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Where the Learning Happens

At St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, one strategic initiative for us is to enhance curriculum and teaching methods while upholding excellence in academic programs, teaching, and faculty expertise. This commitment is vital in providing outstanding education for our students and aligns with our Episcopal identity, emphasizing the honor and respect for the dignity of every individual, which speaks to both hearts and minds. Achieving this goal is possible through ongoing professional development. An illustrative example of such professional development was when, earlier this school year, our Visual Arts Director took three preschool teachers and three high school teachers on a curated professional development opportunity to see the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence. It is not just a college but also a museum, and it opened our eyes to innovative educational spaces. Read More »

Run the Race with Well-Being

The world of athletics is rapidly changing. The establishment and growth of “pay to play” club sports opportunities at a young age promotes performance-based development and success. Many club sports programs are transactional in nature, focusing on winning results, college recruiting, and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals. It seems that professional sports have bled into college sports and high school sports are now replicating the level of professionalism of Division I college athletics. Now, more than ever, it is critical to maintain focus on education-based athletics and developing student-athletes holistically. Read More »

Unreasonable Hospitality

For many of our schools, we are growing if not by numbers by innovation, technology, and new research. As educators, most of this is aimed at helping us better understand each student and reach them where they are, so we can grow them to where they need to be for the next step in their academic chapter. Read More »

Thank God It’s Today!

Each year, TMI Episcopal chooses a theme to represent how we are committed to serving our students and their families. They are not simply words on a banner, but a creed, a motto, by which we will easily live into on the “lighter days” and a belief that we will serve as a buoy on those days that are more challenging. This year’s theme is “Thank God It’s Today.” As the familiar saying goes, “Yesterday is in the past, tomorrow is in the future, but TODAY is a gift.” And that is how I have decided to lean into this school year—knowing that after almost three decades of working with children, I am still blessed with the opportunity to start anew and to receive the gift of a new day and a new year. Read More »

A Library Fit for Our K.I.N.G.S.

The library at the Bishop Walker School is at the heart of our campus. It is a light-filled space with floor-to-ceiling windows that span almost the entire width of the building. Looking... Read More »

Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

“Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I... Read More »

Spiritual Answers for Hard Questions

Wow! An email I did not expect during COVID. This communication began an exchange between this student and me over the next four years. Understanding that spirituality is not separate from life but part of being human is an essential conversation for our schools. Often we try to create boxes of learning, not realizing that everything is connected, our minds, bodies, and spirit. Read More »

The Power of Our Worship

“What can I do?” I said this to a family in our school earlier in the fall, who had just tragically lost their son, one of our seniors. It’s something we all say, lay people and clergy alike, in difficult situations. We want to be helpful. We want to bring food, run errands, give hugs. Something. Anything. “What can I do?” The news of the loss of this student came on a weekend and started to seep into our community and as I wondered, other than responding pastorally to the family and communicating to our school community, what it was I could do, I realized that worship was probably the best answer. Read More »

Reflecting on God’s Time

As a chaplain, part of my job is to be a calming and peaceful presence in the midst of the chaotic storm that sometimes accurately describes modern education. In my short time as a chaplain, I have... Read More »

Creating a Culture of Inquiry

“You have a question about our math program? We have a curriculum coordinator for that! Diversity in our curriculum? We have a curriculum coordinator for that! What’s an Episcopal school? Talk to the curriculum coordinator!” Four years ago, when I took the position of the first Curriculum Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Parish School, the job felt a bit like remodeling a house. There was a strong foundation as an Episcopal school and, like an old New England farmhouse, additions that had been incorporated over the years. But the rooms and additions were actually different parts of the curriculum, and my job was to examine the structure as a whole and build hallways to make connections and identify priorities for construction. Shortly after I started, St. Matthew’s began a strategic planning process that involved various constituent groups. What emerged from all of the observation, reading, and discussion was unanimity that we were a school fiercely committed to doing intentional work to develop good young people, but were less clear about our academic identity: Who were we academically, and how did certain themes connect our programs? Read More »