A LOOK INTO THE NEW SCHEDULE

In March of 2020, Episcopal was poised to roll out its new daily schedule, and then came Covid. While an iteration of the schedule was used in 2021-22, this academic year marks its first uninterrupted deployment — and what a year it’s been!

In a recent interview, Assistant Head for Academics Nate Ebel, pictured with his advisory, shared his perspective about the schedule and how it enables the creative and integrated use of the resources in Washington, D.C., while emphasizing the importance of relationships and connection on campus.

Q.TAKE US BACK TO THE BEGINNING. WHAT INITIATED A REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL SCHEDULE, AND WHAT DID THE WORK LEADING UP TO THE LAUNCH ENTAIL?

A.“The desire for a new schedule had actually been discussed as early as 2013, during that strategic planning cycle. There was a committee formed to explore the possibility of redesigning the schedule, but it only led to a couple of tentative and very partial adjustments and tweaks to the daily routine. It was not until the 2018 Strategic Plan that we really dove into the process to evaluate our goals and re-imagine how we might use time. There was a tremendous desire from the faculty and the students to change the previous schedule. It had been in place for nearly eighteen years, and the School’s programming had changed a great deal as well. Everyone knew that we needed to re-think the schedule to fit what we were doing and what we wanted to do. We formed a thirteen-person task force with members from every area of campus life, and we worked closely with some fabulous consultants from Leadership and Design. The work of the schedule redesign task force took a year and a half to complete, but it was a thoughtful and broad process in which all thirteen members shadowed students through an academic day. We interviewed and collected input from over 70 faculty members. Ultimately, we forced ourselves to articulate the design goals for the schedule as it related to the students, the faculty, and the institution. With those areas in mind, we set about creating several different versions of schedules that best fit our goals and principles. It was a long but rewarding process to think critically about how we could use time in a way that preserved the most important and traditional elements of Episcopal while also thinking creatively about how a schedule might fit our current needs and goals. Then, just as we were rolling the finished product out in March of 2020, the pandemic hit, and we had to adjust. In some ways, because of the disruptions of Covid last year, this is really the first year of living with the schedule as it was originally designed.”

Q. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE NEW EHS SCHEDULE?

“At first glance, the schedule looks like other school schedules with its rotation of class blocks throughout the week, but it really is a schedule that is built to take full advantage of some of the most unique elements of Episcopal. As a 100% boarding school on the edge of D.C., we have a tremendous opportunity to incorporate the city into the core academic experience, and that is what this schedule allows us to do. With the Flex Block time built into four days and two evenings each week, individual classes can incorporate the experiences and resources of the city into the curriculum of the course. The city actually becomes part of the course material and an integral part of the learning. What I also love about the schedule, though, is that it truly was designed around the needs of our students, faculty, and institution, so it also maintains the community elements that are so important to the EHS experience. Each week, we have three chapel services, seated meals, and our traditional Community Gatherings; in addition, we have newly dedicated time each week for advisory meeting — and we have recently added class meetings. All of these moments allow our students and faculty to gather together in intentional ways to help us build and improve the relational connections that make EHS the truly unique education that it is.”

Q. WHAT WERE WE HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE NEW SCHEDULE, AND HOW HAS THAT PLAYED OUT WITH THE COMMUNITY’S LIVED EXPERIENCE?

A. “We had several goals with the new schedule, but the primary aims were to take full advantage of our location and our 100% boarding population. The reality of the schedule has been better than we expected. It has allowed us to provide truly unique learning opportunities for our students. In the first semester of the year, we have had over 350 flex block experiences, and teachers are creating more and more interesting interactions with D.C. each time they design a lesson with the city resources in mind. There is still room for us to improve, innovate, and share what we have learned as a faculty, but the weekly reality is that we now have four to five classes quietly going into the city on a daily basis, and we also have classes meeting in the evenings to go to plays and events and to hear from and interact with speakers.”

Q. LOOKING BACK ON THE FIRST YEAR AND A HALF OF THE NEW SCHEDULE, WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE GREATEST BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY — STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ALIKE?

A. “In addition to preserving the important all-school moments like Chapel, seated meals, and Community Gathering, the schedule has also created a lot of space for students and faculty to interact in small group and one-on-one settings. Though we are all still busy doing all of the work that comes with study and life at boarding school, there is a less frenzied pace with the longer blocks of time and the longer transition times. Students can find time to get to their mailbox or dorm room in between the obligations of the day, and there are large chunks of time when students can tuck away to get some extra studying done, touch base with a teacher, or connect with friends. Similarly, teachers have larger chunks of time during free blocks and during lunch to connect with students or collaborate with colleagues. We have also discovered some unexpected benefits as well; we’ve found the incredible value of having protected office hours three times a week when faculty are all in their classrooms and students are able to drop in for extra help, a check in, or a place to start on homework. This time has become an integral part of the weekly routine and the academic program.”

Q. AS WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE, HOW DO YOU HOPE TO FURTHER EVOLVE THE SCHEDULE?

“Right now, we feel that the daily/weekly schedule provides a lot of consistency, and coming out of the Covid disruptions, we feel positively about how the schedule is working and what it has provided to the School, the students, and the faculty. Having a schedule that fits our goals and needs allows us to focus on what we are doing in the current moment. That being said, as we move forward, we will certainly continue to assess how the schedule fits the changing needs of Episcopal and the community. I think that we will likely look at ways in which we can modify the yearly calendar in order to provide for new and interesting ways that students can learn while here at EHS. Again, being 100% boarding allows us to think creatively about how we use the time we have together, whether on the weekends, evenings, or larger chunks of time during the year. Our senior externships are such a vital and successful part of our program. It would be great if we could find ways for the juniors and the underclassmen to have similar learning experiences with intensive or experiential programming. Creating new programs or experiences like intensives or externships requires looking at the yearly calendar and thinking of intentional ways of building in time for those things to happen.”

OFFICE HOURS

Office hours, formerly tutorial, is some of the most valuable time I have with my math students, and to have that protected in the daily schedule speaks volumes to how Episcopal delivers on face-to-face, one-on-one interactions between faculty and students. My classroom is always abuzz with students of all levels. They bring their friends, classmates or not, to hang out, ask questions, talk about life at EHS, and get the help they need. I have regulars, those who pop in before tests, or my advisees who want to chat. It is a vibrant, fun, and critical time in my daily life as a teacher. It’s also my favorite time with my kids. - PATRICK THOMPSON, MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

In my experience, I like the flex blocks more than the previous schedule’s larger group trips because there’s more opportunity to have excursions specifically related to classes and to have a more personal experience with a smaller group of people, which allows for more questions and interaction with the exhibit or speaker. This year I have particularly enjoyed trips like going to the South African Embassy or the National Museum of the American Indian, which were experiences that otherwise would never have been possible except in their direct relation to what we were studying in a certain class, and both advanced my understanding and perspective on the class material in ways that would have been difficult in a larger group. - AMELIA DAVIS ’23

A FEW OTHER PERSPECTIVES

COMMUNITY

My favorite part of this new schedule is its increased focus on community time. Even small changes like a longer lunch to include time for flex blocks leave students who don’t have flex blocks more time to chat with friends, enjoy the food, and maybe even catch up on homework. I think the extended time we have to learn outside of the classroom is what truly makes the EHS experience feel like a familial one. Especially when comparing this schedule to my previous schools, the flexibility and control we have over our days is something that I feel makes me a more well-rounded student. I also am the co-president of the Student Investment Group, and the increased flexibility of this schedule allows our meetings to include more students and gives our club members the time to research and pitch stocks to the group. - MCLEOD BLOUNT ’23

COLLABORATION & GROWTH

The thoughtfully-constructed schedule empowers all community members (students, faculty, and staff alike) to fully participate and thrive in the boarding school environment. As a teacher and coach, I so appreciate the fact that each day has built-in opportunities for collaboration, connection, reflection, and growth. The schedule embodies Episcopal’s mission statement and reflects its person-centered approach to the educational experience. - KATRINA REED, ENGLISH TEACHER