ACE Advocates News

This month, ACE Press will release Peace Be With You: Christ-Centered Bullying Solutions, by Frank A. DiLallo and Thom Powers. The Teacher Manual and Student Workbook, geared toward Christian schools, Grades 4-8, offers a three-phase program for addressing bullying in schools as well as ways to prevent it. The program focuses on leadership, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills in a Scriptural and faith-based context. Read more about this exciting new series at acepress.nd.edu

Tracy Faulkner became a Catholic school champion before she became a Catholic. A K-12 student in public schools, she said, “I knew Catholic education was the answer when I met my fellow freshmen at college. The ones who went to Catholic schools weren’t necessarily smarter than other students, but they were more prepared. They could tackle what they were learning. “ Then she added with a chuckle, “They used notecards. And highlighters!” 

Not long after finishing college, Tracy converted to Catholicism.  Today she is not only a Catholic school parent, but an employee of the Alliance for Catholic Education.  Her 3 boys, Jake (13), Ben (11), and Will (9) attend Catholic schools, where Tracy is known, among other things, as the “Scrip Lady.” Asked why she sends her sons to Catholic schools, she answers, “Catholic schools create well-rounded adults.  The commitment to faith, service, and education—my boys are getting all of that there.   That commitment is becoming part of their nature.”

It’s clearly part of Tracy’s nature, too.  You might see her saving  recyclable paper  so she can donate it to her kids’ school.  She also stockpiles tape and other left-over office items schools might find useful.  Whatever the need, she’ll seek to fill it. "I'm a convert!" she says.  A Catholic school champion to the core!

In lieu of a photograph, Tracy
offered this picture of Dora
the Explorer, explaining, "My
nephew says I look just like her!"

The Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education is presented annually to honor Dr. Michael Pressley, the inaugural academic director of ACE, prodigious and world-renowned scholar, who lost his battle with cancer in 2006. Award recipients reflect Dr. Pressley’s dedication to service and scholarship for the benefit of children and Catholic schools across the nation.

If you live north of the Mason Dixon, chances are you’ve never heard of the Mardi Gras Indians.  But come Fat Tuesday, they’ll be parading as they’ve done for well over one hundred years during New Orleans’ world-famous Mardi Gras celebrations.

In recognition of Black History Month, the Mardi Gras Indians recently paid a visit to Stuart Hall School for Boys, where students heard the story of how this colorful collection of tribes came to be.  Back when the first European settlers made their home in Louisiana, they forced many of the region’s original settlers—the native Indians—into slavery along with those they had shipped in from Africa.    

Over time, these two minority groups formed a bond as the native Indians helped the African slaves escape to freedom, and the Africans in turn helped the Indians fight for their land. Years later, as African Americans sought a way to celebrate Mardi Gras, they dressed themselves in elaborate Indian costumes, a salute to the bond they had forged in the early days of Louisiana.

Remarked teacher Cassie Brownell about the school visit, "The boys were thrilled to hear the rich history of the Mardi Gras Indians, to see the elaborate costumes hand-sewn by the men, to hear the traditional calls of the Big Chief, and to participate in the event by chanting and dancing along with the Indians." She continued, "In such a uniquely diverse and culturally dynamic city, it was incredible to [see] the ways these men continue to weave African history into the traditions of New Orleans." 

Learn more about the Mardi Gras Indians.