Stories

ACE Blog

Students talking to each other.

ACE Teachers posing before So-Cal Marathon 2026

Running Through Discomfort

I feel great. Granted, I’m only 3 miles into my 13.1 mile journey, but I feel better than ever. It’s hot, but I’ve run in this weather countless times. After...

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High school students from Cleveland Central Catholic sit next to their elementary school prayer partners from St. Stanislaus during our Ash Wednesday Mass.

We Are Dust: Reflections on Teaching and the Lenten Journey

“Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” This Ash Wednesday anthem, spoken as our foreheads are marked with a smudgy black cross, is a reminder of our...

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motivationblog

Motivating a Hunger for Knowledge, Not Grades

In the field of educational psychology, experts have many different theories of motivation. One of my favorites is 'Achievement Goal Theory'. This theory deals with the reasons that people choose...

First-D-of-School

Risky Business

During the spring of my second year as an ACE teacher, I interviewed at a school that did not yet exist. I taught my demo lesson to the principal and...

BLBlog3

Blended Learning and Social Justice

Warning: I was a Philosophy major, and old habits die hard. Please indulge my philosophical musings before we jump into more actionable information. At the heart of Christianity lies the...

Mary Pullano ChACE 15 Final Lessons from 2016

3 Final Lessons from 2016

The end of the year 2016 marks the end of my experience of the ACE in Chile teaching program. I have learned so much! Moving to the southern hemisphere turned...

rigaliblog

Creating the Body of Christ

Three months before my 22nd birthday, I did something that I always aspired to do: I earned a degree from my dream school, the University of Notre Dame. I was...

SteinmeyerBlog

If I Could, I'd Still Choose You

Eight months after resolving to move back home to Chicago after college, I'm standing with one of my community members in front of a fourteen-foot plastic alligator at an official...

HigherLearningPt2

What is Higher-Powered Learning? - Part 2

So now you have met the team behind Higher-Powered Learning (HPL), but you may still be wondering, “what is Higher-Powered Learning?” If you’re reading this post, you probably understand the...