More Than 8,000 Catholic Educators Meet in Houston

University of St. Thomas will participate in the largest gathering of a private-education association this week. The National Catholic Educational Association's annual gathering brings together administrators, teachers, pastors, catechists, vendors and many others interested in Catholic education.

NCEA 2013, the annual convention of the National Catholic Educational Association, will run from April 2-4 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. This is NCEA's first meeting in Texas in the association's 109 years.

University of St. Thomas hosted a reception and dinner "A Salute to Catholic Education Everywhere" for Catholic educators and parish leaders on April 1 on campus.

The University will also have two booths at the conference: School of Education and GRACE Program at #950 and Center for Faith and Culture and Undergraduate Admissions at #1441.

The School of Education offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as post- graduate certification programs for: school counselor, educational diagnostician, principal and reading specialist. These also include the online M.Ed.

The GRACE Program is a nationally recognized Catholic teacher service corps. Built upon the three pillars of professional development, community and spirituality, GRACE members earn a master's degree and credential while serving as full-time teachers in under-resourced Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

The mission of the Center for Faith and Culture is to understand and impact the relationship between the worldview of Catholic faith and the American way of life. Learn more about our master's program and certificate program.

Undergraduate Admissions serves first-time freshmen, transfer students, international and returning students. Admissions assists students with financial aid, scholarship opportunities and campus information.

The meeting is expected to register more than 8,000 educators and exhibitors. More than 300 professional development sessions will offer opportunities to explore teaching, leadership and spiritual themes and 315 exhibiting companies will feature educational support materials.

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will celebrate the opening Mass on Tuesday morning. Immediately following, the Rev. Robert Barron will open the first general session with his talk on new evangelization. Father Barron, rector of Mundelein Seminary in Chicago, Ill., is the well-known host of "Catholicism," a 10-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith.

The NCEA Convention and Expo is held in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For a convention table layout and schedule, visit the NCEA Expo website.

About NCEA
NCEA, founded in 1904, is a professional membership organization that provides leadership, direction and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing and teaching mission of the church. NCEA's 200,000 members include elementary schools, high schools, parish religious education programs and seminaries.

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The University of St. Thomas, dedicated to educating leaders of faith and character, is a private institution committed to the liberal arts and to the religious, ethical and intellectual tradition of Catholic higher education. St. Thomas is Houston’s only Catholic University and was founded by the Basilian Fathers.