Celebrating Episcopal Schools Week 2022

by Mary Katherine Duffy
Bishop's Deputy for Episcopal Schools Diocese of West Texas

“Be Strong and Courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The Diocese of West Texas has 29 Episcopal Schools that welcome over 3,000 students through their doors each day. Each one of those schools endeavors to be salt and light to the communities that they serve. In honor of Episcopal Schools week, here is a little history of Episcopal schools to help us better understand how they operate and why they exist.

According to the National Association of Episcopal Schools, the oldest Episcopal school, Trinity School in New York City, was founded in 1709. The basic nature of Episcopal schools, however, is attributed to a man by the name of William Augustus Muhlenberg. He was an Episcopal priest and rector of St. George’s church in Flushings, Queens. Muhlenberg developed a new community-based approach to educating students—we would call that today a holistic approach—molding a Character in addition to the emphasis on academic excellence—not either academics or character, rather, but AND.

Muhlenberg wrote, "Some great minds are slow in developing, the acorn gives little promise of the oak" and "The head should not be furnished at the expense of the heart."

Since that time, the network of Episcopal schools has grown significantly. According to the National Association of Episcopal Schools, there are almost 1,200 Episcopal schools and early childhood programs in existence across the globe. This represents about 160,000 students and just over 28,000 administrators, faculty, and staff, many of whom are of a variety of religious, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds. We are a diverse group. In Texas, we have 121 Episcopal schools, the most of any US State, commonwealth, or territory. 

So what makes an Episcopal school uniquely Episcopal?

Our schools are centered around the baptismal covenant.

• Created to be communities that honor, celebrate, and worship God as the center of life
• Models of God’s love and grace
• Created to serve God in Christ in all persons
• Strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being

Our schools were established as ecumenical and diverse ministries of educational and human formation for people of all faiths and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of Episcopal schools. We seek to educate as well as to demonstrate and proclaim the unique worth and beauty of all human beings as creations of a loving empowering God.

In practice, this looks like this:

• School worship that is drawn from the liturgical traditions of the church - is a regular part of school life.
• Community life in which reflection, prayer, and matters of the spirit are honored and cultivated and where the physical, mental and emotional health of all are supported and nurtured.
• Religious formation and study that is meaningful, academically substantive, and age-appropriate.
• Justice, equity, inclusion, and service learning are integral parts of the life of the school.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is quite simple. Just like the disciples, adults tend to make things more complicated than they need to be and that is precisely Jesus’s point. If you want to see the Kingdom of Heaven, you need to think like a child. Nowhere else can you see that take place more than in an Episcopal School. 

Click here to view a video message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, celebrating Episcopal Schools nationwide.

Mary Katherine Duffy was appointed Bishop's Deputy for Episcopal Schools during Council 2019. The deputy works with the bishops, diocesan staff, and Episcopal Schools Commission to support heads of schools, school boards, and clergy serving churches with Episcopal schools in the diocese, to facilitate communication among diocesan schools, and to host continuing education opportunities. Click here to learn more about Episcopal Schools in the Diocese of West Texas.