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Each day during Catholic Schools Week, we will post a reflection on the focus of the day centered around this year’s theme: "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service". You can find a complete list of the reflections here. The following reflection is from Greg O'Donnell:

We shall always place education side by side with instruction; the mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart. While we prepare useful citizens for society, we shall likewise do our utmost to prepare citizens for heaven. – Blessed Basil Moreau

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Why Catholic schools?

For anyone who has ever had any connection with ACE, you very quickly learn about the “three pillars,” which constitute the foundation of the program: teaching, community, and spirituality.   This foundation, as evidenced by the quote from Fr. Moreau, finds its roots in the teachings of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and still serves as the foundation for my own work to this day.

Being the product of public schools, it was not until I began teaching in the ACE program that I started to question my own educational background.  As I thought about the lessons I was trying to instill in my students - I wondered how I had been taught these same values myself, and why did I hold them to be so valuable? 

At first my reaction was to be upset with my parents for never giving me the opportunity to attend a Catholic school as I grew up.  So much of my education had been spent trying to earn A’s and excel at school, yet through very little of it did I understand the importance behind what I was learning. 

Yet when I looked at my own students, while I still wanted them to excel, I more so wanted them to gain an understanding of what we were learning. I wanted them to comprehend that why they did things mattered as equally as to how they did things. It was not right to cheat on a test simply because the teacher said so, or because your parents would get upset with you, but because it was morally wrong.  In essence, what I hoped to teach them it was that idea of educating not only their minds, but also their hearts.

Only after completing my service through ACE did I realize that I had received this same education that I was yearning to provide for my students.  Despite never attending Catholic schools until I entered university, it was there that I gained my own personal connection to my faith, and found meaning to all of the facts and figures I had learned through my years of grade school.  It was this same education that gave me the strength to have faith in my decisions, and ultimately led me to find my vocation.  It was those values uniquely found in Catholic schools – that taught me to value not only knowledge, but also faith and service as well.

Greg O'Donnell is the Associate Director of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2008 with a BA in Psychology and History before enrolling in ACE's ACE Teaching Fellows program and teaching in Pensacola, FL. He was also a member of the ChACE program in Santiago, Chile before joining the ACE team in 2013.  

Each day during Catholic Schools Week, we will post a reflection on the focus of the day centered around this year’s theme: "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service". You can find a complete list of the reflections here. The following reflection is from Deacon Nick Senger:

My wife Brenda and I have four kids—ages 9, 15, 19 and 22—and they each drive us crazy in their own way. That’s what kids do. They ask for money, they make messes, and they require lots of time and energy. Life would much simpler without them. Simpler, but also more hollow. Our children bring us life, they keep us from taking things too seriously, and they draw us closer to God. They take us out of ourselves and teach us the meaning of unconditional love.

The same thing can be said about a parish Catholic school: it takes a lot of money to operate; it puts a lot of wear on the buildings; and it requires a lot of time and energy to maintain. Parish life would be much simpler without a school. But just as the heartaches and headaches our kids cause are worth it, so are the challenges that come with operating a parish school.

School children bring a special kind of life to a parish community. They remind us of the importance of laughter and recreation. They help a parish fulfill its mission to evangelize.

There’s something deeply spiritual about watching a class of children kneel in prayer, trusting that God is listening. The noise of laughter from the playground is a sign of life and joy to a parish. It means God is present, that the Church is being renewed in the hearts of these young disciples who are just learning how to live like Jesus.

Just as children were brought to Jesus so that he might lay hands on them and pray, parents bring their children to their parishes to be touched by the hand of the Savior.

During this Catholic Schools Week, we remember not to follow the example of the disciples who tried to rebuke the children for coming to Jesus, but instead we open our hearts to hear the Lord’s words:

“Let the children come,” Jesus said, “and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Let the children come to our parish schools. Let them come with their grimy hands, their uncontrollable giggles, their fidgety fingers, and their raging hormones.

Praise God for the craziness of parenthood, and praise God for Catholic schools.

Deacon Nick Senger is the founder and editor of the Catholic School Chronicle (http://www.nicksenger.com/csc/), a blog of news, resources, and community building for all those interested in Catholic education.  He is a teacher at All Saints Catholic School in Spokane, WA, and is a deacon the Diocese of Spokane.

When I was asked to write a short essay on why Catholic schools are important in 2014, I, like any good educator, decided to cheat.  I asked Notre Dame Catholic School’s 8^th Graders to do it for me.  I told them that a list of reasons was due the next day (“No, you don’t have to write in complete sentences this time (AND ONLY THIS TIME!); yes, it will be a grade…”).

Now, I know our kids.  They are faith-filled, joyful, kind, respectful, energetic, and very bright … but they’re teenagers (AHHHH!).  I didn’t know what to expect, though I figured soccer and basketball might be prominent among their responses.

They weren’t.

When I was growing up, parents worried about things like MTV and AOL Instant Messenger.  Those things are ancient history.  Between iPods, iPads, and iPhones, the very nature of identity – of “I” – has changed.  Facebook has co-opted the idea “friend.”  Twitter invites us to “follow.”  We shut out the real world with our headphones and bury ourselves in user-friendly, intuitive interfaces.

Such, at least, is what we “adults” grumble about (“Well, sonny, when I was your age…”).  The Church, however, is doing something quite different.  The Pope Tweets!  Our own Bishop Melczek is on YouTube (if you don’t believe me, Google it)!

But what does this have to do with why Catholic schools are so important today?  Why am I not writing about pre-marital sex and crime and gangs and the economy and terrorism and poverty and empty pews…?  On the other hand, why am I not talking about high standardized test passing rates and college matriculation and rigor and discipline and innovation?

Notre Dame’s 14 year olds (“AHHHH!  Teenagers!  Run!”), given complete freedom to talk about what is important to them, focused on these themes:  Faith, Family, Vocations, Morals, Service, Caring, Gratitude, Learning, Connectedness, and Future.

We don’t give our young people nearly enough credit.  They are more than aware of all the struggles and troubles in the world.  They know that something isn’t right.  They know that there is more out there.  There is a thirst for love and joy and connectedness.  There is an energy and a vibrancy and a vitality.  There is an honest innocence.  There is a yearning for Truth (note the capital “T”).

Our young people are telling us exactly what they need and value, and it happens to be the Gospel.  Today’s youth – the youth with iPhones and headphones and Facebook and Twitter (and maybe even the youth with intentionally messy hair, though I’m not sure about that) – are hungry for the Word of God, for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and for life-giving relationships with one another.

It’s time for us adults to plug-in, log-on, and get connected – or, dare I say, reconnected.  Catholic schools are important in 2014 not because there are troubles all around us.  Catholic schools are important in 2014 because there is hope all around us, and hope does not disappoint.

Benjamin Devin John Potts, Ed.M., is the Principal of Notre Dame Catholic School in the Diocese of Gary, Indiana. He is also a member of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program's eleventh cohort. For more information on the Remick Leadership Program, please click here.

Notre Dame Catholic School is a ministry of the Notre Dame Catholic Community that fosters learning through an unsurpassed faith-based education and prepares young people for extraordinary lives. For more information on Notre Dame Catholic School, please click here. 

For the Alliance for Catholic Education, the past year was full of blessings and accomplishments, of rememberance and celebration. Here are our top 13 stories from 2013:

13. Two ACE Grads Ordained

After two grueling yet rewarding years teaching as a part of ACE, graduates move forward on a wide variety of paths. In 2013, two were ordained to the priesthood, responding to God's call to help lead His church.

12. Teacher in New Orleans Draws Inspiration as Students Share and Serve

ACE teachers are able to witness and are often witnesses themselves to God's love as they serve communities around the nation. One teacher in New Orleans experienced the gift of giving first-hand during the Christmas season at her school.

11. ACE Graduate Has Ministry Role as Cardinals Plan Conclave Mass

2013 was a transition year for the Catholic Church as a new Pope was elected. Tony Hollowell, a Notre Dame and ACE graduate, played a special role in the celebration of the new pope, and took the time to reflect on his time in Rome.

10. Sr. Mary Paul and the Grace of Growth

Sr. Mary Paul was named the superintendent of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2008, and has drastically shifted the state of play in the nation's third largest city—a once declining Catholic school Archdiocese is now thriving. Check out this two part story.

9. ACE Graduate Chairs White House Meeting on Academic Mindsets

An ACE grad and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. David Yeager, collaborated with colleagues at Stanford University to demonstrate that how a student sees and feels about school affects his or her ability to learn. Yeager led a conference at the White House to share the research.

8. Bishop McFadden Memorial

After the passing of Bishop Joseph McFadden, "a singular witness to hope" for Catholic schools around the country, Fr. Tim Scully, CSC, reflected on the life of a great man.

7. "Getting the Word Out" Helps Boost a School's Enrollment

A Remick Leadership Program graduate utilized basic principles of marketing to increase enrollment at her school in Naples, Fl and spread the gift of Catholic schools to children throughout the area.

6. 20th ACE Summer in Review

Even after twenty years, each ACE summer provides a wonderful reminder of the vibrance and motivation of the mission to serve Catholic schools - as seen in this photo essay of the 2013 summer at Notre Dame.

5. Congratulations and Welcome ACE 20

In a year celebrating twenty years of ACE, remembering the past and looking forward to the future, the ACE 20 cohort represents the past, present, and future of the Alliance for Catholic Education.

4. Values Guide Notre Dame Irish Safety and Catholic School Teacher's Career Path

From major college athlete to high school teacher to trial lawyer in Chicago, Bill Gibbs has been inspired and has inspired others through the ministry of teaching.

3. ACE Marks 20th Anniversary with Bus Tour

In celebration of twenty years of strengthening, sustaining, and transforming Catholic schools, ACE set out on a 50-city national bus tour spanning the 2013-14 academic year. Through forums and halftime shows, blogs and photos, ACE is increasing awareness of the great work of Catholic schools throughout the country.

2. Fr. Scully Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

What started as a simple idea at a graduation party in 1993 has become a nation-wide program that impacts thousands of children each year, and Fr. Scully, the founder of the Alliance for Catholic Education, was honored for this visionary achievement by the Manhattan Institute.

1. Notre Dame ACE Academies Close the Achievement Gap

A unique partnership between inner-city schools and the University of Notre Dame, founded on principles of Catholic School identity, affordable education, and rigorous academics, is succeeding in changing the lives of students.

Bonus: Pope Benedict's Support for Catholic Schools Will Be Lasting Legacy

When the Pope speaks about Catholic schools, you don't put the remarks in a ranked list. Catholic educators, especially those serving in K-12 Catholic schools, will never forget Pope Benedict's encouraging words and pastoral visit.

The Digicel Foundation, the charitable arm of the Digicel Corporation, a major provider of mobile telecommunications services in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the South Pacific, agreed in December to partner with the Congregation of Holy Cross in Haiti to build a primary school and support facilities in the neighborhood of Tabarre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

This project, led by the Congregation of Holy Cross and supported by the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), will create a new school in an area where few children have access to quality education. The demand for quality schools increased dramatically after 80% of schools in Port au Prince were destroyed in the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

The CEO of the Digicel Foundation in Haiti, Sophia Stransky, confirmed this week that the Foundation, already known for its work in training teachers and building over 100 schools in Haiti, agreed to start construction soon on the new primary school in Tabarre. "Digicel is committed to providing high-quality school facilities and instruction for students," said Stransky, "and we are delighted to partner with the Congregation of Holy Cross, an educational leader with a proven record of providing Haitian students with an education that prepares them to be the citizens and scholars Haiti desperately needs." Completion of the project is expected by September 2014.

"This investment will make a life-changing difference for hundreds of children, and enable a top education provider, the Congregation of Holy Cross, to serve this community for decades to come," said Rev. Timothy Scully, CSC, founder of ACE and director of Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives. Established in Haiti in 1944, over the past 69 years Holy Cross has proven itself to be one of the most respected educational providers in the country, serving over 5,000 children in 20 schools located in some of the poorest communities in Haiti.

"We are deeply grateful to the Digicel Foundation for its dedication to Haiti's children and their future," Scully continued. "We are absolutely committed to the long-term success of this new school and the children it will serve. We look forward to deepening our partnership with the Digicel Foundation to make more transformative changes in Haiti in the years to come."

Learn more about ACE's work in Haiti.