In the Spotlight . . .

As any person involved in Notre Dame ACE Academies can tell you, the schools' goals are twofold: College and Heaven. Notre Dame ACE Academies board member Sylvia Rodriguez highlights this with everyone she meets: "I tell them that we are all in this for our children, to make it a better world for them by preparing them for College and Heaven."

Sylvia Rodriguez is a walking advertisement for the value of Catholic schools. Not only is she a parish representative on the Notre Dame ACE Academies board; not only is she a Catholic school parent; Mrs. Rodriguez also heads up Madrinas y Padrinos, "a group of wonderful people who help recruit families to our schools who may not realize that it is possible for our children to attend these schools," she explains.

Says Notre Dame ACE Academies associate director Andie Cisneros, "Sylvia has done awesome things since she took over the position, recruiting new madrinas and padrinos and coordinating their efforts. They speak at masses at local parishes, CCD classes and parent meetings, and even stand outside grocery stores handing out flyers and talking to parents about the schools. She's totally committed and a force to be reckoned with in the best possible way."

"I love the Madrinas program," Mrs. Rodriguez says, "because it opens up many doors of opportunity for children and their families. When I am out giving literature about ACE schools to potential families and see the look on their faces when they hear that their children can attend because we offer tuition assistance...I feel I make a difference, especially when families show up and register at one of our schools."

The highlight for her in this work, she says, is what it offers children in terms of faith formation and the pursuit of higher education, so they can "go out and achieve their hearts' desires and become great people in society." Great people in society--like Sylvia Rodriguez!

The power of prayer brought Priscilla Bussari to her involvement with Notre Dame ACE Academies.

With her husband, Rey, the mother of five has sent each of their children to Catholic schools. Currently their three youngest attend St. John the Evangelist, A Notre Dame ACE Academy. The school, she reports, is thriving now, but it hasn't always been so. "St. John's was on the brink of closure," Mrs. Bussari says. "It had gone through five different principals in five years and enrollment was rapidly declining. There was no unified direction for the school." So she and several others committed to praying for St. John's. "This is not just the school my children attend," she explains. "This is our community."

Their prayers were answered. "St. John's was one of the 3 schools chosen to become the first Notre Dame ACE Academies. This partnership would give our school the resources it had been lacking for so many years. This renewed sense of direction gave me hope, and I wanted to be part of it."

Today Mrs. Bussari serves on the Notre Dame ACE Academies school board and, she adds, "in any capacity needed. I will be the voice of our school's parents, working on behalf of our children to ensure that they have the opportunities to get an excellent education and to continue to grow in their faith."

And indeed, they are making gains. "The expectations both academically and in their faith are at a higher level; this partnership has opened up a new world for them. The school culture has made such a positive change in just the last year."

About her service to St. John's, this Catholic School Champion concludes, "I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident that with this partnership, the future is a bright one."

As a young girl, when ACE 17's Christie Hjerpe heard her grandfather sing, "It's a great day to be alive," little did she know that years later, it would become a kind of theme song in her classroom!

Christie teaches third grade at Santa Cruz Catholic School, a Notre Dame ACE Academy in Tucson, Arizona. True to the upbeat nature of that song, the Rhode Island native is an enthusiastic ACEr, who says that "ACE had my heart" from her earliest days as an ND undergrad. Christie is also an enthusiastic Notre Dame ACE Academies teacher, saying, "I feel so blessed to have the support at Notre Dame ACE Academies that I do; [it] has definitely made the transition into teaching easier and more enjoyable."

Christie is especially enthusiastic about literacy: "It's almost become an obsession. I want all of my kids to read at grade level or above, no excuses." It can be a challenge for any classroom, but Christie Hjerpe remains undaunted. "With Notre Dame ACE Academies we're developing a stronger school culture, with shared beliefs that all of our kids can make it to college and heaven."

So, whenever her students are tired, Christie cheers them on with, "Work hard, get smart...no excuses." And whenever she gets tired, her students start to sing, "It's a great day to be alive!" With the semester just half over, Christie reports that she has seen tremendous growth in her readers.

"If Notre Dame ACE Academies teachers and staff can really make kids feel like it's a great day to be alive, and help them to see God in all things, we will achieve our goals of sending these kids to college and heaven." She continues, "I feel so blessed that I can wake up happy to go to work in the morning, knowing that I'll have 24 smiling faces at my door waiting to say 'Good morning!' 'I love you!' and 'Miss H., we're ready to learn!' Now, what could be better than that?"

Listen to Travis Tritt sing "It's a great day to be alive!"

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