News

By Andrew Hoyt

On May 16th, Dr. David Yeager, an ACE 11 graduate, served as co-organizer and program chair for a special convening at the White House titled "Excellence in Education: The Importance of Academic Mindsets." An assistant professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin, Yeager is a leading researcher in the fields of adolescent development and social psychology.

The convening at the White House, sponsored by the Raikes Foundation and co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Education, gathered a diverse group of experts and stakeholders in order to identify channels for using insights from experimental behavioral science in U.S. educational settings.

Yeager and his collaborators at Stanford University—Carol Dweck, Greg Walton, Dave Paunesku and Geoffrey Cohen—have shown that there is more to academic success than raw cognitive ability or curriculum and instruction. Students' mindsets—how school looks and feels to them, from their perspective—can powerfully affect whether students rebound from difficulty and sustain motivation in the face of adversity. Importantly, Yeager and others have designed brief, web-based activities that redirect students' mindsets and unlock their motivation, in some cases resulting in dramatically reduced achievement gaps months and years later.

For instance, researchers have shown that when students believe that intelligence is a fixed trait, unable to be changed, they avoid challenges and respond to difficulty by giving up. However, Yeager and colleagues have developed brief interventions that teach neuroscience facts about the potential for the brain to grow and develop when it works on challenging tasks—called a "growth mindset." When this message has been taught via the Internet to thousands of students around the country, it has resulted in increases in GPA and reductions in course failure rates. Findings are generally strongest among low-income and racial minority students, who may have the greatest reason to question whether educators doubt their intellectual ability—something that makes this research especially relevant for efforts to promote social justice.

Yeager stresses that these interventions are not "magic." "Psychological interventions are carefully-calibrated tools. If we want to use them responsibly to produce educational change at scale, we need to think carefully about how to embed these ideas in everyday practice," says Yeager. "This meeting was designed to bring leaders together to talk about how we can achieve an R&D agenda that empowers practitioners to successfully address unproductive student mindsets and promote educational equality in their classrooms."

As a former ACE middle school teacher at Saints Peter and Paul School in Tulsa, Yeager notes that research on mindsets has much in common with the philosophy education he encountered in Catholic schools. He notes that at the heart of any kind of moral development is a belief that a person can fundamentally be developed and improved, with the right kind of support. He believes that having a "growth mindset" is essential not just for supporting learning but also for creating virtuous adults.

The presentations at the White House convening investigated three areas for future research: understanding how to maximize the effects of mindset interventions, expanding the array of effective practices that instill adaptive mindsets, and developing improved measures to learn from practice.

For Yeager, the work on mindsets exemplifies the fact that simple, well-designed social-psychological interventions can provide cost-effective and powerful ways to reduce achievement gaps and improve student learning. For more on mindsets, Yeager's work in adolescent development, and the White House convening, visit his website.

Every participant in ACE's formation initiatives has a story of faith and enthusiasm to tell. Recent references to the Alliance for Catholic Education in an array of media offer an up-close look at people who are passionate about Catholic schools.

Here's a quick tour of some "before" and "after" snapshots of lives, before or after the ACE experience. The "ACE Summer" of 2013 is just beginning, so these stories are just a few of the additional journeys that will bring inspiration to students, schools, and others nationwide.

· Allyn Doyle has graduated from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. She's an excellent scholar-athlete who will pursue a master's degree as part of the ACE Teaching Fellows program for formation of Catholic school teachers.

· Across the Atlantic Ocean, two Irish graduates of St. Patrick's College in Dublin—Ciara O'Brien and Hannah Snowe—are also among the extraordinary applicants selected to join the 20th cohort of aspiring educators in ACE Teaching Fellows.

· Jamie Tadrzynski, a dedicated teacher whose zeal for service most recently placed her at a Navajo Nation Reservation as a Mercy Volunteer Corps Missioner, is headed to Notre Dame as an ACE Teaching Fellow, and you can see her recently posted announcement about her blog.

· Rev. Timothy Klosterman, a young priest based in Los Angeles, recently wrote about his own journey and the fact that he has been accepted in ACE's Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, which forms future leaders for Catholic schools. For his story, see the second article in this package from the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper.

· Two newly ordained priests—Rev. Andrew Nelson and Rev. Luke Marquard—offer inspiring "after-ACE" stories; they are alumni of the 7th and 12th cohorts of ACE Teaching Fellows, respectively.

· Jared Dees is an ACE graduate who has continued to follow his passion for teaching and has published a book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator. He is interviewed by blogger Marc Cardaronella. Jared, too, is a blogger about faith-filled education.

Andrew Nelson, ACE 7, was ordained to the priesthood of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire on June 1. As a teacher with ACE Teaching Fellows (STT), Andrew lived in Biloxi, MS, and taught middle school and high school social studies at Mercy Cross HS. Describing his call to the religious life, Fr. Andrew says, "It was not one definitive moment or a shout from God, but rather a whisper in my heart. It was in the ordinary that God spoke to me, in prayer, the Sacraments, through coworkers, students, friends and the world around me."  Read more about him here. To see a 5 minute video highlighting what happens during an ordination to the priesthood, click here.

Also ordained this spring: Luke Marquard, ACE 12, who joined the priesthood of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on May 25. As an educator in ACE STT, Luke lived in Denver and taught middle school at Guardian Angels. Speaking of what most helped him take the step into seminary, Fr. Luke says, "Making daily Mass and regular confession a part of my life, which both disposed me to better hearing God's call and gave me the confidence to respond to it." Read more about Luke here.

Read Part I: Sr. Mary Paul and the Grace of Growth

This past school year, enrollments grew for the third year in a row in Chicago Catholic Schools, ending a decades-long trend of decline. More importantly, much of the growth occurred in schools that serve the communities most in need, where steady enrollment can be the most challenging.

Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, Superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools, credits the increase in enrollment to the leadership of principals and pastors, Archdiocesan donors, and organizations like the Big Shoulders Fund, which provides financial support for Catholic schools in under-resourced neighborhoods. In her view, a spirit of collaboration and a renewed sense of purpose have rallied these supporters in their efforts to make a Catholic education available and affordable for more students. By strategically coordinating support, the Archdiocese has kept schools available in the most challenged areas and accessible to the children who most need them.

Though growth is still modest, Sister Mary Paul calls these last few years “turning the ocean liner.” The increased enrollments act as indicators of a wider and more systemic transformation for Catholic schools – the entire ocean liner heading in a new direction.

In March of 2013, the School Board of the Archdiocese published a strategic plan to examine the success stories of the past three years and outline a plan to build on these examples. The plan suggests that leveraging strong leadership at the principal and pastor level, promoting best-practices for financial viability, and enhancing both Catholic identity and academic offerings have all been essential to renewing growth.

For example, the strategic plan shares the story of St. John Streamwood. Just a few years ago, the school struggled to serve its students, and in 2010 alone, enrollment fell by 28 students. This left the school depending on subsidy and loans at a time when the parish itself was challenged financially. However, with a new pastor and principal appointed to leadership positions, the school developed a strategic plan and revamped the budget with the help of a strong business manager. The principal worked with teachers to develop a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum, which centered on themes of ecology and stewardship of the earth. The school leaders decided to prioritize scholarship funding and sought help to improve their marketing efforts – both to enhance the schools reputation and to increase awareness of the school and its affordability.

As a result, enrollment increased from 188 in 2010 to 272 in 2013. In the same time period, the aid that St. John Streamwood receives from the Archdiocese decreased from $200,000 to $0.

For Sr. Mary Paul, schools like St. John Streamwood offers signs of hope – and clear blueprints for how to change the narrative in a struggling school. Furthermore, when the leaders of a school like St. John Streamwood share their story with colleagues across the Archdiocese, Sister Mary Paul says that she can see the hope sparked within educators, principals, and pastors. While they might have previously been lamenting their own challenges, she explains, they come to her and ask, “Do you think that I could do this too? Maybe God is calling me to do this.”

Sister Mary Paul explains that renewal becomes a real possibility for educators when they “see this modeled around them and know that there (will) be resources for them.” This transformation and renewal occur both in entire schools and in the spirits of the educators working within them. “I have seen these great sites that were ready to be shuttered – now flipped and turned around in the last three, four years, but I’ve also seen those who were just tired, who are deciding to be reenergized and to rediscover shared leadership.”

The strategic plan also illustrates a clear plan to attracting new and talented leaders, principals, and high-quality teachers to Catholic schools. Sister Mary Paul points to the number of young, lay educators finding vocations in Chicago’s Catholic Schools as a success to build on in future years and a testament to the power and grace present in the schools and the students themselves.

“I think that’s been a tremendous tribute to the schools where young couples are staying,” Sister Mary Paul explains, “and a tremendous tribute to ACE at Notre Dame with the Catholic School Advantage campaign.”

The Catholic School Advantage campaign, launched by the Alliance for Catholic Education in response to a 2009 Notre Dame Task Force, aims to improve educational opportunities for Latino students. In Chicago, Juana Sanchez Graber, Field Consultant for the campaign, works to help schools raise awareness in Hispanic communities, tailor their marketing and communications efforts, and utilize madrinas (and padrinos) programs to spread the word about school availability and build bridges into Hispanic neighborhoods and communities.

In the coming 2013-2014 academic year, the University of Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education will also send the first ACE Teaching Fellows community to Chicago, to help provide talented young teachers and future leaders to Chicago Catholic Schools.

For Sister Mary Paul, it’s an exciting partnership. “I’ve always had a great love for Notre Dame, and a respect for the ACE program,” she explains, “I had followed it for twenty years since its founding, and always had kind of a nagging ‘Why not Chicago? Why not Chicago?’ So to have it come to Chicago and in really such a vibrant way (…) I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for us.”

Much like the success of these past few years, in Sister Mary Paul’s view, the future of Catholic Schools in Chicago will continue to rely on renewing the entire system through strategic collaboration and belief in the big changes.

“I am deeply grateful to Fr. Scully for his vision - and to that whole ACE team, really -for continuing to wrap their services, not just around the individuals who they might be coming to influence, but to profoundly influence a system. So it’s a very powerful thing for me to see the engagement of our university, particularly through the ACE programs.”

Read Part I: Sr. Mary Paul and the Grace of Growth

In February of 2008, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., appointed Sister Mary Paul McCaughey O.P. as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Since then, Sister Mary Paul has been working to write a story of hope, renewal, and grace for Chicago's Catholic schools.

At the time of her appointment, however, the narrative of Catholic schools in Chicago was dominated by decline, instability, and uncertainty. Despite the brilliance of a few beacons of hope, the big picture presented some serious challenges. For the most part, Catholic schools were struggling.

In 2008, Catholic school leaders in Chicago faced trends of declining enrollment and closing schools. Between 1984-2004 alone, there were 148 Catholic school closures in the city of Chicago. With a financial recession taking hold and rising costs hindering many students and families from paying tuition, the outlook for many of Chicago's Catholic schools was uncertain at best, especially for those schools serving students in poverty or in under-resourced communities.

In 2013, however – five years into Sister Mary Paul McCaughey's tenure as superintendent – that narrative has gradually started to change.

After plummeting for decades, enrollment has increased in Chicago Catholic schools for the past three years. To put that in perspective, the last time the Archdiocese had just two consecutive years of growth was in 1965.

"I think growth is a grace," says Sister Mary Paul, "We cooperate with God's grace in continuing to grow as students and as persons of service. Whether that's for the young people or the slightly older people who serve them, that's what energizes me. It's in the air."

A career educator and lifelong Chicago-area native, Sister Mary Paul graduated from Marian Catholic High School in the Chicago Heights area, an economically and ethnically diverse community just 30 miles south of downtown Chicago. She later returned to Marian Catholic High School to serve as both principal and president.

After an earlier stint as a principal, she thought that she might become a clinical counselor. However, she explains, "I found out kind of quickly that I had people who were complaining with twenty, twenty-four clients a week." She realized, "Why shouldn't we then try to change the system so we can have healthy people everywhere? Why not change the system?"

Sister Mary Paul describes discerning her vocation to be an educator and leader as a "gradual conversion." After successfully merging Sacred Heart Academy and Griffin High School in Springfield, Illinois, she had permission to pursue a PhD at the University of Chicago Theological Seminary. After only a year in the program, her community called her back to Marian, and she became principal and president there for the next 18 years.

"I thought I'd already done my duty to education while still young enough to do something else," she laughs, "but it turns out...God had another idea."

Trusting in the ability of the Catholic school system to adapt, Sister Mary Paul has worked to rally renewed efforts to bring a Catholic education to as many students as possible in Chicago. As Superintendent, Sister Mary Paul draws from both her 40 years of experience in education and her openness to new approaches in order to lead pastors, educators, Universities, and other community stakeholders in collaborating on plans for the future. "There's no greater thing than walking into a Catholic school and getting smacked with that feeling that everyone is on board with really wanting the best for one another," she says.

For Sister Mary Paul, reclaiming the narrative of Catholic education in Chicago will mean finding ways for educators and leaders "to challenge one another, to support one another, and to teach one another."

With a vision of trust and continuous improvement, Sister Mary Paul intends to build on the momentum of three consecutive years of enrollment growth. In that spirit, the School Board of the Archdiocese published a three-year strategic plan in March of 2013. The document highlights signs of hope from the past few years and outlines a plan to learn from and build on these successes in the future. The plan suggests a clear path forward for Chicago's Catholic schools, and though it is only the beginning, a new story of growth and grace is steadily taking shape in Chicago.

Read Part II of this story.