The Michael Pressley Award for Catholic Education was presented to three educators from the Diocese of Cleveland earlier this month. The trio are graduates of the Alliance for Catholic Education program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
Dominic Fanelli, Benedictine High School principal, and Victoria McBride, vice president of mission at Saint Martin de Porres High School, were among those who graduated between five and 10 years ago and have distinguished themselves in making significant contributions to the ministry of Catholic education.
The third honoree, Dan Reynolds, is an assistant professor of education at John Carroll University. He was recognized with the Pressley Award for a promising scholar in the education field.
Reynolds is a member of ACE Teaching Fellows’ 13th cohort, while Fanelli is a member of the 18th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows and the 17th cohort of the Remick Leadership Program. McBride is a member of the 18th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows.
They were recognized during the July 15 ACE commencement ceremony that featured Carolyn Woo, the retired CEO of Catholic Relief Services and former dean of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, as the keynote speaker.
ACE, the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, sustains and strengthens under-resourced Catholic schools through leadership formation, research and professional service to ensure that all children, especially those from low-income families, have the opportunity to experience the gift of an excellent Catholic education.
During the ACE commencement exercises, Notre Dame bestowed 125 graduate degrees upon the next generation of Catholic schoolteachers and leaders who completed periods of formation and service in two nationally recognized programs.
Eighty-eight ACE Teaching Fellows graduates received master of education degrees as the culmination of two years of academic study combined with teaching in Catholic K-12 schools in underserved areas around the country. Thirty-seven graduates from ACE’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program received master of art degrees in educational leadership, concluding 25 months of formation that prepared them to be principals and other leaders in Catholic education.