Knightly News

We began this school year focused on the Spirit of Episcopal, and we end the year celebrating that spirit and student success. If you have been on campus, I hope you have felt the enthusiasm, camaraderie and curiosity for learning. Episcopal is a special place because of our outstanding faculty and the tremendous support of our community. Thank you for sharing the joy that this school year generated. I hope you are as excited as I am to continue our momentum next school year. Together, we are the Spirit of Episcopal.

Removed from the shadow of the pandemic, our strong and vibrant school community is more connected and united. This year we celebrated more all-school events than any in my tenure. These are my very favorite occasions because there is something truly sweet about seeing students, faculty, staff and families from all divisions together. In November, the entire Episcopal student body gathered to celebrate Veterans Day. There was much enthusiasm as we cheered on a parade of servicemen and women. We have also had several opportunities this year to gather for all-school Eucharist. I am always so proud to see our students interact with one another during these events, and I look forward to continuing these important traditions.

In the Spirit of Episcopal, we have re-energized our service learning program. There have been meaningful opportunities for students to learn through service this year, and we are thrilled with the work accomplished. Our students partnered with numerous organizations, including the Shepherd’s Market Food Pantry, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired. I hope your students shared these experiences with you and felt inspired by their efforts. We also established the new Service Learning and Community Impact course to help students understand the importance of service. To model that importance, our faculty and staff participated in a service learning day this spring.

This year our students also celebrated impressive academic accomplishments. Members of the Class of 2024 were accepted to 123 different colleges in 35 states and earned more than $6 million dollars in scholarships. We celebrated seven National Merit Scholars and five Commended Scholars, and we are pleased to have one of only two Presidential Scholars from the state of Louisiana among our graduating class. These honors are well deserved and a result of the hard work and dedication our students put into everything they do. Congratulations.

It was a pleasure seeing so many of you at arts performances and exhibitions this year. Our student artists are creative, and it is a joy to witness their talents. We are extremely proud of our student thespians as they prepare to represent the state at the International Thespian Festival at Indiana University this summer. Our students earned this opportunity after winning the Louisiana Thespian Festival Chapter Select category for their performance of “Indecent.” In addition, 23 students qualified for the national competition in the acting, musical theatre and dance categories.

I love seeing our students and families in navy and gold cheering on our student athletes. These athletes put in long hours, sometimes in record-breaking heat and rain, to be the best they can be for their team. Their hard work shows as our Knights earned numerous state championships and runner-up titles this year. In addition, six of our athletes will continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. 

Next year we will continue building on this year’s excellence, and we have established a five-year strategic plan to guide us in these efforts. One of our goals is to increase experiential learning opportunities. With that in mind, work has already begun to boost student travel opportunities. We want students to learn from these opportunities and gain new perspectives of our world. Future travel packages include Italy, Spain, Costa Rica and Iceland. We announced these trips well in advance to provide families time to plan and prepare for these amazing adventures, and we hope you’ll discuss these opportunities with your students now.

As we look to the future, I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming Father Patrick Edwards as our new Head Chaplain. Many of you may know Father Edwards from his time as an Episcopal faculty member, and we are thrilled to have him back to help guide us in our Episcopal identity and nurture the spirituality of our community. Please also welcome new Middle School Division Head Anne Dalton to the Episcopal community. Anne is a veteran educator with a passion for Middle School, and we can’t wait for her to join us on campus. We will welcome several exciting new additions next school year. Thanks to our Episcopal spirit and commitment to excellence, we continue to attract top talent to provide exceptional learning opportunities for our students.

Our families play a key role in student success, and we invite you to join us in our faculty/staff summer reading. This year we will read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. Haidt, a New York Times bestselling author and social psychologist, examines teen mental health and the impact of a “phone-based childhood.” He offers tips for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies and governments to restore childhood and improve student mental health.

Finally, please note a change to the 2024/2025 Academic Calendar. We are honored to host the fall Diocesan Convention on October 25 and 26. Hosting this event means we will not have students on campus on October 25, so we have moved the Teacher Professional Development Day/Student Virtual Day from November 1 to October 25. Please refer to the 2024/2025 Academic Calendar to view this change.

As my fourth year at Episcopal concludes, I want to thank all of you for your kindness and support. We have weathered storms together, but our Episcopal spirit remains strong. I am proud to be a Knight, and I look forward to continued Episcopal excellence. Thank you for a great school year. I can’t wait to see you in August.  #SpiritofEpiscopal

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.