UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
The purpose of this award is to assist the grantee in carrying out a national service program as authorized by the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. ยง12501 et seq.) and in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) has been a proud partner with the Corporation for National and Community Service for the last fifteen years. ACE schools serve the poor and the working poor, and through this shared partnership, ACE has reached nearly a quarter of a million students with the help of almost 2,000 teachers and administrative leaders trained through the
program. ACE now seeks to work further with AmeriCorps to send a large cohort of 41 teachers of English as a New Language (ENL) to assist struggling students in our nations hardest hit areas ($70,000). At the prompting of the Corporation, ACE expanded its Professional Corps program to include administrative leadership candidates. With recovery funding, ACE looks to grow the program further, another thirty members, with a special focus on regions severely impacted by the economic crisis, including such places as Florida and Michigan, as well as an increased presence in many of ACE schools struggling to serve their local communities. Members will begin their training in mid-June and will go out into their respective schools in August well prepared to make a difference and to serve children and youth in great need. They will be classroom teachers, school administrators, and lead principals during the academic year, which for most concludes in May 2010. We have already recruited these members, and they are ready to serve those most in need. ACE believes strongly that these leaders and teachers will affect change first within each classroom, then within the school, and finally to the broader community to assist with school success and school achievement. As educational research continues to show, the presence of visionary leadership is essential for schools to thrive and for student achievement to improve.