Welcoming Teachers for Christ
Last year we announced that we were welcoming two new faculty members for the 2026-2027 school year: Finnegan Ritchie and Jay Schroeter. They are members of the first cohort of the inaugural Teachers for Christ program: a two-year program developed by the Augustine Institute and Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE) in which graduates earn a Master’s Degree in Catholic Education.
The Teachers for Christ program was developed to prepare teachers to connect learning with their students’ relationship to Christ and the Church. This program is for teachers in all academic disciplines. The first cohort of students in the program lived in community while participating in courses on theology, the liberal arts, and Catholic anthropology. They learn the skills needed to love and attend to their students in the classroom.
In this second year of the program, each student is sent to one of the 303 member schools of the ICLE member schools across the United States. When looking for a placement, the ICLE recommended Jay and Finn reach out to Fiat Classical Academy as a good school for their practicum year. They put into practice the pedagogy they’ve learned and are participating and contributing to the Catholic life of the school.
Jay said, “The Teachers for Christ program has prepared me well to be a teacher at Fiat. The program both exposed me to many of the classics in various subjects such as in geometry and philosophy and taught me the Catholic approach to education: that the final end of education is to bring students into ‘conversation’ with Christ the Teacher, with Christ who is Truth.”
At Fiat Classical Academy, Finn and Jay teach a variety of classes while participating in school life and contributing to the Catholic culture that Fiat carries out every day. They are helping to advise clubs, organize Adamello Days, participating in morning prayer, and even guiding students through obscure translation questions relating to the Old English phrases of Beowulf.
After his first weeks of teaching freshmen Sacred Scripture and Rudiments of Study, Finn shared “My freshmen have been wonderful. They have been doing a deep dive into the book of Genesis and talking about having an attitude of having an attitude of studiousness as described by St. Thomas Aquinas and (soon to be beatified) Fulton Sheen.” About his seniors in economics, Finn continued, “We have been spending time reading the foundational document of Catholic Social Teaching, Rerum novarum, and talked about what it means to ‘own things.'”
Both Finn and Jay have seamlessly been able to reinforce the vision pillars of Fiat Classical Academy. While our vision pillars are the unique articulation of how we carry out Fiat’s mission, their preparation in The Teachers for Christ program has prepared them to teach our students and walk with them by carrying out our pillars every day.
They integrate the Catholic faith in each subject that they teach. They model for our students what excellence looks like in the intellectual life. They encourage students in their pursuit of wonder and encourage encounter as they join students in lunch time activities, share their particular interests beyond the classroom, and come to each school day full of joy.
Adam Iadipaolo, headmaster of FCA, says, “The Teachers for Christ program is a tremendous blessing to Fiat Classical Academy. Jay and Finn have seamlessly fit into the life of our school. They are wonderful examples for our students to strive for excellence as we delve into the mystery of God as absolute goodness, truth and beauty. After these past few months planning for their arrival I am very grateful to see the fruits of this partnership and I look forward to the rest of the school year and am very grateful for each and every one of our faculty and staff.”
The ICLE has been an integral partner in the growth and development of Fiat Classical Academy. This program is a way to further our mission to reinvigorate classical Catholic education in Southeastern Indiana in fellowship with other schools and institutes who are advancing the cause of Catholic education across the country.