Stephen A. Perla, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, Mass., has been appointed the first director of the University of Notre Dames Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Consulting Initiative.His appointment becomes effective in June.
ACE is committed to strengthening and sustaining under-resourced Catholic schools,said ACE founder Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at Notre Dame.This new consulting initiative is one more effort to ensure that our Church’s educational ministry remains strong and vibrant.With Steve’s experience and passion for Catholic education, ACE Consulting will address many of the most pressing needs in Catholic schools from coast to coast. I am very grateful to the diocese of Worcester for the gift that they are making to our efforts to strengthen and sustain Catholic schools nationally."
Before becoming the superintendent of Catholic schools in Worcester in 2004, Perla served for more than 10 years as the founding executive director of the Parents Alliance for Catholic Education, a Massachusetts group which advocates on behalf of students and Catholic schools.He also has served in a variety of administrative positions in higher education and as mayor of Leominster, Mass., from 1988 to 1992.As a member of Notre Dames national Task Force on Catholic Education, he contributed to the report it published in December 2006,Making God Known, Loved, and Served: The Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in the United States.
Emphasizing the challenges facing contemporary Catholic education, the report recommended that Notre Dame undertake 12strategic initiatives,among them the establishment of ACE Consulting to provide administrators and Catholic school advocates withhigh-quality, affordable consultative guidance in marketing, strategic planning, investing and other areas essential to school success.
Founded in 1994, the Alliance for Catholic Education supports a variety of programs serving Catholic schools in the United States and abroad.Central to its mission is the preparation of teachers and leaders for service in Catholic schools.While earning a master in education degree, approximately 180 college graduates serve annually in schools in 32 communities.The ACE Leadership Program was begun in the summer of 2002 to train qualified and faithful principals for Catholic schools.Notre Dame trains more Catholic school teachers and leaders than any other institution of higher education.With the publication ofMaking God Known, Loved, and Served,ACE hopes to expand its commitment toserve the Catholic Churchs educational ministry.
_ Contact: Chuck Lamphier, assistant director of ACE Consulting at 574-631-1728 or_ " Lamphier.1@nd.edu ":mailto:Lamphier.1@nd.edu _
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