I fondly remember the excitement of the start of the new year when I served in an Episcopal school. There was electricity in the air around the potential of a new beginning. How you prepare for any new endeavor is critically important. The time spent in preparation will set the tone for what’s to come. Early in my career, veteran teachers reminded me about the importance of one element of preparing for success in the classroom: clearly defining expectations from day one. It’s always more difficult to modify or add expectations later. Failing to do so is failing to prepare for success.
Read More » 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.
Read More » One of my favorite aspects of summer is having a bit more breathing room to catch up on reading. With June and July just around the corner, I wanted to share some picks. This year, I have organized my suggestions around the four pillars of Episcopal identity.
Read More » May can be a challenging time on a school campus. The excitement of summer is approaching, but we aren’t quite there, yet. We are pushing our way to the finish line through the gauntlet of final grades, class parties, and finishing up all of those remaining projects that stand between us and the summer recess. May is also a time when we experience what it means to have an “empty tank” physically and emotionally. We are drained, and we just want the year to be over!
Read More » In the height of handbook review season, now is the time for Episcopal Schools to prepare for the upcoming Presidential election and other topics creating discourse in schools. While an important moment in American history, elections often give rise to skepticism of the school’s curricular choices or approach to political discussions, or hostility towards certain books or concepts that are being taught in the classroom. At the same time, many schools want to encourage discourse to teach students not what to think but rather how to think. Hearing, processing and understanding conflicting viewpoints are critical skills for students in 2024.
Read More » After retiring from a long career in Episcopal schools, I had the privilege of spending three years working with a team of educators and scholars from the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University and the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, both in Cambridge, England. Our goal was to produce a new toolkit for teaching about the beliefs and practices of different religions—be it in a history class or in an ethics or a religious studies course.
Read More » As Anglicans, the mystery of the Incarnation sits at the center of our theology. From William Temple to Desmond Tutu to Justin Welby, theologians from our tradition have reflected upon the significance of God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and what that means to us today.
Read More » On Saturday, the All Saints’ Episcopal Day School community in Phoenix celebrated the life and legacy of Leo Dressel. Leo was a lifelong educator having a transformative impact on thousands of students and adults over his almost sixty-year career in schools across the country. In 2019, he retired from All Saints’ in order to have more time to care for his beloved wife Jan.
Read More » Recently, I led a panel discussion at NAIS People of Color Conference in St. Louis, where four of our heads of school shared their own experiences in leading an Episcopal school community. While their experiences were certainly different from each other, the common theme was the importance of maintaining a growth mindset in their day-to-day leadership. So often, they could have simply accepted things as they were and shied away from the difficult work of leading communities through change and improvement. Rather, each shared what they learned from embracing challenges and persevering in the face of setbacks.
Read More » Although young children may not be able to express their ideas and questions about God in the same ways as adults or older children, they are spiritual beings. Episcopal early childhood and elementary programs can nurture the spiritual lives of children first by recognizing that young children are spiritual beings and then by giving their spiritual development the same attention and care as language development, motor skills, or social-emotional growth. How might we do this?
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