fbpx

ACE logo

News

A Letter from Chicago: Service to, and Love for, Catholic Schools Mix with Football

Written by William Schmitt, Drew Clary on Wednesday, 10 October 2012.

Irish Victory at Soldier Field Follows Signs of Hope for a Garden at St. Ann

This season’s installment in Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series – the annual football home game played at a neutral site – took numerous fans to Chicago last weekend, where the Fighting Irish played the University of Miami. Given that Chicago has the largest concentration of Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) graduates of any city in the country, it was only natural that ACE also went on the road to be among the countless members of the extended Notre Dame family.

The ACE events began with an enjoyable evening at Gibsons Steakhouse on Thursday night. Around 100 people joined in a celebration of Catholic schools while gearing up for Saturday’s big game. There was a strong showing of ACE Advocates from the region—ACE alumni and other members of the movement in support of Catholic schools—along with a number of ACE leaders based at Notre Dame.

Friday brought an exciting opportunity to serve a Chicago-area Catholic school that is thriving in spite of seemingly huge challenges. St. Ann’s School, in Pilsen, is led by principal Benny Morten, a graduate of Notre Dame, ACE’s ACE Teaching Fellows, and the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program. Benny is also a recipient of ACE's Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education. Members of the ACE community offered support for the event, which was coordinated by the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Service projects included some beautification work around the courtyard and playground, building picnic tables, and painting prayer rocks for the prayer garden that will be part of the school’s next big undertaking. The space, which will become the Father Don McNeill Garden, was blessed by St. Ann’s pastor and Chicago Auxiliary Bishop, the Most Rev. Alberto Rojas.

ACE welcomed gameday by hosting one of its largest tailgate parties. A great friend of ACE’s got a few of his buddies together to form a “tailgate committee”, and the product was an amazing time! ACE teachers, ACE graduates, ACE Advocates, parents of current and past ACE teachers, and many other friends and supporters of ACE and Catholic schools dropped by throughout the day

The decisive football victory at Solider Field on Saturday night was a fitting finish to a great weekend. Ultimately, ACE’s joyful participation in the celebration was possible thanks to all of the people who have helped to make Catholic schools such an integral force for good in the United States.

-- From Drew Clary, Assistant Director, Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives

Photo: Auxiliary Bishop Alberto Rojas blesses the McNeill Garden at Saint Ann's Catholic School, a Chicago-area site where ACE has had a significant presence and where the current principal earned two master's degrees in ACE formation programs for teachers and leaders. The garden is named in honor of Rev. Don McNeill. ACE members were among those providing services at the school on Oct. 5.

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.

Catholic School Champion: Dr. Rachel Moreno

on Friday, 05 October 2012.

After being chosen as Arizona's Teacher of the Year, Hands Across the Border Teacher of the Year, and one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year, Rachel Moreno wanted to contribute her expertise to the next generation of teachers. So the 27-year veteran of public schools earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and then fulfilled her lifelong dream of teaching in a Catholic school, taking a position at Kings College. After 3 years, she joined the faculty of supervision and instruction for ACE Teaching Fellows.  Dr. Moreno also teaches for ACE's English as a New Language program.

We asked Dr. Moreno, who lives in Tucson and works with ACE teachers in Notre Dame ACE Academies and elsewhere, to share some of her favorite examples of hope.

Hope surrounds all of the Notre Dame ACE Academies as they continue to be a "flagship" for the diocese of Tucson. I saw hope [when a gifted ACE graduate moved to Tucson] to work especially at an Notre Dame ACE Academies. I see hope when [two gifted ACE teachers] decide to embark on the journey to become administrators. [Another Notre Dame ACE Academies teacher] demonstrates hope each time he directs and produces one of his outstanding and kid-friendly plays at Santa Cruz, where he has taught for 12 years. [Still another Notre Dame ACE Academies teacher] had three job offers in big cities all over the country yet chose to remain here. And because she is so committed to promoting literacy she specifically requested to teach 1st grade. (If that isn't a story of hope, I don't know what is!) Finally, [Notre Dame ACE Academies teachers] give their students hope each time they remind them that they are not only preparing for heaven but for college.

Mi esperanza existe todos los dias de mi vida (hope is present every day of my life). Why? Because everyone I work with is fully committed to making God known, loved and served.

Notre Dame ACE Academies Kickoff in Tampa with Celebration

on Thursday, 27 September 2012.

A Photo Essay by Andrea Cisneros

In 2010, ACE established the first partnership in a new model of Catholic schooling in the three Notre Dame ACE Academies in Tucson, Arizona. This fall, the Notre Dame ACE Academies network expanded to the Diocese of St. Petersburg. The Notre Dame ACE Academies Tampa community celebrated the beginning of this partnership with a mass and celebration on September 15th. Notre Dame ACE Academies Assistant Director, Andie Cisneros, offers this photo journey through the weekend.

In the Spotlight: Play Like a Champion Today

on Friday, 21 September 2012.

PlayLikeaChampionTodayIt's something most of us have witnessed from the bleachers of a local youth sports event: stressed-out players, intense coaches and parents, a clear over-emphasis on winning at all costs. Back in 2005, the Citizenship through Sports Alliance noticed it, too, and turned out a report card giving youth sports programs a "D" average in terms of child-centered philosophy, coaching, health and safety, even parent behavior and participation.

Enter Notre Dame Professor Clark Power and his team of education, psychology, coaching and ministry experts. Together they created Play Like a Champion Today, an educational series for parents, coaches, and kids that emphasizes sports as a formation tool—that is, sports as a means toward not just physical fitness, but mental, social, moral, and spiritual growth.

In workshops with names like, "Sports as Ministry" and "Coaching for Character," Play Like a Champion aims to elevate the culture of youth sports by teaching child-centered educational practices, reasserting the value of play for young athletes, and building partnerships that will form a healthy sports climate not just here, but abroad.

Over just a half-dozen years, Play Like a Champion has educated hundreds of sports administrators, coaches, parents, and young athletes, who in turn bring the lessons learned into their own spheres of influence.Their feedback speaks to the good this initiative brings. Said one participant, "[The workshops were] simply outstanding. Extremely professional. You can be confident that you are making a difference in the world and proclaiming the word of God." Another added, "This conference gave me great inspiration...I walked away feeling we can make a difference with our mission."

To learn more about Play Like a Champion, click here.

Search News