Notre Dame ACE Academies Earn White House Honor for Service to Latino Students
A White House initiative saluting educational excellence for Hispanics has announced its recognition of the innovative Notre Dame ACE Academies as a “Bright Spot in Hispanic Education.”
On December 12, 2008, the University of Notre Dame commissioned the Notre Dame Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools. The purpose of this task force was to explore the issues surrounding the Latino achievement gap, the Catholic school advantage, and the demographic imperative to improve educational opportunities for Latinos. Seven years later, the University of Notre Dame and ACE are being recognized for closing the Latino achievement gap.
ACE’s widely respected model for strengthening and sustaining existing inner-city Catholic schools is listed in the White House’s just-published “Bright Spots in Hispanic Education National Online Catalog.” The catalog identifies enterprises “helping ensure the educational attainment for the country’s Hispanic community, from cradle to career.”
Notre Dame ACE Academies, an innovative model created by the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) has increased access to educational excellence for Latino students. Partnerships with eight Catholic elementary schools in the dioceses of Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Tucson are demonstrating academic gains; students have experienced significant growth in both math and reading achievement.
The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics published the online catalog listing more than 230 Bright Spots nationwide.
Rodney Pierre-Antoine, the Gary and Barbara Pasquinelli Family Director of the Notre Dame ACE Academies, said the Notre Dame ACE Academies initiative and all of ACE are honored to be recognized by the White House. “We’re blessed to be in partnerships with teachers, principals, and dioceses totally committed put Latino students—and students from every background—on the path to college and heaven,” he said.