fbpx

ACE logo

ACE Consulting

ACE Consulting in the News: A Partnership in Stockton

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 20 November 2012.

Strategic Assessments in Diocese to Bolster Effectiveness for Catholic Schools

The Diocese of Stockton, CA, has launched a partnership with the University of Notre Dame to help ensure a long and strong future for Catholic schools.

The Most Rev. Stephen E. Blaire, bishop of the diocese, announced that Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will engage its ACE Consulting team in an in-depth assessment of 12 schools, starting this month.

See coverage of the announcement in The Modesto Bee and The Lodi News-Sentinel.)

The strategic assessments to be conducted by ACE for each school are designed to provide an objective, external, diagnostic analysis of the school in specific domains while providing appropriate recommendations to bolster the overall effectiveness of each school.

The specific domains to be included in the assessment are:
• Catholic identity
• Academic Excellence
• Ownership/Governance/Administration
• Institutional Advancement
• Enrollment, Demographics and Educational landscape
• Financial/Business Operations
• Access to Federal Grants

"The Catholic schools in our diocese are an important resource, as their continued success can help our community break the cycles of poverty, violence and social injustice. ACE Consulting will help us discern how to enroll more students in better schools... schools that can offer both a values based and a rigorous academic education," Bishop Blaire said.

ACE in the News: ACE Consulting and the ACE Collaborative

Written by William Schmitt on Monday, 08 October 2012.

                The Pittsburgh Catholic reported on support that the Diocese received from ACE Consulting in conducting a “listening tour” about Catholic schools.

                The Mississippi Catholic covered the role of the ACE Collaborative for Academic Excellence in helping teacher teams in the Diocese of Jackson to assess and improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Maximizing Gains from Parental Choice Laws: ACE Consulting Welcomes Partners

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 18 September 2012.

A New Service Offers Choice Implementation Assessments, Strategies

A new service offered by ACE Consulting aims to help Catholic schools capture the opportunities and confront the challenges that can arise when states pass parental choice laws.

These laws typically allow children to attend Catholic schools or other alternatives to local public schools, using vouchers or tax credit scholarships to pay for tuition. Such financial assistance can lead to quickly rising enrollments at some Catholic schools—good news that also raises significant issues about pedagogy, management, and sustainability for these schools.

ACE Consulting has expanded its suite of services to support school leadership in maximizing participation in states that have passed legislation in support of School Choice Scholarship Programs and ensuring high-quality education for all students. The program is a publicly funded scholarship program offering eligible Hoosier families the opportunity to send their children to the school of their choice.

ACE Consulting has developed a diagnostic assessment that addresses a range of impact areas. These include the school's mission and culture; governance; financial management; enrollment management and financing; and academic programming. The objective is to provide participating schools with an action plan to develop fiscal, operational, and instructional competencies to support the highest-quality education to as many children as possible.

This new diagnostic service was pilot tested in five schools during the spring semester of 2012 in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana. Less than a year before, the state government had implemented the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program. ACE Consulting assessed the impacts of this program by surveying information from various stakeholders—parents, pastors, principals, school board members, and teachers. Consultants also conducted classroom observations, focus groups, and demographic reviews.

The results from the 2011 passage of Indiana's Choice Scholarship Program show that schools' wise implementation of such a program is as important as a state's enactment of the law. Not only did Indiana parents relish the newfound autonomy over their child's education, but their decisions reflected a latent demand for Catholic education. Nearly 4,000 students statewide enrolled in the program, more than 2,550 of whom registered with Catholic schools.

At the end of the process this summer, the ACE Consulting team provided a diagnostic review of each school's current status and strategic recommendations to optimize the use of the Choice Scholarship Program going forward.

In the coming months, ACE Consulting will be available to work with the schools, all in the greater South Bend area, to help implement the strategies recommended in each case.

ACE Consulting is poised to use the diagnostic assessment in other dioceses and anticipates that this service may be desired in other states as parental choice laws are passed and Catholic schools respond to the opportunities and challenges of leveraging such legislation.

With more than 25 parental choice programs nationwide—and many more on the horizon—this initiative within ACE is a timely effort to couple two central goals: improving school quality while expanding access to educational alternatives, especially for at-risk families.

ACE Consulting will expand this initiative this fall, providing the diagnostic assessment tools to schools in the Indianapolis and Milwaukee areas, with a view toward extending this work to other locations in the future.

ACE, Holy Cross to Launch Teacher Institute in Haiti

on Monday, 20 August 2012.

In partnership with the Alliance for Catholic Education, the Congregation of Holy Cross will introduce this week a unique institution to improve educational quality in Haitian high schools. Institut Supérieur Marcel Bédard (ISMB), named for a beloved Holy Cross priest and educator who served more than half his life in Haiti, will open its doors with an inaugural week for teachers in a robust in-service education program.

“This program is designed with the same passion for excellence that marks the Holy Cross educational tradition,” said Rev. Vernet Luxana, CSC, Director of the institute. “We believe it can serve as a model for training teachers who want to serve Haiti in the New Secondary,” he added, referring to a Haitian reform which aims to educate youth to be active and positive contributors to society and the economy.

Innovative approach to teaching methodology

The institute will use an innovative blend of coursework, school-based coaching, and distance education to deliver a two-year sequence of study in high quality instructional methods. Most participating teachers have university degrees in their subject matter, but few have received any training in teaching methodology. In fact, Haiti currently has no system for certifying secondary teachers and very few places in secondary teacher training programs. The Ministry of Education asked Holy Cross and ACE to help address this limitation.

ACE Consultants Host Superintendents and Principals

Written by William Schmitt on Wednesday, 18 July 2012.

Group Meetings at Notre Dame Probe New Possibilities for Schools

Catholic school principals and diocesan school superintendents from around the country came to Notre Dame's campus in late June to probe strategies and leadership techniques for strengthening their respective schools.

Approximately 65 participants in the annual Principals Academy (June 25-59) and nearly 30 participants in the annual Superintendents Conference (June 24-27) engaged with speakers and participated in discussions, hosted by ACE Consulting, a unit of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). Attendees represented arch/dioceses as widely dispersed as Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Palm Beach.

"We gathered to study, pray, and learn together," said Stephen Perla, senior director of ACE Consulting. Principal Academy presentations focused on serving students more effectively by building a "culture of continuous improvement" based on explicit root beliefs, an animating principle and a shared purpose. The superintendents' agenda spanned topics from the religious mission of Catholic schools and "creating a culture of hope" to enrollment growth, financial strategies, and parental school choice national trends.

Conference for Haiti's Future Focuses on Bolstering Catholic Education System as Key

Written by William Schmitt on Monday, 02 July 2012.

Leaders from the education, development, corporate, and church sectors came together at Notre Dame's campus on June 19-20 to consider bold plans to help build Haiti's future by investing in Catholic education, the largest cohesive network of educational services in Haiti.

Haiti's Catholic school system spans the impoverished nation with over 2,300 schools across 10 dioceses. Recognized for their superior quality, Catholic schools represent 15% of all Haitian schools and constitute "the most organized education system in the country," said Luke King, Haiti country representative for Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Conference participants united behind the idea that Catholic education can play a leading role in revitalizing the educational system of Haiti. Rev. Timothy Scully, CSC, director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame expressed this conviction: "Catholic education is the most important vehicle for formation in the faith, formation of character, and formation of the intellect that is available to us in this country and abroad," he said. Fr. Scully also expressed Notre Dame's unwavering commitment to Catholic education in Haiti. Referring to the "talented Holy Cross community in Haiti," which runs about 20 schools in Haiti and is also the sponsoring religious order of Notre Dame, Fr. Scully said "we will be there as long as they will be there, which is forever."

ACE Service to Catholic Schools Shines Light in Summer Conferences

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 15 May 2012.

The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will once again welcome hundreds of visitors to the campus this summer for a unique series of conferences, all advancing ACE’s mission to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic schools.

The conferences, some of which are currently accepting registrants, constitute a growing part of the busy summer to be enjoyed by ACE participants. Hundreds of those participants will receive skills and personal formation to earn master’s degrees as K-12 Catholic school teachers and leaders.

Various units of ACE, which have multiplied during 19 years in response to the needs of children in under-resourced Catholic schools, host conferences that address today’s urgent issues. These include galvanizing top-notch teachers and school leaders; encouraging parental choice policies and informed financial strategies for Catholic school sustainability; promoting athletic coaching that ministers to young people; and introducing parents and South Bend-area educators to the summertime wellspring of Notre Dame’s commitment to K-12 schooling.

These conferences are coming up in 2012:

ACE Teaching Fellows Annual Conference (June 5-10). Participants in the Melody Family ACE Teaching Fellowship program convene to assess and catalyze their growth as master teachers, educational leaders, and generators of problem-solving research. Several benefactor-supported fellowships support highly promising educators who wish to continue their careers in Catholic classrooms while pursuing advanced knowledge and skills. Fellows cultivate these leadership assets along with their mentors during the conference. Read more about the ACE Teaching Fellows Annual Conference.

Advocates for Parental Choice Symposium (June 15-20). This intensive formation experience gives participants a first-hand experience of people and places on the cutting edge in implementing school choice policies. Catholic school supporters will receive skills, insights, and working relationships to equip them as advocates in the parental choice movement. Major speakers and visits to Wisconsin and Florida will increase these future leaders’ understanding of the legal, social, constitutional, political, and moral dimensions of parental choice.

Hope in Action: Transforming Haiti Through Catholic Education (June 19-20). A select group of Church, education, philanthropic, and international developmental leaders will gather to probe how a stronger Catholic education system can transform Haiti's education sector and advance the nation's social and economic development. Forum hosts and partners will introduce innovative pathways for quality Catholic education in Haiti. Partners in this international leadership forum include Catholic Relief Services, the Congregation of Holy Cross, the Haitian Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education, as well as three units of the University—the Alliance for Catholic Education, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Learn more about ACE in Haiti.

Play Like a Champion Today Sports Leadership Conference (June 22-24). This annual conference, titled “Champion Character in Sports” for 2012, emphasizes developing the whole person through sports. Guest speakers offer professional development for coaches and athletic administrators at both the youth and high school levels. Hosted by ACE’s Play Like a Champion Today® experts in sports as ministry, the conference gathers representatives of parochial leagues around the country to network and share best practices. Register for the Play Like a Champion Today Sports Leadership Conference.

Superintendents Strategic Leadership Conference (June 24-27). ACE Consulting will host its annual Superintendents Strategic Leadership Conference, inviting educational leaders from dioceses across the country. This year's conference is titled "Together in Mission: Creating a Culture of Hope." Expert speakers and in-depth conversations will explore key issues faced by school leaders. Learn more about the Superintendents Strategic Leadership Conference.

Principals Academy (June 26-29). A four-day enrichment experience for Catholic school principal will focus on identifying and shaping a school’s culture to benefit leadership and learning. The values of a school, expressed actively and nurtured in a culture, provide a framework in which teachers can reduce students’ achievement gaps and leaders can promote continuous improvement in a school. This academy, hosted by ACE Consulting, will help principals develop action plans to improve and utilize their school culture. Register here for the Principals Academy.

Equitable Services Institute (July 8-12). Students in Catholic schools across the country are not getting federally funded services to which they’re entitled; the Equitable Services Institute assists diocesan superintendents, principals, and other educational leaders to solve this problem. Attendees will receive updated information about complex federal funding policies plus practical roadmaps for the process of consultations by which educators obtain equitable shares for their students from Title 1, Title 2, and Title 3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Learn more about, and register for, the Equitable Services Institute.

School Pastors Institute (July 17-20). Pastors whose parishes include schools are invited to this annual institute to learn to manage and leverage better the distinctive relationship between a parish and its school. The Institute develops many skills and perspectives that a pastor will need in overseeing a parish school, its people, and its finances. It provides insights for valuable reflection on the value of Catholic schools to the children and parents of a parish and to the future of the Church as a whole. 

ACE Parent Retreat (July 25-27). Parents whose sons or daughters have just finished their first year in ACE Teaching Fellows often have many questions about these first-year teachers’ experiences. ACE Advocates hosts a special retreat for these parents at Notre Dame to get their questions answered and to see the broader context of the journey their ACE teachers are taking. The retreat also allows these parents of the ACE 18 cohort to hear presentations, worship together, and swap stories. Learn more about the ACE Parent Retreat.

Mary Ann Remick Leadership Conference (July 13). This conference, a capstone event for those earning their master’s degrees in educational administration through the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program (RLP), is a unique and informal venue for South Bend-area educators to discuss current research with ACE leaders and experts from across the country. The RLP participants present the action research they have conducted to help address key day-to-day issues facing Catholic schools, and local educational leaders attending free-of-charge may exchange useful ideas. Read about last year’s Remick Leadership Conference and read about the value of action research.

Helping Catholic School Leaders Level the Federal-Funds Playing Field

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 27 March 2012.

Equitable Services Institute Will Offer Guidance This Summer

Students in Catholic schools across the country are not getting federally funded services to which they're entitled. By one estimate, the funds that Catholic educators leave on the table may total as much as $500 million annually.

Solving this problem is the purpose of the Equitable Services Institute, to which principals, diocesan superintendents, and other leaders are invited at the University of Notre Dame on July 8-12, 2012.

The institute is part of a series of professional development events offered this summer on campus through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

Registration for the Equitable Services Institute is open to "anybody who will need to represent their students in receiving all the services they have a right to receive," says Michelle Doyle, an expert on the process of obtaining and optimizing those services. Doyle, a consultant with Catapult Learning, will be a major presenter at the Institute. Catapult, a provider of varied services for K-12 schools and students, is co-sponsoring the event with ACE Consulting.

Student numbers grow in Chicago school

on Thursday, 09 February 2012.

The Catholic School Advantage Campaign works with (arch)dioceses to open up the possibility of a Catholic education to more students. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Collete has seen a record 13% growth after working with the CSA Campaign. Read more about the wonderful story of St. Collete and other great news from Chicago Catholic schools in the Spanish newspaper Catolico. St. Colette.

A New Move forward for the Diocese of Joliet

on Wednesday, 01 February 2012.

ACE Consulting has had a wonderful collaboration with the Diocese of Joliet since 2010. Through our work together Joliet has created a new governance structure.

Joliet's accomplishments were profiled in two recent articles found below:

Catholic schools add director, board members

Lafayette Catholic Schools to hire executive director, craft new strategic plan

Latino Students and a Prize-Winning Principal Share Messages of Hospitality and Hope

Written by William Schmitt on Monday, 12 December 2011.

Yvonne Schwab, who recently was named among this year's 61 National Distinguished Principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), says many people and many forces have come together to transform Saint James the Less School, the Catholic school she leads in Columbus, Ohio.

Progressing toward the October 2011 NAESP ceremony and an earlier competition in which the National Catholic Education Association honored her as a Distinguished Principal, Yvonne wrote various essays describing accomplishments at St. James the Less. One of those accomplishments has been a surge in Latino enrollment during the eight years of her leadership—from two students to 260 out of a current student population totaling 497.

Catholic School Advantage - A Letter from New York

on Friday, 09 December 2011.

by Field Consultant Rudy Vargas

Rudy Vargas is ACE’s Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of New York. He sends this update on a success story he has seen while working with the people of various elementary and secondary schools in the Bronx and elsewhere in the New York City area.

“One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.”
– Scottish Clergyman Peter Marshall (1902-1949)

I have been visiting with madrinas in these past few months in my work with the Catholic School Advantage campaign in New York. The madrinas groups have been initiated since June 2011 as one of our major strategies to increase Latino enrollment and retention. These visits with madrinas have been a blessing.

ACE Consulting helps St Pat's get back on track

on Wednesday, 07 December 2011.

St. Patrick Catholic School, located in Springfield, IL, has recently experienced some challenges. However, the 101-year-old school is on its way to making a serious turnaround.

"Despite the positive response from the community, Runkel said the school can’t simply rely on current donors to continue giving indefinitely. The school board worked with the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, also known as ACE Consulting, to devise a plan for the future. A main component of that plan, Runkel said, is a strong school board whose members not only contribute to the school, but also actively seek out new donors and funding opportunities. ACE will return in January, Runkel said, to train board members in fundraising.

Follow here to read the full article:
http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-9388-st-patrss-is-back-on-track.html

Catholic School Advantage: A Letter from Chicago

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 06 December 2011.

by Field Consultant Juana Sanchez

Juana Sanchez is ACE's Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of Chicago. She sends this update on a success story she learned about while working with the people of St. Genevieve Catholic School in Chicago.

At St. Genevieve, an elementary school not far from downtown Chicago, students from all backgrounds have been brought closer together by learning about the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe that is deeply rooted in the faith of the school's Latino community.

This learning takes a very tangible and compelling form every year on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12, when the school community gathers for the presentation of a play about the Feast. The play had its genesis in one teacher's personal spiritual experience and her desire to serve Our Lady, the Church, and her school.
Daisy Perez, director of development at St. Genevieve, prepared this report on this play, due for its third annual performance on Dec. 12:

A Children's Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe was written, directed, and produced by Heather Cleaver, St. Genevieve Catholic School's second grade teacher. It was co-directed by the fifth grade teacher, Julianna Flores. It was performed by the second and fifth grade students of St. Genevieve School for the past two years and will be performed again this year on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Genevieve Church on Dec. 12, 2011.

The following description of the play is an abridged version of Heather Cleaver's Preface to A Children's Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it explains the driving force for the production of the play within the St. Genevieve School setting. [Publication of the play, written by Heather Cleaver and edited by Otilia Nigaglioni, is planned for the late winter in 2012.]

"About ten years ago, I had a strong urge to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Virgen de Guadalupe) in Mexico City," Heather Cleaver writes. "I kept having visions in my mind of her image as I was praying. I knew little about her story except what her image looked like and that her image was honored in the Mexican culture. I had a gut feeling that these recurring visions were a sign from God to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe .

"Over the years, I read a lot of literature, looked her up on the internet, and spoke with different people about Our Lady of Guadalupe. People shared with me her story from their own knowledge base. I came to a better understanding about her appearance to Juan Diego. She is mother to all of us, so in her apparitions, she appears to one of the people in the form of a human in their own ethnicity. Mary appeared as an Aztec princess, speaking to Juan Diego in his own Aztec language.

"I didn't really understand why I was called to go to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe until a couple of years ago.... However, a couple of years ago, I had a strong desire to celebrate her. I felt a need to spread Mary's message to my students and the rest of the school. . .

"My school has a very large Mexican/Latin American student population, but as a school we did not celebrate her together. The parish did a lot for the church members, but I strongly felt the school needed to do something as well. I talked this over with my principal, and she agreed that a prayer service was a great idea to move forward in their religious growth. I wanted to create a celebration of their cultural heritage in writing about Our Lady of Guadalupe, so after pondering about it, I decided to write a play to help the students honor and celebrate her. This play is a cultural preservation of Mexican history for generations to come. Acting her story out would help foster children's understanding of Mexican culture and our Catholic history."

This invitation is open to all parishioners and to the community to come and join St. Genevieve Catholic School faculty, staff and students in celebrating La Virgen de Guadalupe."

Accompanying photo: Marlene DeAngelo as Our Lady and Nathan Houlihan as Juan Diego in the school’s 2010 performance of the “Children’s Play of Our Lady of Guadalupe” at St. Genevieve School.

Catholic School Advantage: A Letter from Los Angeles

Written by William Schmitt on Tuesday, 06 December 2011.

by Field Consultant Sylvia Armas-Abad

Sylvia Armas-Abad is ACE's Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She sends this update on a success story she learned about while working with the people of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School in Los Angeles.

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School is located in the Northeast area of the City of Los Angeles. The Community of Rose Hills has a rich history, dating back to the time of the early native settlements of the Tongva Indians, who originally named this community Otsungna, which means "Place of Roses."

During the time of the Spanish missionaries, these lands were referred to as "Rancho Rosa de Castilla." The name still included a reference to the rose, because of the abundant roses growing on the hills and along the bank of the stream that was parallel to this area. In 1920, the Sisters of Social Services began teaching catechism classes in what is now the recreation center across the street from today's parish and school.

In 1924, the property was named "Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission," under Father Antonio Arias. The site continued to grow during the 1940's, and in 1953 the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill was built, followed by the construction of the parish school in 1957. The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary would administrate the school for many years to come.

After serving the Community of Rose Hills for the past 54 years, Our Lady of Guadalupe School has dedicated its efforts for the past year to re-establishing a strong connection between the school and parish and to provide a curriculum that will prepare the students to compete in a global market.

Serving a predominantly Latino population, Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill recognizes the importance of fostering the bi-cultural and bilingual journey that their students are experiencing in America. The school has also developed the following philosophy: "We, the faculty of Our Lady of Guadalupe School, believe that the parents are the primary educators of their children. We are dedicated to the Catholic formation of each student to be lifelong learners in the service of Christ and all His people. We challenge our students to be spiritually adept, academically superior, healthy and self-disciplined in a true Catholic environment."

In the summer of 2010, at a time of change and uncertainty in the parish, Victor Serna was appointed as principal of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill. An ongoing decline in enrollment had taken its toll on the school's budget, and there seemed to be very little room for improvement. However, it was a matter of taking small, but very important, steps to create effective changes.

The first step was to establish a positive working relationship with the parish's new leadership. Father Nelson Trinidad, an Archdiocesan priest, was appointed as the new administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill parish. Both he and Mr. Serna began their work at OLG in July 2010. Working collaboratively has resulted in positive changes. In May of 2011, the parish and school held their first parish-school fiesta. The organizational work was shared among both parishioners and school families. It was a true depiction of individuals coming together to rebuild their community.

Furthermore, as a partner school in the Catholic School Advantage campaign, the University of Notre Dame's initiative to increase the number of Latino children enrolled in Catholic school throughout the United States, both Father Nelson and Mr. Serna had the opportunity to participate in the Pastors Institute and the Principals Academy, respectively, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, in July 2011.

Victor Serna describes his experience at the Principals Academy as follows: "The Principals Academy, organized by the University of Notre Dame, opened my eyes to the type of forward thinking we can demonstrate regardless of the adversity we face. I have put the skills I gained at the Academy to good use, by implementing a vertical style of collaboration that allows teachers to examine the needs of our students of all grades. The experience was a God send for me! I was faced with declining enrollment and with limited resources. The practical ideas presented at the Academy helped me to reflect on how I can help guide my school towards excellence. I was also reminded that it is through the grace of God and through the cooperation of the community as a whole—parishioners, parents, students and staff—that we will overcome these trying times and truly impact the lives of our young children."

Over the course of the past year, Mr. Serna and Father Nelson have worked together on the Parish Finance Council, which aims to support the school in its strategic planning. Mr. Serna has also organized an alumni support base via Facebook, and he has identified a group of eight parents to serve in the Catholic School Advantage campaign's "Madrina/Padrino Mentorship Program." This marketing effort mobilizes parents to become parent ambassadors for their respective schools. The parents are trained to promote their school, recruit families, and mentor new families to ensure that they are adapting successfully to the Catholic school environment.

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill saw an increase in their enrollment this year from 135 students to 151 students. Mr. Serna attributes meeting this goal to the monthly marketing publications that were distributed throughout the community over the past year. Furthermore, he recognizes the importance of his parents being the school's best marketers. However, many of his efforts have also been focused on improving the academic and extra-curricular programs at OLG-Rose Hill. Mr. Serna is constantly providing his faculty and staff with professional development and seeks to offer comprehensive and well-rounded extra-curricular activities for the students.

His school was recently chosen to participate in a qualitative study led by Catapult Learning. Next year, the school hopes to have a fully enrolled Kindergarten. With this goal in mind, the objective is to continue to foster the growth of Our Lady of Guadalupe-Rose Hill Catholic School by way of recruiting aggressively in the early grades, therefore ensuring a natural growth process.

On Monday, December 12, 2011, the parish and school will once again collaborate in what is perhaps the most important date to the Mexican Catholic community, El Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe (The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe). On this day, the parishioners will participate in La Mañanitas to La Virgen at 5:00 a.m., followed by a Menudo breakfast in the parish hall. The students will participate in a special Mass at 9:00 a.m., where the fourth grade will provide a reenactment of the events that took place on the desert hill of El Tepeyac, near modern day Mexico City, from December 9, 1531, to December 12, 1531. During the Mass, the OLG students will also make an offering of "good deeds," written by each one of the students and every student will bring a rose to offer to our Blessed Mother. A reception will be held after Mass for all students and their participating families.

"I believe that Catholic schools reflect what our Virgen de Guadalupe would want for us—a safe, protected, learning environment, formed in our Catholic faith," said Principal Serna. "Furthermore, her apparition to a humble, indigenous peasant is a reminder that we are here to serve the ones who need us the most. The manner in which she manifested herself also reminds us that we must be relatable leaders. Cultural responsiveness is not just about language, it is about the sense of community and family that we need to evoke. We have to be nurturing, loving and inspirational."

Accompanying photo: Grandparents Day is celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe - Rose Hill School (this photo from the 2010 gathering of grandparents and grandchildren).

Search News