Our Model
The Notre Dame ACE Academy initiative is a university-school partnership that seeks to help St. Luke flourish in three categories: Catholic School Culture, Advancement, and Teaching and Learning.
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By focusing on these three dimensions, our model promotes continuous improvement in all facets of school life for a safer, more welcoming, and higher-achieving environment.
"Every child is made in the image and likeness of God."
This belief drives our efforts to ensure that as many children as possible receive a high-quality Catholic education. We advance this mission by increasing access for under-served communities through parental choice scholarships. ACE will support nearly 4,000 students in 14 Notre Dame ACE Academies in the 2016-17 school year.
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Moving from the Bottom Third to the Top Third in the Nation
Notre Dame ACE Academies are closing the achievement gap. The median national percentile ranking (NPR) of our students increased from fall to spring every year, indicating students gained more than 1 year of growth. From fall 2011 to spring 2015, on average, our students improved from the bottom third to the top third in the nation in math. Reading scores are just as impressive with students moving from the 29th to the 53rd percentile.​
Closing the Gap Quickly
New students typically enter Notre Dame ACE Academies several grade levels behind (navy bars). Our culture of high expectations for academic growth and character formation quickly catches them up. Even students who have only been in the ACE Academies for 1 year show dramatic academic gains, which they continue to demonstrate in subsequent years (green & gold bars). Math scores show similar results with students entering in the 33rd percentile and quickly moving up to the 42nd after just one year.
We are Always Learning
Notre Dame ACE Academies leaders and teachers are committed to continuous professional and spiritual growth.
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Teacher Leader Formation: Notre Dame faculty annually provides 50+ hours of responsive professional formation to each teacher.
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Collegial Visits: Dozens of teachers and leaders across the network participate in field trips to learn from each other and other high-performing schools throughout the year.
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Faith Formation: Annual retreats for teachers and leaders reignite zeal for our shared purpose of making God known, loved, and served.
