In the Spotlight . . .

For the past two decades ACE has been privileged to share a partnership with AmeriCorps, a program of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. In the last year ACE AmeriCorps members led 8,922 non-AmeriCorps member volunteers in AmeriCorps service activities, served 13,576 disadvantaged children and youth, and engaged 3,337 disadvantaged children and youth as volunteers. AmeriCorps works! Three ACE AmeriCorps members share their stories here.

Cathleen Santos de la Rosa, who teaches at Saint Mary School in Los Angeles, writes of  students for whom English is a new language, and the strides they've taken toward fluency this year. "Through a lot of work on phonics and fluency practice, aggregately these students have improved by 17 words per minute in fluency, by 8% in accuracy, and a full level in reading comprehension." The process, Cathleen reports, has shown her students that the hours of in-class and after-school tutoring, "all of these little choices to better themselves," have paid off.

Derrick Toups, a third grade teacher at St. Robert Catholic in Sacramento, CA, reports the impact a video of the Yellow Boat Project in the Philippines had on his students. "After witnessing kids of their own age swim to school and trudge through mud to get home," Derrick writes, "my class instantly began dialogue about what they could do to help their fellow students...They began planning a car wash: setting prices, discussing potential locations, and slogans. I stepped aside and watched as they worked together to do what they could to bring a small bit of justice to those less fortunate than them...It is truly inspiring to watch the impact of 'students helping students' unfold."

Another teacher in Sacramento, Brian Argus of Saint Patrick Academy, relays this hilarious example of the difference a 15 minute lesson can make in the lives of students. "It was the day before Thanksgiving break," he begins, the last period of the day before an all-school pep rally and a week long holiday. Brian had 15 minutes to teach a Life Science lesson on diffusion to 37 antsy seventh graders.

"The demonstration," Brian explains, "was in two parts: 1) Drop food coloring into beakers at each table and have students time how long it takes to hit the bottom as well as equally spread, and 2) Burn a bag of popcorn in the microwave unbeknownst to the students until those in the front of the room smell it and those in the back say 'What burning popcorn?'"

Initially, all went as planned. As Brian completed part 1, a student exclaimed, "Mr. Argus something is burning!" and, as if on cue, a student in the back said, "I don't smell anything..." Brian continued, "This was exactly what I wanted them to see.  But suddenly their cries of something burning got worse, until a student finally threw in the word smoke. I glanced towards the microwave behind me to discover smoke billowing out through crevices I didn't know existed. Fortunately, we were able to open the windows and doors to prevent a fire alarm...Unfortunately, my classroom smelled like popcorn for at least 3 weeks afterwards. 

"But there is a silver lining to this story: it set the groundwork for what became probably my best week of life science lessons after the students returned. They will never forget the day Mr. Argus made what we call 'The Story of the Burnt Popcorn,' nor will they ever forget the concept of diffusion."

Of Sarah Greene, Fr. Lou DelFra, CSC writes, "Sarah has given no less than most of her recent life to the ACE mission...She has served...with incredible pedagogical and pastoral insight and a ceaselessly encouraging personality...She has brought a vibrant faith in Christ as the center of her life and the ACE mission, an untiring (and contagious!) hope in the future of Catholic schools, and an ultra-generous love for all her fellow disciples with whom she shares this ministry and mission."

Sarah is a beloved member of the ACE family. Below she shares some of her history with ACE and her gratitude for the new position she has taken with ACE Advocates.

Seven years ago, I applied to teach with ACE after meeting incredible people who had dedicated two years of their lives to the mission of Catholic schools, which have shaped me profoundly. Through my time as an ACE teacher, I constantly met amazing disciples: administrators, teachers, families, fellow ACE teachers and ACE graduates, all of whom advocated for Catholic schools in their daily lives of service and prayer.

Through my five years on the ACE Teaching Fellows pastoral staff, I have been blessed to work with an amazing array of ACE communities, which has opened my eyes and heart to the common mission of diverse Catholic schools across the country – and even beyond. And I have been privileged to witness through all of these schools and teachers the person who makes our diverse efforts and hopes one – Christ the Teacher, working through all of us.

As a member and chair of the South Bend Advocates community, I've seen our regional community welcome many new faces and send forth many friends to continued and ever-deepening service in Catholic education. I feel truly blessed that my role in the South Bend region has offered opportunities to collaborate with new leaders in ACE Advocates nationally, and an ever-broadening circle of colleagues from the Remick Leadership Program, the ENL and TEC Programs, Notre Dame ACE Academies, and so many other friends and co-disciples in this mission.

I was – and remain! – amazed by the ACE community's passion for Catholic schools, for growth in faith, for increasingly effective service, for supportive and encouraging community. I am humbled and honored to serve Catholic schools and the ACE community in this new role as director of ACE Advocates.

When Corinne Viglietta (pictured here, third from left) graduated from Notre Dame, she had no idea she would one day be a high school teacher, let alone call herself part of the ACE and Cristo Rey families.

After studying literature in graduate school, she went on to teach English in France. Upon returning to the United States, she landed at an innovative Catholic high school, Don Bosco Cristo Rey in Washington, D.C. Her school is founded on the Cristo Rey model, which gives low-income students the chance to work in corporate jobs to finance their college-prep tuition.

Accustomed to working with college students, Corinne found teaching high school juniors—many of whom were English language learners—an enormous challenge. She explains, "I knew I needed a stronger background in linguistics and more classroom strategies, but I didn't know where to look. I was an English nerd. I had never taken an education class in my life."

Corinne learned about ACE's English as a New Language (ENL) program, which trains teachers to educate linguistically diverse student populations, and decided to apply. The ENL program helped Corinne teach challenging works by Shakespeare and Woolf to non-native readers and build a repertoire of developmentally appropriate strategies for teaching academic writing.

Through ENL, Corinne also learned to strengthen community partnerships, especially those with universities, museums, and student families. Recently, she even started a student-staffed writing center at her school, where most of the peer tutors are English language learners. "It's a friendly, supportive space for young writers," she says. "Students run the show. Differences are celebrated. Everyone's welcome."

The ENL program introduced her to the vibrancy of ACE's mission and shaped the way she taught all of her students, not just those who spoke another language at home. It also opened many doors for her professionally. After completing the program in 2011, Corinne has returned to Notre Dame for the past two summers to help coordinate the summer component of ENL. She also assists a former ENL professor with her online course.

"ENL has nurtured my vocation as a teacher," Corinne says. "I'm so grateful to ENL and to ACE for helping me develop my passion for language and literature and reminding me of my call to support the most vulnerable among us."

Danny Jackson has a message for anyone considering the ACE Teaching Fellows program: "Anyone who wants to truly make a difference, anyone who is passionate about helping others, anyone who wants to see faces of young people light up because you've just helped them understand a concept they never would have otherwise understood, anybody who wants to work hard with the satisfaction of knowing that their hard work is making a great impact, anybody who wants to be a role model should join ACE. Words cannot describe the impact that you can make as a positive role model. If you're willing to work hard, give it a shot."

This fifth grade teacher in South Central Los Angeles explains what drew him to the program and, more generally, to Catholic schools. "They are dedicated to giving all students the chance for a great education... Kids should be given every chance to have dedicated, loving teachers, regardless of their socioeconomic status or zip code."

Now one semester into the experience, Danny has lived that mission and continues to be inspired by it. As an example, he tells the story of a quiet and hard-working student in his class at his K-8 school "where kids truly feel safe in an otherwise tough neighborhood." At his first parent teacher conference, the mother of that quiet and hard worker came in.

After hearing assurances about her daughter's progress, Danny recounts that the mother said something he will never forget. "She said that her daughter comes home every single day and talks about how she is going to college one day. 'Mr. Jackson talks about it so much,' the mother said, quoting her daughter, 'and says that we can all go there. I can go, too.'"

Danny continues, "Some days I wonder whether or not I'm making an impact. Stories like this throw all doubts out the window. Whether or not she remembers how to properly identify articles in a sentence or all fifty state capitals is irrelevant. That girl has been inspired to change her life forever and go to college. By the way, she is ten years old. How's that for inspiration? These kids are incredible."

To learn more about ACE Teaching Fellows, click here.

ACE interns join the team during their Senior years to assist with research, special projects, and recruiting efforts. They come from a broad range of disciplines and span the spectrum with activities and involvements. Meet our ACE interns for 2013-2014.