ACE Teaching Fellows Blog

Screenshot of CBS On the Road Series. Picture of the bottom of a swimming pool from atop with text that reads, "If I couldn't handle not being good at something, then how could I consider myself a successful person?"

What's Not in the Lesson Plan

It might be crazy to admit that one of my objectives on Fridays is to get my students to cry, but it isn’t because I am giving an impossible test...

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...

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...

Mary Margaret Schroeder with her students

Waiting Courageously

As an ACE Ambassador, you commit to ACE a full year before you ever step into a classroom as a Teaching Fellow. During that year, friends accept post-graduate jobs, professors...

Students and sister (left) holding up a sign that reads, "Thank You for the Gift of Catholic Education."

The Beauty of Catholic Schools Week

When I saw that I would be writing a blog post for Catholic Schools Week, I knew right away that I wanted to write about community. Community is the second...

Ms. Hall's sixth grade home room posing for a photo from their Christmas party.

Presence Over Perfection: What Really Matters in Your Classroom

It’s Saturday, January 3rd. Classes start up again on Monday. You’re back at your ACE placement, your plans for the week are solid, your assignments are prepped, your grade book...

Plush Mary laying down with books in Schroeder's classroom.

Waiting Together: Advent in the Classroom

I have always loved Advent, but the season took on an even deeper meaning once I started sharing it with my 5th-grade students. Experiencing the hope and wonder of Christ’s...

ACE Teachers singing joyfully during Lessons and Carols at December Retreat 2025

I Can't Wait

“We wait because there’s a promise. There’s a presupposition of something more worth waiting for.” “But I want it now!” is a sentence heard throughout the country this time of...

From left to right: Kristen, Ashley, Marcello, Grace, Clayton, and Catherine in front of the Cleveland sign at Lake Eerie

Swimming with Gratitude

“Come on in, the water’s great!” I shout as I splash around in the choppy lake quite conveniently located only two minutes from our convent. “No really, it’s way warmer...

Jack Hutter (left) and Kate Chiappetta (right) outside ready to run the 2025 NYC Marathon

We Can Do Hard Things

“We can do hard things.” This statement can be found on the walls of each classroom at St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem, New York. Not only is it a great...