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"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

This past Sunday’s Gospel reading shared the story of Thomas’ doubt in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection. Thomas, although a disciple of Jesus, was hesitant to believe because he had many doubts that it could be true. He had yet to lay eyes on the risen Christ, so in a very human way, he questioned his friends’ message. It’s possible that members of ACE 24 may have entered April Retreat with similar feelings of uncertainty. They have not yet stepped foot in their schools, met their community members, or experienced their new homes. Yet, they have put their faith in what is yet to come in ACE.

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.

Megan Adzima was going to do this for Joy. She wasn’t feeling particularly joyful thinking about it; in fact, she was feeling a little nervous and a little awkward. But if energetic toe touches with high kicks and enthusiastic renditions of “Waves of Mercy” with choreographed dance moves for high schoolers was what Joy required, then Megan was going to shed her self-consciousness and dive right in.

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” - Sherlock Holmes

Though perhaps relatively few use seemingly minute details to solve major crime cases like Sherlock Holmes, data and its analysis enable people to make informed decisions in any field today—and education is no different. Nobody knows this better than Chris Broughton, who has spent the bulk of his professional life using data to find key intervention opportunities that change the trajectory of students’ lives. Chris, currently the Executive Director at Bottom Line in Chicago, graduated from the 11th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows and taught middle school in Oklahoma City. He has learned through years of data-work that it is truly not the numbers that matter, but the people behind those numbers.

This is our second installment of the English as a New Language Program’s Moments with Multicultural Saints, intended to provide useful classroom takeaways that will help you to broaden perspectives, teach about the universal Church, and find inspiration from saints from around the world. This month, we highlight the life of Mother Laura Montoya. You will find two different versions below, tailored to the appropriate age range of your students.