This spring, Holy Spirit Preparatory School was invited to partner with the University of Notre Dame in a new initiative to support dedicated, highly effective teachers. The University of Notre Dame ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) Teaching Fellowship will provide a unique opportunity to a cohort of Catholic school teachers who make an extended commitment to their classrooms, to their own professional development, and to a growing leadership role in Catholic education.
 
On May 15, the University of Notre Dame announced its selection of two Holy Spirit Prep teachers, Whitney Ingram and Jamie Reger, to join the first cohort of the ACE Teaching Fellowship.  Whitney and Jamie will join a pilot cohort of five Catholic school teachers from Texas in an exciting, three-year professional development experience beginning this summer at Notre Dame.  Whitney has chosen to focus on developing an ethics-based curriculum for the elementary level, and Jamie has proposed to develop a data-driven and research-based approach to improve students’ writing.  According to Meghann Robinson, the associate director of the Notre Dame ACE Fellowship, “[They] clearly have a dedication to Holy Spirit Prep and Catholic education, and we’re so grateful for the time and effort they put into their applications, as well as for the time they took to speak with us regarding their proposals…. Both teachers are clearly passionate about their chosen topics, and have already begun to probe the deeper questions related to their own understanding of these topics as well as their students’ performance.”

In return for their efforts and commitment to this professional development experience and to Holy Spirit Prep, Whitney and Jamie will be awarded stipends during the three-year fellowship: $2,500 during the first year, $4,500 during the second year, and $6,500 during the third year. Robinson said, “We do hope that this pilot cohort is just our first chance to work with Holy Spirit teachers through the ACE Teaching Fellowship, and that we’ll have the chance to invite additional applications for our second cohort in two years.”

 

More information about the ACE Teaching Fellowship can be found at http://ace.nd.edu/fellowship/melody-family-ace-teaching-fellows/.