Knightly News

From the dedication of the new Peace Place and the introduction of a Lower School Mu Alpha Theta competition to celebrating another successful LAUNCH Day and welcoming this year’s Lindley Spaht Dodson Endowed Speaker, the 2024/2025 school year has been one of tremendous learning and growth. In addition, this year, we pushed the classroom walls beyond our campus, reinstating the Spanish exchange program and offering our first international trip to Iceland. Our community is strong, inquisitive and caring, and I am honored to be a part of it.

I want to thank our community for once again coming together to offer support and comfort to each other. We will not forget alumnus Kareem Badawi ’24, who was killed in the New Year’s Day attack, or alumnus Parker Vidrine ’24, who is recovering from his injuries. While these events are impossible to process, you united around these families, and I know that you will continue to do so.

As you know, our dedicated faculty and staff are a big part of why our community is so special. Their love and commitment to excellence inspire us all. With that in mind, I want to offer a special thank you to Athletic Director Randy Richard and Upper School Division Head Tom Forti, who have chosen to take on new roles outside of Episcopal next year. During his 23 years of service, Randy has been involved in all aspects of school life. Most notably, he has been a passionate advocate for Episcopal athletics and our student athletes and coaches. In addition, Tom has guided our Upper School through triumph and tragedy over the last seven years. He is a champion of students and teachers. These key administrators have given so much to our school, and we will miss them both dearly.

For more than 60 years now, our community has been known for our commitment to excellence. This school year’s theme of Dedicated to Excellence highlights that legacy, and I am pleased to see how this excellence has been realized. Members of the Class of 2025 are a great example. The class boasts six National Merit Finalists, one Commended Scholar and four U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidates. Our most recent graduates also earned notable scholarships, including the school’s first Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Our students achieved excellence in athletics and the arts. Our Knights brought home numerous district, regional and state titles, including our boys powerlifting team, which won the state championship and earned three individual state titles. With so much athletic success, we are seeing more and more athletes realize their dreams of playing at the next level, and this year, 13 student athletes committed to playing in college. We are also incredibly grateful to the community of Squires volunteers who organized the Knight of Excellence Athletic Banquet, providing us the opportunity to celebrate student athletic achievements.

We are proud that six members of the Class of 2025 will continue pursuing their passion for the arts at the university level, and we are fortunate that these students shared their talents and creativity with our community. Student artists from all divisions presented productions of “Shrek Jr. the Musical,” “Picnic,” and “Chicago: Teen Edition.”  In addition, Episcopal visual and performing arts students showcased works at LSU and the Baton Rouge Gallery. Thanks to our ever-expanding Performing Arts Academy, we will continue to nurture artistic excellence for years to come.

An Episcopal education and the community that supports it are remarkable. Thank you to the outstanding faculty and staff who give their all to make this a special place, and thank you to you, our families, for partnering with us. Thank you for helping your student with homework, making those trips to away games or thespian competitions and supporting efforts such as the Faculty Wish List, which has funded several exciting new projects. Together, we have created a community for which we can all be proud.

I wish you all a terrific summer. I look forward to another year of excellence and can’t wait to see you, our community, again in August!

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2025-2026 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.