISE Summit is an opportunity for Trustey Family STEM Teaching Fellows–some of the nation’s most outstanding STEM teachers who take part in a multiyear professional development program through the Center–to gather, reflect, collaborate, and grow. As if a trip to California in January was not enough on its own, I was overjoyed by the enthusiasm, curiosity, and determination of the 56 Fellows. I learned so much from these outstanding teachers throughout our short workshop on blended learning, and I wanted to share one of the most important takeaways and one of the most interesting discussions from our session.

It’s early February...that time of year when you are in the thick of teaching, thinking about the content you still need to cover and ensuring all students make sufficient progress. Maybe you are asking...what’s next? The Program for Inclusive Education (PIE) offers professional development in meeting the needs of ALL students in your Catholic school classroom!

Entering into a new community can be an intimidating experience. But sitting in ACE Chaplain Father Joe Carey’s family room at the beginning of the year, I felt at home with the other ACE Interns as we talked about our discernment processes. Talking to FJ, surrounded by my incredible classmates and ACE community leaders—some I knew and some I had just met— we all laughed, listened, and spoke with one another as if we had been long-time friends. I vividly remember feeling so profoundly struck by each person’s vocational journey that guided them to say “yes” to ACE. Inspired by that night and the passionate responses of my ACE community members, I came up with the seven (my lucky number) reasons, factors, and motivators that guided my vocational discernment:

It’s pretty common for teachers to assure us that they are doing blended learning, only for us to quickly discover that they are really just using technology in their classroom without actually changing the way students learn. It is far less common, however, for teachers to accidentally implement blended learning without doing so intentionally – but that is exactly what happened for the star of today’s post, Maggie Schmid.

As 2018 begins, resolutions abound of healthier eating, less spending, and more family time. I’m sure we have all made one or two for the new year. In light of resolutions, the Program for Inclusive Education (PIE) would like to offer eight strategies and tips for teachers to make inclusion in your classrooms possible: 8 Resolutions for the 2018 Inclusive Classroom. Dr. Sean J. Smith from the University of Kansas is a professor and researcher of special education and a member of the PIE faculty team. He provides insightful and practical ways to ensure success for ALL students, including those who struggle and/or are diagnosed with differences. Many thanks to Dr. Smith for his contribution and blessings to you and your schools for 2018!

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

Our blended-learning team is absolutely thrilled to announce our new partnership with the GHR Foundation to implement blended-learning programs in schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis! We have been contemplating expanding our work outside of the Notre Dame ACE Academies for some time now, and we could not resist the opportunity to work with the amazing GHR team (and in Fr. Nate’s hometown, no less!).

I often lament the hardships the we face as educators, complaining to housemates or anyone who will listen, and too infrequently acknowledge the resilience of my students. One student in particular, John, a sixth-grade student at Holy Trinity, displays his perseverance despite his circumstances.

Today was our last day with students of the school year. They frantically scribbled their answers on their last final exam of the year (Lenguaje, or Spanish Language, in the case of the 8th graders whose test I was proctoring). One by one, the students in my classroom finished their tests, turned them in, and left the room. Several students left with a sigh of relief, some with shouts of “Terminé!” and one boy even walked out singing his own personal theme song. By finishing that exam, the 8th graders had closed a chapter of their lives. Done with 8th grade, done with middle school, now they were looking forward to the future.

Photo Credit: Beth Foraker, National Catholic Board on Full Inclusion

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

As 2017 draws to a close, I am reminded of this passage from the Gospel of Matthew. The Program for Inclusive Education (PIE) has had an invigorating 2017, traveling the country and partnering with Catholic schools to pursue the mission of inclusive education. Our work has just begun, and PIE continues to ask, seek, and knock on behalf of ALL students.

The following was taken from a presentation given to current ACE Teaching Fellows by Dr. Ernest Morrell at the 2017 December Retreat. 

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. - John 1: 35-39