Denver Catholic

BY JULIE FILBY As the tour bus turned the corner to head down West Da- kota Avenue in the Athmar Park neighborhood the morning of March 12, the 250 students from St. Rose of Lima Academy that lined the street broke into screams that would've made any rock star feel welcome. It wasn't rock stars that stepped off the bus, but Holy Cross Father Lou DelFra and staff members from the Uni- versity of Notre Dame's Alli- ance for Catholic Education (ACE). Father DelFra and team matched the students' en- thusiasm, running down the line of kids to greet them with high fives, handshakes and fist bumps. The 50-city bus tour, brand- ed "Fighting for Our Chil- dren's Future," was launched by ACE in honor of their 20th anniversary. From October through May, the team is trav- eling across the country to vis- it Catholic schools, primarily in inner-city locations, where they have placed teachers. ACE partners with more than 100 schools in 15 states covering 26 dioceses. "St. Rose of Lima is one of the schools where we began our work and since then it's just blossomed," explained John Staud, senior director of pastoral formation and ad- ministration for ACE. "A lot of it was (former principal) Jean- nie's (Courchene) leadership and now Tracy's (Alarcon) and Father ( Jerry) Rohr, a great pastor. "It's really a community in sync. You can just feel the en- ergy in this place." ACE provides teachers and administrators to schools in high-poverty communities to ensure access to a quality Cath- olic education for low-income students. The alliance's Service Through Teaching program ac- cepts 90 applicants each year. The participants teach in select Catholic schools for two years, assisted by a living allowance. During that time, they com- plete a curriculum that results in a master's in education from Notre Dame. Of more than 1,300 gradu- ates of the program, 75 percent work in education, and most in Catholic education. Staud considers St. Rose of Lima an extraordinary success. "If you just look at the demo- graphics, you might say: 'Well this school might be closed," he said of the low-income, predominantly Latino neigh- borhood. "But in fact because of its great leadership and spir- it, the school is excellent and bursting at the seams." According to Alarcon, in her fifth year as principal, the school has "the numbers" as far as enrollment, though fi- nances remain a concern. "Ninety percent of our kids are at or below the pover- ty level," she said. "The ma- jority of our students are on scholarship so we're heavily scholarship and grant depen- dent. We always have financial concerns." She appreciates the part- nership St. Rose of Lima, the first Catholic Expeditionary Learning school in the country, maintains with the university. "Each year Notre Dame and ACE continue to staff our school with high quality teach- ers," she said. "These teach- ers are such wonderful role models for our students each day. We are blessed and I am grateful." There are six ACE teachers at St. Rose; and there have been 26 through the years, includ- ing Elias Moo, currently assis- tant principal. There are also ACE teachers at Annunciation, Guardian Angels, St. Therese and St. Pius X in the Denver Archdiocese. There are about 50 former and current ACE teachers in Catholic schools in the archdiocese, INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Guest Column: Greg Willits ............4 Letters to the Editor .......................4 Join the Mission .................... 5 & B8 Nun of the Above quiz ....................9 Bulletin Board ................................. 10 Service Directory .............................11 Fighting Irish ride into Denver PHOTO PROVIDED HOLY CROSS Father Lou DelFra from the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) greets students at St. Rose of Lima Academy with high fives March 12, during the ACE bus tour's stop in Denver to celebrate the program's 20th anniversary. MARCH 19, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 11 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on INSIDE YOUTH LECTURE PAGE 3 Pope Francis, Vatican II show love for poor DCR FILE PHOTO Tutus Tuus: Opening youths hearts to God KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS PAGE B7 PAGE B6 Knights aim to practice faith, charity PAGE 2 See Irish, Page 2 Regalia a sign of chivalry Denver Council 539 inspires a new generation of active Knights and their families PAGE B1

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