Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program

The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at Notre Dame capped its annual "ACE Summer" of formation programs and conferences with a "missioning" Mass on July 27, sending forth more than 200 teachers and leaders to Catholic schools across the United States.

The Most Rev. Joseph P. McFadden, bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg and a prominent voice on education within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, presided at the Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to honor the "vocation" and "calling" of service in Catholic elementary and secondary schools.

"Your participation in the ACE program is a great blessing for the Church," he said in his homily. "As the chairman of the Bishops' Committee on Catholic Education, I thank you for your willingness to enter into this most important and essential work of the Church."

John Staud, ACE's Senior Director for Pastoral Formation and Administration, offered a fast-paced, wide-ranging introduction to the Alliance for Catholic Education on WNIT-TV's "Experience Michiana" show Wednesday, July 18. You can go to the archived video of the show and advance to the ACE segment about nine minutes into the show.

Just a reminder that "Experience Michiana" has hosted ACE and Institute for Educational Initiatives leaders a couple of other times in the past several weeks. ClarkPower, director of Play Like a Champion Today, talked about the Play Like a Champion hosted conference on character-building in sports. Karen Morris, who directs the IEI's program bolstering Advanced Placement science and math courses, talked about the recent STEM teaching conference.

_{Discussions of the past, present, and future of Catholic schools marked the fifth annual Remick Leadership Conference, held at Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Friday, July 13.}

_{The future was represented by 23 students of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, a formation initiative of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). They were completing their studies for a Notre Dame Master of Arts degree in educational administration and planning for careers as principals and other leaders in Catholic K-12 education.}

_{These members of the ninth class to be graduated from the Remick Leadership Program used the conference to present the results of "action research" projects they had undertaken as part of their 26-month course of study. Their individual poster displays, exhibited for classmates and members of the South Bend region's community of K-12 educators who were welcome to the conference free of charge, outlined findings and proposed solutions regarding present-day challenges faced by Catholic schools around the country.}

_{"The action research conference and the poster session is really the zenith of our program," said Rev. Ronald Nuzzi, senior director of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program. Speaking to the conference attendees, he said of the soon-to-graduate class, "You see clearly the contributions they are making to the future of Catholic education and how well they already demonstrate the capacity to lead."}

The University of Notre Dame bestowed 104 graduate degrees Saturday, July 14, upon a next generation of Catholic school teachers and leaders who completed their periods of formation with the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

ACE's annual Commencement exercises, held at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, drew encouragement from keynote speaker Dr. Teresa Sullivan, President of the University of Virginia, who praised the graduates' "ethic of service." A good teacher-student relationship is the basis for transforming lives, she said, regardless of how much technology or pedagogical theory might change.

"What will remain is the essential thing—the eager student working under the careful guidance of a dedicated teacher," said Sullivan, whose research as a sociologist has probed educational opportunities for inner-city students among other subjects.

A total of 81 graduates from ACE's ACE Teaching Fellows program, who had pursued their studies while teaching in Catholic K-12 schools in underserved areas around the country, capped their two-year formation by receiving the Master of Education (M. Ed. degree).

Twenty-three graduates from ACE's Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program (RLP), whose 26 months of formation prepared them to be principals and other leaders in Catholic education, received the M.A. degree in educational administration.

When it comes to Catholic education, Susan Hendricks values history.

She values her own winding path to Catholic schools. One of seven children, she was raised in the Catholic faith. Her parents' modeling, she says, "influences me daily with my devotion to the Church and Catholic education." Because her father's Army career required multiple moves, however, only two of the eight schools she attended were Catholic. Later the young activist became a teacher and worked for several years in San Francisco's Mission District. Then she re-located to Maui and, she says, "Divine intervention guided me to a hidden jewel—Sacred Heart School of Lahaina—where I am honored to be principal."

The 150-yr-old school she now serves was founded by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and later run by the Sisters of St. Francis. And here Susan's appreciation for history truly shines: "Standing on the shoulders of these consecrated giants and all of the everyday heroes that have gone before us is a gift of grace. We accept the mantel of duty to continue the legacy of preparing ourselves and our school community for salvation."

Now a participant in the Remick Leadership Program, Susan is devoted, "heart and mind to Catholic education." In her studies with the program, she has learned about the Church's strong foundation of support for Catholic schools. And, she says, "I am driven to share this history with my school community."

"I have learned that we do nothing alone, and that the relationships built in community of like-minded souls is a conspiracy of love, truth and action. The academic rigor and spiritual support in the ACE program has lifted my vision of Catholic education to a higher level of personal gratitude and political/social acumen. I am proud to be an agent of change in the movement of improving Catholic education today."

To learn more about the Remick Leadership Program, click here.