Notre Dame National Bus Tour Highlights Tucson Catholic Schools and Education Champions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2014
Contact: Bill Schmitt, Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) /
The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) visits Tucson on Monday, April 28, to celebrate the vital role Catholic schools play in educating children from immigrant families and impoverished communities. Since 2001, Catholic school students in Tucson have experienced amazing success from Notre Dame’s investment to enhance student learning, increase enrollment, and form talented teachers and leaders. The Notre Dame ACE Academies, two thriving inner-city schools that serve predominantly Latino students, are a showcase for how Notre Dame’s involvement, increased community support, and corporate sponsorship can provide a high quality education for students in need across the country. The schools have closed the academic achievement gap for their students in just three years.
Notre Dame’s National Bus Tour will visit the Notre Dame ACE Academies schools from April 28 to 30 to celebrate their students, teachers, leaders, and achievements, and to honor local partners and champions who have come together to build a brighter future for the children in Tucson.
At St. John the Evangelist School, ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., will present a University of Notre Dame Sorin Award for Service to Catholic Schools to Sister Rosa Maria Ruiz, C.F.M.M. An educator for 50 years who recently announced her retirement, Sister Rosa Maria has worked tirelessly as superintendent of Tucson Catholic schools since 1998 to strengthen the viability of its 25 schools. She has amended the teacher salary scales to reflect a just wage, initiated an endowment program, and helped to catalyze the innovative, comprehensive approach which transformed two under-resourced schools on the brink of closure into the Notre Dame ACE Academies.
Father Scully will also recognize and thank AT&T for the company’s exemplary leadership in support of Tucson students. Through its contributions to the Arizona corporate tax credit scholarship fund, AT&T has provided impetus for corporate support of education opportunities benefiting families in need. More than 300 students at St. John the Evangelist and Santa Cruz—all Notre Dame ACE Academies schools—have received scholarships thanks to AT&T’s generous contribution since 2012.
At a celebration Monday evening, Father Scully will present a University of Notre Dame Champion for Education Award to Richard Brady “Buck” O'Rielly, CEO of O’Rielly Motor Company and ardent advocate for the future of Tucson. Mr. O’Rielly has served in leadership positions for Junior Achievement of Tucson, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, United Way, and the Southern Arizona Water Resource Association. A seventh-generation Tucsonan, Mr. O’Rielly has committed time and talent to the future of Tucson Catholic education, serving as a founding member of the board of directors of St. Augustine High School.
Sister Rosa Maria’s award and the AT&T presentation will take place amid the backdrop of the Bus Tour’s pep rally at St. John the Evangelist School. The school is led by a graduate of the ACE teacher and principal formation programs, Keiran Roche. A total of seven current ACE teachers serve students at St. John and other Tucson Catholic schools, and a number of ACE graduates have continued serving as teachers and leaders in these schools.