Notre Dame National Bus Tour Highlights Stockton Catholic Schools
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2014
Contact: Bill Schmitt, Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) /
The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) visits the Diocese of Stockton on Monday, May 12, 2014, to celebrate the vital role Catholic schools play in educating children from immigrant families and impoverished communities.
Visiting more than 50 cities during the 2013-14 academic year, Notre Dame’s Fighting for Our Children’s Future National Bus Tour will visit Our Lady of Fatima School in Modesto, CA, to celebrate the students, teachers, leaders, and achievements of the school and parish. Representatives of Notre Dame, including ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., will also honor local education champions who have come together in a partnership to build a better future for all the schools and children of the Stockton Diocese.
"We want to draw greater attention to the amazing legacy and bright future of these schools that form engaged citizens and advance the common good," said Fr. Scully.
The partnership between the Diocese of Stockton and Notre Dame in 2013 began with an in-depth strategic assessment of 11 diocesan schools. The assessments conducted at the request of the Most Rev. Stephen E. Blaire, bishop of the diocese, included an analysis the schools’ Catholic identity, academic excellence, institutional governance and advancement, enrollment and demographics, and financial considerations.
“The Catholic schools in our diocese are an important resource, as their continued success can help our community break the cycles of poverty, violence, and social injustice,” said Bishop Blaire in announcing the assessment initiative in late 2012. “ACE Consulting will help us discern how to enroll more students in better schools—schools that can offer both a values-based and a rigorous academic education.”
The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) sustains, strengthens, and transforms under-resourced Catholic schools through leadership formation, research, and broad support to ensure that all children, especially those from low-income families, have the opportunity to experience the gift of an excellent Catholic education. ACE is marking its 20th Anniversary with the Fighting for Our Children’s Future National Bus Tour.