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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 »

“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 »

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 »

Heads of school will recognize immediately the goal of that first meeting: good governance. I think the three biggest areas of concern for schools coming out of the pandemic are student health, faculty retention, and governance. You probably have experienced a critical moment in at least one of those areas. The fast-paced, prolonged, and unpredictable disruption to our schools created existential demands about enrollment and operations. By necessity, the crisis required trustees to work nimbly with heads and administrators in an area of decision-making formerly marked by a clear separation of roles. Many schools may be discovering now that good governance is threatened when the Board or individual trustees linger in that place where they enjoyed being tactical instead of strategic. Coming out of the pandemic, therefore, is an excellent time to review good governance. Read More »

I remember very clearly the “roller coaster” of emotions that accompanied the start of a new school year (both as a student and a teacher). Feelings of eagerness and elation would give way to feelings of doom and despair as each precious day of summer vacation was crossed off of the calendar.  The whole roller coaster ride would repeat itself several times a week (sometimes, even more frequently). Although honestly, I was always more excited about the first day of school as an employee as opposed to my days as a student.  Read More »

What does it mean to be a religious school during a period of widespread religious illiteracy? I frequently ask myself variations of this question, and I think it’s a crucial one for leaders and members of Episcopal schools to productively wrestle with.   Read More »

I find myself thinking about this seemingly simple question once again. This time it was prompted not by a student but an adult. Last month, Church Publishing released Common Prayer for Children and Families, a collection of daily liturgies and prayers for all sorts of occasions that Jenifer Gamber and I wrote together. A parent who saw the book congratulated me and then asked if there was an accompanying companion piece or a guide. She suggested that parents and teachers often need both prayers themselves and an additional resource to assist them in theologically explaining to children (and perhaps themselves) what is going on when we pray. Read More »

As I write, I’ve just returned home from a candlelit prayer vigil at our school chapel. Two weeks ago, a student only in our Class of 2014 died, under as yet unknown though clearly tragic circumstances. I was contacted out of the blue by a former student who wished to organize a service for their friend in the chapel where they used to worship together. He sounded shy about asking, but when the school and I quickly embraced him and offered all we could to help, he was profoundly grateful that we were taking the time to respond to him with such enthusiasm. It was a small, simple, yet intimate opportunity to gather in the presence of God, in a place which was so much a center of spiritual, emotional and also collegial gravity for those friends. In a way, as one student remarked, it felt like “a home away from home.” Like a parish church, I suppose. Read More »