From Capitol Hill to USCCB offices, CAPE meetings, and Department of Education consultations, Sister Dale McDonald, PBVM, Ph.D., NCEA Vice President of Public Policy, is consistently on the move for Catholic education. In late May, her alma mater, Fordham University, paid tribute to her tireless work with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
The engraving on the award expresses the sentiment of everyone privileged to work with Sister Dale: “In grateful recognition of your lifelong dedication to Catholic education, your faithful service to your religious community, and your national leadership and expertise in advancing sound public policy for Catholic schools.”
On July 1, 2026, NCEA began offering high-quality consulting at an affordable rate to member schools and school systems that demonstrate financial need and have a promising future.
The primary goals of this new service are to ensure that more Catholic schools survive and thrive, and Catholic school leaders receive support in their ministry.
Areas of focus include:
Strategic planning
Advancement and development plans
Hiring for mission strategy
School governance change planning
Board development
NCEA connects leaders with highly qualified consultants who have held senior leadership positions in Catholic schools and systems. The consulting process and tools are aligned with the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS) and use NCEA proprietary tools and publications as guides.
Interested? Contact Father Tom Simonds, SJ, director of NCEA Consulting, at FrTom@ncea.org.
The NCEA ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) is a standardized assessment used by Catholic schools and parishes to evaluate religious knowledge and the development of personal faith.
By measuring the cognitive domain (doctrine) and the affective domain (attitudes and practices), it provides educators with the data needed to strengthen spiritual formation and improve curriculum effectiveness.
Beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, a new generation of ACRE will launch in partnership with Renaissance, expanding the assessment to grades 2–12. This updated digital platform will provide real-time reporting and actionable insights, helping leaders more precisely align their programs with the school’s mission and each student’s unique spiritual journey. Schools will also be able to assess students multiple times throughout the year, enabling growth reporting during the school year and across grade levels. The overall cost per student will remain the same as on the previous platform.
Questions? Contact John Galvan, executive vice president of engagement, at John@ncea.org for more information.
