ACE Teaching Fellows

ACE summers are not like "normal" summers at all. Instead of lazy days by the pool, the summer days of ACErs are bustling with activity: working, learning, sharing, planning, researching, presenting, and studying. There is remarkably little down time for the ACE faculty and staff and the teachers on campus participating in various programs and conferences. After all, ACE exists to sustain and strengthen Catholic schools. With a mission like that, how can we rest? We want always to be making progress, making change, making a difference. One observing from the outside might think that these summers could not possibly be restorative, yet somehow participants in the ACE program repeatedly leave Notre Dame's campus with fresh, smiling faces and a renewed zeal for Catholic education.

How can this be?

To find the answer to this question, we need to look beyond our work to become better educators and beyond the stellar community support offered here. The secret behind this renewal is found in the spiritual pillar of ACE, which sustains us all as individuals and as a community both in the summer and through the school year, when we are sent across the country to continue our work.

ACE has a tradition of praying with the Lord's words in Psalm 46: "Be still, and know that I am God." These words ought to comfort us, but I suspect that many of us also see them as a challenge. How can we possibly be still when there is so much to do, and only us to do it? How can we heed these words and still fulfill our call to be Christ's hands and feet on Earth?

With these words, God is not asking us to stop our work forever; indeed, we believe it is He who has called us to it in the first place. Instead, he is asking for a spiritual stillness and a rightly-ordered view of the work that we do. We are invoked to "Come, behold the works of the LORD," acknowledging that without the Lord, our efforts could never be enough, but with him, anything is possible; even stillness amid the whirlwind of an ACE summer.

As soon as I started looking for it, I realized that throughout the day, I constantly encounter this stillness around the summer's bustling campus.

There is stillness in the Grotto, which is always full of people, yet never lacking in peace.

There is stillness as ACE staff members come together in prayer as a natural part of each workday.

There is stillness as we pause together to appreciate the sunset.

There is stillness in visiting with people who truly listen and thoughtfully respond to your stories, ideas, and concerns.

There is stillness in communal meals, where friendships are formed and strengthened.

There is stillness when ACErs gather for Mass, greeting our Lord with reverence and one another with love.

There is stillness in the kind smiles that greet all who enter Carole Sandner Hall.

Although a physical stillness may not be present, these moments offer a glimpse of that inner stillness amid the commotion of summer that keeps us grounded. When we recognize that ultimately the Lord is in control, we can be still, trusting in His will for us and resting in His presence even as we go about accomplishing the many duties of each day.

This stillness is what allows us to leave this summer refreshed, with minds full of new ideas and hearts bursting with love, ready to serve the children of God.

The Year of Faith is a celebration of our calling to follow Christ and how we can come to know Jesus in our commitment to the ACE community and Catholic Schools. Our prayer is that we can learn to find Jesus in the ordinary and routine things of our lives. ACE Teaching Fellows calls men and women to live a simple life as teachers in Catholic schools.

August 6^th was the feast of the Transfiguration. Matthew, Mark and Luke all write about this experience. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain to pray.

Read Mark 9: 2 -10 to discover the meaning this had for the disciples and a way to discover what God is calling us to do.

There are three things that stand out in this passage:

• It is good for Jesus and the disciples to be in a different place.
• A change takes place in the appearance of Jesus.
• God speaks and says, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

The disciples did not immediately understand what this meant. It took time for them to come to a clear understanding of who Jesus is and what impact this event would have on their lives. They are much like us as we try to discover what God is calling us to do.

Most people acknowledge the search for meaning in their lives, but they just do not know how to go about it. The disciples saw the Transfiguration and thought of a way of responding, but that was not what Jesus had in mind. They did not understand what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.

Lauren is beginning her first year of teaching Middle School Math. She has had an interesting journey to ACE. She studied Nursing as an undergraduate and thought this would be her life’s work. She worked in a hospital last year and discovered she did not want to be a nurse. She was not happy, and that caused her to examine her life and pray for insight—which helped her discover ACE and change direction. Now, the smile on her face indicated to me that she was happy discovering her calling as a teacher. She said this change in her life made her happy.

The Transfiguration shows us the mission of Jesus and the disciples and can show us how to discern what God is calling us to do. The process is this: Step back from the daily activity we are involved in and be honest about what we are feeling. Lauren paid attention to the fact that she was unhappy as a nurse.

Peter, James and John went up a mountain with Jesus, which was to step away from their daily activities. We do not have to go up a mountain, but we do need a quiet place for reflection. We have to be willing to take seriously the words of the Father and listen to the beloved Son. After we step away from our daily activity -- put aside the noise in our lives --we will be ready to listen to Jesus.

We may find our calling, and it may be something we did not expect. Let us be open to allowing the Word of God to guide our lives.

The breadth of ACE’s activities for sustaining, strengthening, and transforming Catholic schools can’t be captured in any one story, but media take notice during the “ACE Summer” when that breadth is on display in a special way on the Notre Dame campus.

An interview on South Bend’s local PBS station, WNIT, offered viewers a taste of two important stories from the summer of 2013—the teacher formation endeavors that begin locally and extend nationwide, plus the planning for an exciting National Tour to celebrate Catholic schools and mark ACE’s 20 years as an innovative formation initiative.

The crucial spiritual dimension of ACE’s formation program includes the annual Missioning Mass (celebrated July 26), in which educators are sent forth to schools around the country amid prayers, blessings, and reflections about Christ the Teacher. With a photo in its feature block during the week of July 29, Notre Dame’s Daily Domer pointed alumni to the news of this missioning at the Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis.

A singular spotlight on ACE’s spiritual dimension captured the attention of the newspaper for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The story reported a visit by Bishop Kevin Rhoades to bless the Christ the Teacher chapel, and to dedicate the altar, at the heart of ACE’s home on campus.

Another component of ACE’s summer activities, the array of conferences focusing on issues affecting K-12 educators, drew the attention of WNDU-TV. They described a Play Like a Champion Today conference exploring the role of coaches in properly shaping student-athletes’ character.

ACE’s activities also extend internationally, including a major initiative in Haiti to assist that country’s long-term development by building up its educational system. An audio report produced by Catholic Relief Services, a valued partner in ACE’s Haitian efforts, has aired on Catholic radio stations during the summer with a description of those efforts.

Looking forward, Notre Dame’s internal media alerted faculty and staff in July about the upcoming National Tour, in which ACE leaders will visit schools in more than 40 cities with the message that Notre Dame is “fighting for our children’s future.”

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis presided at the Alliance for Catholic Education’s (ACE) Missioning Mass on July 26, invoking blessings for 260 teachers and leaders at the University of Notre Dame as they fan out around the country to serve students in Catholic schools.

“May their faith be enlivened and deepened as they bear witness to the Gospel,” Archbishop Tobin prayed during the ceremony that sent forth 173 recent college graduates enrolled in the ACE Teaching Fellows program and 48 aspiring Catholic school principals in ACE’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program.

The Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart also missioned 39 teachers in ACE’s English as a New Language program, who will help diverse student bodies overcome language barriers.

Missioning caps the summertime tradition when an array of graduate-level courses and topical conferences bring to campus hundreds of people dedicated to ACE’s goal to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic schools.

Archbishop Tobin said in his homily that he shares ACE’s commitment to keep Catholic schools operating as “an instrument of evangelization.” He urged the educators to “welcome in Jesus Christ” as they go forth to their classrooms, heeding and incorporating the Word of God in their work. “Then, brothers and sisters,” he said, “we have something to give.”

He blessed medals depicting Christ the Teacher and crosses depicting Jesus washing disciples’ feet and accompanying children of the world. ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., joined other concelebrants and ACE program leaders in distributing the icons to educators who soon would travel to numerous partner dioceses.

ACE will celebrate its 20^th anniversary during the 2013-2014 academic year. Father Scully and Rev. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., founded the Alliance for Catholic Education in 1993 to form college graduates as teachers for under-resourced Catholic schools, especially those serving disadvantaged children. That program, now ACE Teaching Fellows, became a springboard for other initiatives of formation and service.

Photos by University Photographer Barbara Johnston

“Fighting for our Children’s Future,” the watchword emblazoned on the bus for ACE’s upcoming National Tour to celebrate Catholic schools, accentuates the call U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly issued recently to graduates at the 2013 ACE Commencement exercises.

Donnelly, a Notre Dame alumnus who represents Indiana in the U.S. Senate, addressed the 111 master’s degree recipients as their Commencement speaker, as a fellow advocate among the Fighting Irish, and as a policy-maker who has seen the high stakes in educating today’s young people.

“There’s no graduate program more important than what you have just finished,” said Donnelly at the July 13 event on campus. “This is the future of our country and our world that you’re going to be working with. You will be the face of Notre Dame, the face of our Church, the face of Jesus Christ, to people in some of the toughest areas we have in our country.”

He continued, “As principals and as teachers, part of being Fighting Irish is that you will fight for each child…. You will fight for an excellent education so that they have a chance.” Among many inner-city youths trapped in lives of turmoil and violence, a common thread is their disconnection from education.

“You provide hope, you provide [a] future, for many of these people,” Donnelly told the 85 graduates of the ACE Teaching Fellows program and the 26 graduates of ACE’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program. “You are the face of what they can achieve.”

The graduates and their families, convened in the Leighton Concert Hall of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, had joined ACE faculty and staff in welcoming Donnelly after ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., introduced the first-term U.S. Senator as “a tireless advocate for justice” and “a son of Notre Dame whose life and work stand as a powerful witness to the transforming power of education.”

Donnelly’s remarks invoked the graduates’ service to the Church, reflecting the “love and compassion” that Jesus taught, plus wise discernment between right and wrong. He also invoked service to the United States—“making our nation a stronger, better place.” School teachers and leaders in under-served areas are crucial in giving students a chance for success, he said, “so no pressure on any of you—but the future of our country is on your shoulders.”

Such a responsibility also brings satisfaction, especially from the students one serves, the Senator reminded his audience: There may be more glamorous jobs than teacher or principal, but nothing can beat “the reward you’ll get at the end of the day when these young people come up and say, you’ve changed my life.”

Following the ceremony, in response to questions, Senator Donnelly called himself “very fortunate” to be a product of Catholic grade school and Catholic high school. Catholic schools teach values and give a great education, he said, and they combine with the country’s public school system “to make sure every child has a chance” to be part of the range of educational opportunity.

We do have to fight together for our children’s future, Donnelly agreed. “So much of the challenges we face as a country—those challenges can be met if we’re able to get every child educated, have every child graduate from high school, have a chance for every child to gain the skills necessary to have a good job and great opportunity. So everything we aspire to as a country is directly related to how well we educate our people.”

Where does ACE fit into this effort? “One of the distinctive roles for ACE and Notre Dame is to be a backbone of the Catholic education system,” said Donnelly in response to the question. “When you look at this graduating class, they are going forth throughout not only our country but the whole world, in both teaching and administration…. As Catholic education continues on into the future, I think you will see the University of Notre Dame and the ACE program become an even more critical part of its future success.”