I recently had the opportunity to preach in our school’s annual Thanksgiving Eucharist. It is difficult, every year, to come up with new and striking ways of communicating a similar message, the message of gratitude. But this year I was fortunate to come across Diana Butler Bass’ excellent book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, which provided more than enough novelty for the occasion. Read More »

I can remember with great clarity the moments in my young life when I had to speak in front of a group for the first time. It took so much courage to stand before adults and peers and play a witch in third grade. I can barely remember the “before” of that moment, however, and how scared I must have been. What has stayed with me is the exhilaration I felt when it was over and I heard from my parents and friends that I was convincing as a mean and terrible witch! I felt a kind of power that I would work to cultivate and hold in my growing self over many more years. Read More »

There are 515 Episcopal preschools listed in the NAES database. They range in size from about 30 to almost 300 students. Some are tucked away in the lower levels of parish halls while others occupy multi-story buildings. They include Montessori and Reggio Emilia schools, programs based in the best of developmentally appropriate practices, and an increasing number with outdoor classrooms and school gardens. Some of the most vibrant school chapels happen in Episcopal preschools, lively services with storytelling and skits, finger songs and child-centered prayers, enthusiastic Alleluias and student participation. Read More »

Recently in our community—in fact, just about a week after the start of classes—we lost a fourth-grader in an automobile accident. Such an unimaginable tragedy is, unfortunately, one that many of us have lived through in the lives of our schools. It brings to the surface everything that we claim to be important in our faith and in our schools, confronting us with the most raw emotions, the most difficult questions, the most heart-rending scenes we will ever face as educators. Read More »

Nothing makes me more aware of the power of language than raising a child. My daughter is in the very early stages of using words, but it’s already clear that the languages she’s... Read More »

During our Opening Day of the School Year (Monday, August 12th), I participated in convocation ceremonies at all three of our campuses. Given the distance between campuses, it is a bit of a scramble... Read More »

I have spent a lot of time this summer thinking about what inspires me — particularly what truly inspires me about Episcopal Schools. I thought about my call to teach and to serve in education.... Read More »

I’m always a bit bemused when non-educators talk about school folk having the “summer off.” Sometimes it’s said with enviable longing (“how I wish I got the summer off!”) — and sometimes with a critical disdain (“They get the summer off. That’s barely working!”). The image conjured is one of teachers across the land lounging in chaises — fruity drink and junky summer novel in hand. Read More »

The one and only connection I have to St. Matthias is that, every Tuesday, I preside over three short liturgies in St. Matthias Chapel on the campus of a local school. Those three liturgies are the... Read More »

In the year 2000, a man named Red Wassenich called in to a local Austin radio show on a Saturday morning to make a pledge. When he was asked by the person who received the donation why he was... Read More »