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In my work, I am blessed to be in and out of Catholic schools and classrooms all across this country where teachers and students are engaged in the work of teaching and learning. It is true that there are many things on a teacher’s to-do list and, truthfully, that list often feels bottomless. It is also true that the very best teachers I have known attend to a few things exceptionally well. Below is a list of three instructional ideas for more powerful and engaging classroom work:

Blended learning has become a buzzword (or buzz-phrase, perhaps) in education circles, praised as the next big thing in education reform, or criticized as just the next education fad. Is blended learning helpful for students, and more specifically, how can blended learning be helpful—and potentially game-changing—for the unique context of Catholic schools?

I sat down with ACE’s blended learning experts—T.J. D’Agostino, who has helped incorporate successful blended learning models into a number of Catholic schools across the country, and Fr. Nate Wills, C.S.C., whose doctoral scholarship and research focused on blended learning in K-12 Catholic schools—to talk about blended learning and how well it translates to the Catholic schools context.

December is fast approaching - ‘tis the season of annual appeals and Christmas donation requests. Those who work on the budget side of Catholic schools are usually all too familiar with “the gap.” In many of our Catholic schools, especially those serving low-income families, the tuition we charge does not cover the cost to educate. This revenue gap must often be bridged through the generous donations of benefactors because raising tuition would price out the families we serve. Given the urgency and challenges surrounding fundraising efforts, much attention and time is often devoted to disseminating best practices. As the Director of Development for Saint Ann School in Chicago I found workshops on crafting a compelling appeal letter, tips for engaging your alumni base, and strategies for perfecting “the ask” to be readily available.

Today’s school leaders, especially in Catholic schools, wear innumerable hats — curriculum specialist, instructional coach, advancement director, public relations officer, human resources expert, and assessment specialist, just to name a few. Central to all of this is also the crucial role of the principal as spiritual leader of their school — directing the Catholic culture and spiritual growth of the faculty and students,  while still fulfilling all of their other duties.

These tasks might seem overwhelming, and prioritizing can be a real challenge. Here are a few tips that can lend clarity to the often-muddled set of tasks for which  school leaders are responsible:

If you want to know how to host a great Culture Night at your school, borrow a play from the playbook of Walt Disney Elementary in Mishawaka, Indiana. To cast a spotlight on the richness of their wonderfully diverse community, this school has hosted a Culture Night every May for the past 16 years. "Every year we try to add a new element as our school and the event evolve," says faculty coordinator and music teacher Robi Davidson. "This is the event at our school that makes me most proud to be a teacher at Walt Disney."

"It really brings our learning community together," says assistant principal Ryan Towner. "At Disney, we speak 23 languages. Most of our families live in nearby apartments and don't always get enough opportunities to interact with one another at school. But on Culture Night, our school community turns out. It's an opportunity to be unified by pride in our children and to celebrate all the richness and benefits we get from being such a diverse community."

Photo by Nathan Solis, courtesy of the Eastsider LA. Originally appeared in Students learn about love, death & Dia de los Muertos at an East L.A. cemetery, October 30, 2014. For Catholic school teachers, celebrating Día de los Muertos can be a magnificent way to encourage students to pray for and remember their deceased family and friends. It can also be an opportunity to celebrate, honor, and learn from students and families of Mexican and Central American descent and the richness of their cultural heritage.

Like Halloween, Día de los Muertos is a holiday linked to the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls in the Catholic liturgical calendar. But, unlike Halloween, which has become mostly about candy and costumes for the sake of entertainment, Día de los Muertos is a holiday that celebrates the lives of loved ones who have died and the generations of ancestors who have gone before us.

From family picnics at grave sites, to lavishly decorated home altars, to the aroma of marigolds and pan de muerto, the celebration of Día de los Muertos is as beautiful as it is profound. Here are some ways to help children young and old learn about this important holiday.

A couple weeks ago, we were lucky enough to hear from Dr. Ernest Morrell, a professor of English Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, on how we can make education socially, culturally, and digitally relevant to our students. While he was teeming with ideas for how to better walk and connect with students (everything from auto-ethnography projects to science rap battles, parent mentoring programs to new titles in multicultural literature), Morell devoted a portion of his talk to this stark reality: that “we compete with the media for students’ values.”

There are some things that are just distinctly October. Flannel shirts, pumpkin spiced lattes, the changing leaves . . . and the Chicago Cubs.

What’s that, you say? The Cubs haven’t been to the NLCS in twelve years? The Cubs, infamous for having not won a World Series since 1908, have long been written off by baseball fans as being “cursed.” So while Cubs fans might still associate October more with Steve Bartman than with success, there’s no question that in addition to a crisp breeze, there’s a buzz in the air. The Cubs are rolling.

And that made us think — since baseball is the mother of all metaphors, we in the Catholic school world realized there might actually be a few similarities between the Cubbies and Catholic schools. Here are some thoughts:

At the end of August my Professional Learning Community conducted our first video chat. Through the wonders of the interwebs, it was delightful to see the smiling faces of our small group of Remick Leaders, now scattered across the nation. Mike Zelenka, a great principal at Incarnation Catholic School in Tampa, FL, thoughtfully led our meeting and reflected on his own experience of coming to Notre Dame for a couple days this summer. Mike spent time in classes and said the conversations about “root beliefs” got him thinking about his own root beliefs. He listed and explained some of the ones he came up with.

Lemme just tell you, they are really good.

“Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience”

A great deal of anticipation always surrounds a new papal encyclical. People wonder: Is Church teaching going to change? Will I, as a Catholic, be called to greater conversion and prayer?  Will the pope use awesome words like “sourpuss?” (The answers are pretty consistently “Never,” “Always,” and “Probably,” respectively).

Back in May, you might remember the excitement surrounding Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home. But for many Catholic school teachers, that was right around the time they were grading finals, packing up the classroom, and getting ready for summer — not exactly the ideal time to read a 42,000-word encyclical.

Laudato Si, in short, is Pope Francis’ appeal to the faithful to take a closer look at how we are shaping the future of our planet, the effect of humanity on global issues such as climate change and poverty, and the protection and care for what Francis calls “our common home.” I can hardly think of something that functions as more of a “common home” than a school or classroom, so with class back in session and the Holy Father himself visiting our neck of the woods in a few weeks, here are some ideas on how the Catholic educator can incorporate some of the main messages of Laudato Si in their classroom.

"El entusiasmo es contagioso" 
“Enthusiasm is contagious”

Throughout the United States, Latino populations are on the rise, especially in the Catholic church. Latinos now make up approximately 70 percent of all practicing Catholics in the United States under the age of thirty-five, yet only 3 percent of school-aged Latino children are enrolled in Catholic schools. Oftentimes, Latino families can feel disconnected with their local Catholic school, many of which are designed to cater to an immigrant community of a different generation. Here are eight ways to help your school become more welcoming to Latino families:

1. Ditch the deficit mindset. Too often, when considering Latino outreach, people approach the topic with a deficit mindset, asking, “why don’t they do this the way we do?” Not a single strategy (and there are thousands) will work if you see Latinos’ growing presence in the United States as a problem. But if you believe in your heart and mind that welcoming Latino families is part of God’s providence, and see it as an opportunity, you’ll approach it with zeal, energy, and life. You’re bound to be more successful.

2. Realize that it takes work. Reaching out to Latino families and making your school more welcoming for them isn’t rocket science, but some of it is counterintuitive to how an Anglo-centered mind might work. We all have hidden biases and prejudices about how life works and about the way things are—stop for a moment to consider these biases, and think about how others might approach things differently.

3. Do the small things. Latino outreach is not just about hanging a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the office or providing a Mass in Spanish—but those things help! Make sure your school offers clubs centered around things valued by the Latino culture and, if possible, offers extra classes after school like Spanish for those who don’t speak it, and English for parents whose first language is Spanish. Make sure that all of the forms at your school are in both English and Spanish. When it comes to the small things, make every effort to show that there isn’t a dominant culture at your school, and that it’s welcoming of all cultures.

4. Look for potential community knowledge. Using the real life of your kids (and their parents) to help them learn is an excellent strategy for any teacher, but can be particularly helpful in making your school more welcoming for Latino families. Once again, ditch the deficit mindset and start thinking about the community as rich with resources. What gifts do your Latino parents have that could truly benefit your students, and how can you incorporate those gifts into your lessons? Answering this question will not only benefit your students, but will also improve the relationship you have with your students’ parents.

5. Increase your knowledge. As simple as it may sound, it makes a difference to know your stuff. Teachers and administrators should be knowledgeable in the process of language acquisition, best practice for English language learners, and culturally responsive and sustaining classrooms. Remember that many immigrant children feel as though they have to check their culture and language at the door, but you can find ways to honor and celebrate their culture and language—it’s who they are.

6. Reach out with care. An Edutopia blog argued that the number one thing you can do on a back-to-school night to connect with parents, more than providing information, is to show them that you care about their children. This is doubly true for Latino parents. Latino culture strongly values relationships, and the more trust and confianza you can instill, the more successful you’ll be in building those relationships. Show parents that you love what you do, that you love your school, and that you really care for their kids—remember, el entusiasmo es contagioso (“enthusiasm is contagious”).

7. Weave the community into the school. Your school should not be separated from the community, but rather a part of the community. Encourage families to bring their gifts and talents to the school community, and see the relationship as reciprocal. Don’t forget to ask questions, and help your students to ask questions of each other and their own families. These questions can help to validate the importance of each student’s own culture and family.

8. Invite, invite, invite. Invite Latino parents to come to school to help with refreshments after Mass, invite grandparents to attend weekly Mass with the students, invite parents to share their gifts with their children’s classrooms. But don’t just invite them once—invite, and invite again, and invite again. Make all the families in your community—Latino and otherwise—feel as though you’re not just welcoming them to the community, but actually want them there.

Latino families can be an incredible blessing for Catholic schools, bringing rich cultural experiences and expertise to the community. We should strive to continue to help these families feel welcome in our shared mission to provide as many children as possible an education that is academically excellent and authentically Catholic.

Interested in welcoming more Latino families into your school community?
Visit the Catholic School Advantage at ace.nd.edu/csa

The new school year is upon us in most parts of the country and my former students are now returning to schools across this country. A friend recently asked if I had three pieces of advice for teachers as they start up a new (or another) year of teaching. The Professor in me responded gleefully because we love to be asked for advice so below is the advice I gave:

1. Go to your professional conference this year! I know that it’s often hard to get to these conferences, but go! These conferences are a great opportunity to re-engage with the profession, particularly your content area.  Going to these conferences can be what sustains us and energizes us as educators. We can get new ideas, new tricks, and hear from others who are passionate professionals. Make sure to go to your professional conference – be it your regional conference, your state conference or even your national conference – make sure to go once a year and connect with the profession.  
   
   While you’re at the conference make sure to talk with veterans and new teachers alike, both have great ideas. Make sure to let others know where you teach and that you’re a proud teacher – if you’re a Catholic school teacher don’t be shy but announce yourself – if you’re a homeschool teacher share your success stories and favorite methods – if you’re a public school teacher share freely what is working in your community system. Be bold and share widely our colleagues are our colleagues regardless of where they teach – we all teach children and that’s what is important.
   
   
2. Focus on inquiry! All content areas really can connect through inquiry if they’re being taught well. A really great teacher I know has really pushed his students to do inquiry based learning and has had great success. Make sure that students leave your class knowing that they should look at the whole world around them and be asking, “why is that there?” or “why does that work in that way?” or “what is going on when that Gospel was written?” They should be filled with the ability to ask questions and then a confidence that they can, through work, figure out answers to really just about anything.
   
   
3. Read some books! Model for your students that you’re continuing to learn. I know there isn’t a lot of time during the year for reading, but showing that you’re an expert in a field by talking about what you’re reading is so very important. It also lets students know that the expectation for successful adults is that they be reading some things. If you really don't have time for a book how about pointing them to other things you’re reading for instance I’m currently reading national newspapers that I could share with students, but also always reading America Magazine, Notre Dame Magazine, Social Education (the Social Studies Journal) and The Western Historical Quarterly. I regularly throw in things in class that I learned from reading these articles or from the books that I’m reading or even from the podcasts that I regularly listen to such as This American Life or Reply All, or even Serial when it is in session.

For me all of these podcasts, journals / magazines, and a myriad of books make up my intellectual life and are part of who I am. I want my students to know that my thinking and decisions are ever-evolving and I want them to showcase that kind of thinking and evolution of the mind too, so we as the adults in their lives have a responsibility to read and then to talk about it with students when the moments are right.

I’m wishing all of my friends returning to classrooms in the K-20 world a successful start to a new academic year. I hope you’re able to find time to hone your expertise through connecting with colleagues, focusing on inquiry, and modeling that you’re a citizen of the mind.

Brian S Collier, Ph.D. teaches with the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at the University of Notre Dame.  He is @collier_brian on twitter and can be found at: www.brianscollier.com

I wish I could tell you that I immediately fell in love with Catholic schools when I started as an intern at ACE in March 2013, and that I was convinced and passionate about the mission of ACE. But that would not be the truth. Working at ACE started as simply a way to make some extra cash on campus and a place to hone my computer science skills.

God calls us many, many times in our lives to a deeper relationship with him. Venerable Fulton Sheen referred to this as the “Divine Invasion.” Often times we fail to notice or ignore these calls, but every once in a while—perhaps stirred by the realization of the frequency of these invitations—we respond to God’s calls. Though we may fail to respond to an individual invitation, it can prepare us for the moment when we actually do respond. It seems that in a similar way, ACE has invaded my life as well.

That is what a Catholic education does—it brings a spiritual profundity to the world of education.

Over the past two and a half years, my work at ACE brought me to experience—peripherally, at least—many of its powerful and game-changing initiatives. Whether I was designing the websites for the Notre Dame ACE Academies, changing the background image of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program page, or updating some of the phrasing for the ACE Teaching Fellows pages, I began to see not only the breadth, but the depth of the impact ACE is making in Catholic schools. These people are changing hearts, bringing them closer to Christ and his Church—what a mission.

Regardless, I still saw the ACE team merely as good people doing good things. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for good people doing good things. But I still had yet to be fully convinced.

I can narrow it down to a single moment when my heart was persuaded; it wasn’t more than a few months ago. For one reason or another, I ended up at a weekly Mass at a local Catholic school. Unexpectedly, there was something that stirred inside of me seeing the kids struggle through the readings, sing off-key in the choir, and scamper up the aisle for Communion. It struck a chord that had been building in my soul since I began working at ACE. I could see it all in perspective. That is what a Catholic education does—it brings a spiritual profundity to the world of education.

All the webpage styling, article updating, and database configuring were more than they appeared to be. They slowly but surely prepared my heart for that moment. I suddenly could see why all the people who surrounded me for the past few years were doing what they were doing. It’s a shame it took me so long to understand that not only were Catholic schools a great good for our country, but they are vital to the mission of the Church.

This realization gives a new meaning to the seemingly meaningless moments of my time here. ACE called me into a deeper relationship with Catholic schools, and it took my hard heart a while, but I eventually came around.

In order to explain to you what I am most looking forward to about ACE Summer, let me first introduce you to an incredible animal. It’s called the chambered nautilus (above).

A little bizarre for sure, but looks aren’t everything—the inside of this animal’s shell is extraordinary. I’ve adopted the nautilus shell as something of a guiding symbol for my life ever since it was introduced to me in high school. Here’s why: Every year, at our Opening Banquet, the headmaster read “The Chambered Nautilus,” a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Holmes finds inspiration in the nautilus because it is a model of constant self-improvement. As the nautilus grows, it builds new compartments and closes off the previous ones. In each old compartment, air is trapped, which then buoys up the nautilus as it navigates through coral reefs.

What I love most about the nautilus’ growth is that it is in the shape of a spiral. Linear growth is flat and circular growth is frustratingly unproductive, but spiral growth is perfect. Spiral growth allows for true progress, and yet, no matter how much you grow, you retain the same center.

I’ve found the nautilus to be an apt metaphor for my growth thus far. My first year of teaching has definitely been spent growing into what Holmes calls a “more stately mansion,” for the life I live as a teacher is, in many ways, “nobler” than the life I led as a college student. It is the closest I have ever come to truly living a life for others and for God.

But come June 6, it will be time to return to Notre Dame for some much-needed relaxation and camaraderie. As teachers in ACE 21, we will metaphorically seal off the experience that was our first year of teaching and start to build new internal homes for our improved and enlarged selves. As we do so, the past will become part of what “buoys us up” in the present.

This process, however, takes time. I imagine that time, plain and simple, will be one of the greatest gifts of ACE Summer. Time to reflect on the past, time to imagine and dream for the future, time to reconnect with friends, mentors, family, and even God (in the special way that he is present only at Notre Dame). Time to wander and walk. Time to explore.

If I grow as a nautilus does, I can trust that the moral compass—the guiding principles at the center of my life—haven’t changed. The center holds.

Of course, as beautiful as this concept it is, it’s not always that easy. Like the nautilus, I sometimes feel like a “child of the wandering sea.” I sometimes ask myself: “What am I doing here in Florida, so far away from any home I have ever known?”

But given time during ACE Summer to reflect and reorient myself, I have faith I will discover that though I have wandered, I have not really wandered away from my spiritual home, but instead circled around it, building “more stately mansions” to house my nobler soul.

For those working in the field of education, help is easy to find. Advice is constantly thrown our way, whether from coworkers, professors, students' parents, administrators, online blogs, scholarly articles, NGOs, professional development speakers . . . the list (for better or worse) goes on and on. Yet since I've entered the classroom, I've learned that perhaps some of the wisest, most practical, and most meaningful advice comes from a group we don't listen to nearly as much as we should: the students themselves.

Consequently, I'd like to share some excellent advice from some excellent individuals: my fourth grade students. The advice is extremely applicable to teachers, but I think you'll find that even if you're not working in the classroom, you'll still be able to glean some important insights. Here are eight (and a half) pieces of advice to get you started:

"Always be prepared." – Carl

It's impossible to be prepared for every possible event with a given school day. But it is possible to always be prepared for the unprepared. In other words, situations are going to arise for which you could not have been prepared, but you can be prepared to stay calm, trust your instincts, and remind yourself that everything will work out.

"Gain [students'] trust by not being so strict." – Liza

I firmly believe that you can be a strong and efficient disciplinarian and classroom manager without being strict, and the best way to achieve this is through conversation. Don't just dole out punishments when students break the rules. Converse with them: find out why they did it, what they can do differently next time, and explain the consequence. They'll gain more respect for you.

"Be a real person." – Alejandra

Be yourself in the classroom. Your students will love and respect you even more than they would otherwise, and you'll be more comfortable in your teaching.

"Don't get frustrated." – Clarissa

When you're teaching fractions and you don't understand why your students do not understand the concept (after all, you've presented it five different ways), check yourself as you become frustrated. Frustration doesn't help you teach or the student learn. This ties directly to Jason's piece of advice: "Patience." Enough said.

"If you need help with a lesson, tell the kids to read while you get help from another teacher." – Natalia

While I certainly had to do this a few times, you should probably keep it to a minimum. The main point is, though, that you cannot be afraid to ask for help. Whether with teaching a concept, managing the classroom, and giving discipline, asking for help is beneficial for both you and the students.

"You have to take your students seriously." – Luke

Students are people too, and their opinions matter. Respect and listen to what your children have to say. Chances are that you'll learn a lot about them and yourself.

"Have fun." – Dorota

In an educational world of instructional minutes, unit planning, learning differentiation, assessment analysis, and professional development, it can be all too easy to overlook another equally important responsibility: make learning fun. There are few jobs that give adults the privilege to spend each day with children. Appreciate and help foster the joy and curiosity of your kids!

"Don't be afraid to fail." – Cassie

You're going to have moments of failure, because you're only human and teaching can be really, really challenging. Learn from these moments but don't dwell on them. They're going to make you a better teacher and person. Plus, they're great teachable moments for your kids, and they'll allow your students to see you as a real person.

"Ask your students for advice!" – Mr. Casey