ACE Advocates News

For Steve Dole, becoming principal at Lourdes Academy meant an opportunity to truly embody the core values of a Notre Dame ACE Academy. As a member of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, Steve had talked with his instructors about his desire to take on a leadership position in a school where his new knowledge could have the greatest impact. When the position at Lourdes Academy opened, Steve decided that moving from New York to Daytona Beach would be the first step in living out one of the NDAA’s core values – service to others. In his first year as principal, Steve has looked for new and innovative ways to help Lourdes Academy not only serve others, but also to show how God’s love is inspiring his students to seek, persist, excel, and love. 

Tricia Baumer understands the need for a good foundation. She spent her time teaching the building blocks of good writing and reading skills to the freshmen in her English class as a member of the sixth cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Even at the high school level, they started with the basics: the intricacies of the sentence, then the paragraph, and onward. For Tricia, it was imperative that her students accomplished each skill along the way. No one, even in the accelerated class, could move on until they had shown that they had mastered the foundational skills of writing. Students complained, of course, since not all of these important skills were especially fun or exciting, but Tricia knew the truth: some beginning rules are formulaic and almost mathematical in their nature, but good writing comes when students know how to use these rules effectively and when to break them to create the most impact on the reader. 

Casey Flynn thought that maybe the classroom wasn’t for her. A member of the 17th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows, Casey had moved from her ACE city of Savannah to Chicago and felt a bit lackluster after her third year of teaching. She considered getting involved with educational policy since she still wanted to stay in the education field, so she enrolled in Georgetown University’s public policy program. To clarify and solidify her decision, Casey decided to teach during the day and go to Georgetown at night, ensuring that she could see both the classroom and the academic world more clearly. 

As the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Jim Rigg has had plenty of experience listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Other people might look for the Holy Spirit in a miraculous turning point, but Jim knows better. Jim knows that when you calm the heart amid the chaos of normal life, you just might find the Holy Spirit is talking to you all the time.

Whether novice or veteran, every teacher experiences challenging interactions with parents. Dennis Rankin, a graduate of the 17th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows, is no different. For Dennis, though, one particularly stressful interaction led to a fuller appreciation of what it means to teach in Catholic schools.