CSA Summer Recap: A Note from Fr. Joe Corpora, CSC

Dear Friends of the Catholic School Advantage Campaign,

Summer greetings from ACE and from the University of Notre Dame.

Another "ACE Summer" has come and gone. Either I am getting older or there is more and more activity each summer; the former is certainly true and I think the latter is true as well. There's no doubt that the "ACE Summer" is a way of life.

We had the privilege of hosting two wonderful institutes this summer, starting with the 3rd cohort of the Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI). From June 30 to July 3, we brought together principals, along with members of their faculty and staff, from 32 schools representing 16 arch(dioceses) around the country. The participants spent four days listening to and working with a design team of "mentor principals," learning how to increase Latino enrollment in Catholic schools. The mentor principals are a strong team of six principals who have each "saved" their schools at some point during their career. In every case, the principal either received or was on the verge of receiving the all-too-familiar dreaded phone call from their superintendent informing them that their school was slated to be closed at the end of the school year. In each instance, these principals were able to "save" their school by increasing enrollment. Each mentor principal has been part of the design team since the LEI's inception in the summer of 2012. This year, we had 10 schools from mission dioceses in the United States attend as participants. In addition to the conference at Notre Dame, each school will receive a visit from their mentor principal in the fall, who will work with the principal on issues that have arisen since the beginning of the school year. ACE will also host a follow-up meeting of principals and mentor principals in Scottsdale, Ariz. in February 2015. 

We also hosted the 4th cohort of the School Pastors' Institute. This conference, held July 8 to July 11, brought together 107 Pastors from 51 arch(dioceses) around the country. This conference was preceded by a pre-SPI for pastors new to the role of overseeing a parish school. At the SPI this year, we had a wonderful team of presenters, including Bishop Kevin Vann, the Bishop of Orange, Bishop Frank Caggiano, the Bishop of Bridgeport, Sr. John Mary Fleming, O.P., the Executive Director of the Secretariat for Catholic Education at the USCCB, Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, O.P., Superintendent for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and others. Sessions covered a variety of topics, including: "The Pastor and the Catholic Character of the School"; "Pastor and Principal: Partners in Catholic Education"; "Making Catholic Schools Accessible to Economically Poor Children"; and "Ten Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Became a Pastor with a School." After four summers, more than 300 Pastors from 68 arch(dioceses) have participated in the SPI. We are also pleased to be, for the first time, taking the SPI on the road, as we will host a regional SPI in the fall for pastors with schools in California.

We are so grateful to God for his blessings upon both the LEI and the SPI. Please pray for the schools and people who have participated in our summer institutes, and please keep the work and mission of Catholic education in your prayers as well. You and your intentions are in my admittedly inadequate prayers.

Gratefully yours,
Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C.