The many meetings and community gatherings that mark the start of a new year lay the foundation and set the tone for the year ahead. Here are five simple ways to address your school’s Episcopal identity with faculty, staff, and parents during the opening days and weeks of the school year.
1. Explicitly address Episcopal identity in new faculty and staff orientations.
New employees may or may not remember what was said about being “Episcopal” during the hiring process; it’s likely that weeks or months have passed since they were last on site.
Along with information about how to use the photocopier or what recess duty means, take time to explain the school’s Episcopal identity in both philosophical and concrete terms—from mission and philosophy to practical details, such as how to address clergy (Father/Mother/Chaplain Alex? Alex? Mr./Mrs. Smith? Father/Mother/Chaplain Smith?), or particular “ways of being” that grow out of the school’s Episcopal identity (”Here at St. Swithen’s, we do/do not…”).
New members of the school’s faculty and staff need to feel comfortable to ask questions about the school’s Episcopal identity, however large or small. Include the school’s chaplain and, if a parish or cathedral school, the rector or dean in orientation programs. Explain their roles and responsibilities in the school community, and offer a basic introduction to the values and attitudes of the school that derive from its Episcopal “world view.”
Explain the school’s relationship to any sponsoring organization, including important information about shared life. Do not let people step on the land mines to find out where they are! Are there procedures for requesting shared spaces or activities that impact one another (such as a classrooms used for Sunday school)? If school spaces are used regularly for church activities, outline exactly what those are and why they are important. If the school uses church spaces, describe how those spaces are used and how the school can be a good partner. Something as simple as pushing in chairs after using a partner’s space or being mindful of the parish’s worship schedule when planning school events can go a long way to building good will.
2. Attend to Episcopal identity in opening and ongoing faculty and staff meetings.
Returning teachers and staff members always benefit from a “refresher” on Episcopal identity. Have there been staffing changes in the chaplaincy or parish; changes to the religious studies curriculum, chapel, or the responsibilities of the chaplain; new ways that the board and the school are talking about Episcopal identity, or a plan to review the school’s Episcopal identity? The opening faculty meetings are an ideal time to explicitly address these kinds of tasks and themes.
Reviewing the school’s mission statement and community values as an Episcopal school, underscoring the purpose and goals of chapel and service learning, or identifying themes for the year linked to Episcopal identity can get Episcopal identity “on the table” as an integral part of the work of the faculty. Some schools identify specific tasks or questions to be addressed by the faculty in the year ahead.
3. Create special opening-of-year chapel services.
Most Episcopal schools have special chapel services that open the school year. A “blessing of the backpacks” is very popular, as are ways to welcome new and returning students, parents, and faculty members and the offering of blessings and prayers for the school year ahead.
It is traditional at Episcopal schools to welcome a new head of school with a special chapel service to which the entire community is invited. These services include special prayers of the people and an order of service written for the occasion, along with the presentation of symbolic gifts.
4. Include the school’s Episcopal identity in new parent gatherings and “back-to-school” events.
“Back-to-school” and curriculum nights traditionally outline the learning ahead, including a comprehensive review of academic goals and other expectations for students. Episcopal identity can be part of these events as well.
What does being an Episcopal school mean in terms of community values and ethos, what the school expects of students and parents, and what can be expected in return? The purpose and structure of chapel, the role of the chaplain, the school’s approach to community service and service learning, the school as an inclusive and just community, and pastoral care and concern are just a few topics that might be addressed.
5. Reach out to your sponsoring organization.
Churches and schools have very different calendars. Parishioners and others whose lives are not “school year driven” may only notice that school is back in session until they discover telltale evidence of the kindergarten’s latest cooking experiment or the quiet of the morning is once again shattered by lower school recess or rowdy high schoolers.
Episcopal Schools Celebration is a wonderful way to highlight the school as a particular kind of mission and ministry. A school bulletin board where the parish holds coffee hour, a reception for the vestry and board together, inviting the head of school to be a lay preacher early in the fall, or a column by the head of school in the parish newsletter are additional ways to mark the new academic year and communicate the value of the school as a tangible expression of the parish’s or cathedral’s mission in the wider community.
In the absence of intentional conversations, the school’s mission and priorities as an Episcopal school can become easily overlooked, assumed, or misunderstood. Taking time early in the school year to talk together about Episcopal identity can go a long way to build common understanding and shared purpose for the year ahead.