ND and AT&T Team Up to Expand Educational Opportunities in Tucson

AT&T and the University of Notre Dame have teamed up to dramatically expand educational opportunities available to at-risk children in Tucson. By making an $800,000 contribution through Arizona's corporate tax credit scholarship program, AT&T has created hundreds of scholarships for children to attend the two Notre Dame ACE Academies on the south side of Tucson: St. John the Evangelist and Santa Cruz.

Jerry Fuentes, President of AT&T Arizona/New Mexico, announced the partnership with Notre Dame on Friday, March 2 at an event at St. John the Evangelist School in Tucson. Fuentes was joined by Notre Dame ACE Academies director Christian Dallavis, president of the Arizona School Choice Trust Elizabeth Dreckman, and Arizona state senator Olivia Cajero-Bedford, as well as 200 children, teachers, parents, and school leaders from the two Notre Dame ACE Academies in Tucson, including Priscilla Bussari, the mother of scholarship recipients at St. John and a member of the ND ACE Academies Tucson School Board.

"AT&T is committed to driving innovation in education by investing locally, connecting people and seeking exponential change. By strengthening educational opportunities for the children of Tucson, we're investing in the future of our community, our state, and our nation," Fuentes said. "Programs like these seek to increase high school graduation rates which is a key indicator for success."

In Arizona, corporations that pay state income tax and insurance companies may receive a 100% tax credit when they contribute their state tax liability to certified scholarship granting organizations like the Arizona School Choice Trust, which in turn distributes scholarships to disadvantaged children to attend schools chosen by their parents.

The Notre Dame ACE Academies initiative is a comprehensive school support program of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), a University of Notre Dame-based movement that strengthens, sustains, and transforms Catholic K-12 schools nationwide.

Dallavis added, "With this contribution, AT&T really defines what it means for a corporation to be a champion of educational opportunity. AT&T is making it possible for the ND ACE Academies to put hundreds more Tucson kids on the path to college, and we're grateful to partner with AT&T and other forward-thinking companies that are so clearly committed to the future of the kids and families in this neighborhood."

At Friday's event, Dallavis also shared that the schools have enjoyed recent success in the classroom. After one year of intensive academic support, Notre Dame ACE Academies coordinator of teaching and learning, Ryan Clark, reports that the children have made statistically significant positive achievement gains in nearly every content area. "In some areas, like math computation, the Notre Dame ACE Academies students have outpaced expectations dramatically, gaining one, two, or even three additional months of academic growth in the past year," Clark said, citing a forthcoming working paper to be published by Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives.

Diocese of Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who invited Notre Dame's partnership with the two schools in 2010, said, "I am delighted that AT&T is investing in the children of Tucson by creating scholarships. Contributions like this through the Arizona tax credit scholarship make it possible for our Catholic schools to sustain their legacy of extraordinary service to disadvantaged families." He added, "My prayer is that more companies follow AT&T's lead to help put even more children on the path to college and heaven."

Notre Dame launched the Notre Dame ACE Academies model in Tucson in 2010. The program is expanding to two schools in Florida's Tampa Bay area in Fall 2012.

More information about the Notre Dame ACE Academies can be found at http://ACEacademies.nd.edu. You can find details of the forthcoming Notre Dame ACE Academies partnership in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area can be found at here. Hear Christian Dallavis discuss Notre Dame ACE Academies in a "Learning Matters" podcast at http://bit.ly/zWL934.