Academics
New Weekly Schedule
A Schedule Rooted in Our Mission
In 2018, the School launched an ambitious strategic plan grounded in its mission to prepare students “with the intellectual and moral courage to lead principled lives of leadership and service to others.” This plan, developed with broad community input, sets forth a road map for taking academic excellence and the development of ethical leadership to exciting new heights at EHS.
One of the first steps to implement the plan is the design of a wholly new schedule. Laying aside the conventions of the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. school day, we sought innovative ways to best use our time with students to further our mission. The resulting schedule fully leverages our unique position — as one of only four 100% residential prep schools in the country and as the only one located just minutes from the nation’s capital. Opportunities for learning in Washington and building community at EHS already extend beyond traditional school hours. With the new schedule, we will do much more.
Major Features of the New Schedule
Placed-Based Learning in the Nation's Capital
Our new schedule provides the foundation to integrate Washington-based learning opportunities — with businesses, think tanks, museums, historical sites, nonprofits, and government agencies — into the academic curriculum through lessons that are engaging, relevant, impossible to replicate, and uniquely powerful.
Relationship-Building in a Residential Community
Our new schedule provides the foundation to deepen the powerful relationships between faculty and students made possible by our 100% residential setting.Time to Prepare, Reflect, and Recharge
Our new schedule provides the foundation for a healthy and manageable pace of life and work so that students can thrive academically, physically, and emotionally during their formative years on the Hill.
The Nation’s Capital as a Learning Laboratory
One of the new schedule’s most important goals is to enhance our unique Washington-based learning opportunities and integrate them into our daily academic experience. The schedule will include:
- Weekly opportunities for teachers to take their classes into Washington
- Monthly full-day programs developed for the whole community by Episcopal's McCain-Ravenel Center for Intellectual and Moral Courage
- Evening blocks during which classes can utilize Washington experts and resources
- Evening seminar-style elective courses
Stronger Community, Deeper Relationships
As a 100% residential school where students and faculty live, eat, learn, and play together, Episcopal is uniquely positioned to build community and develop relationships. Our new schedule will include:
- Chapel, a long-cherished EHS gathering
- Seated meals, another Episcopal tradition
- Community Gathering, a weekly all-School event
- A new dedicated time for advisories to meet
- New faculty office hours, dedicated time for students to meet one-on-one with teachers
- Community Weekends, featuring a slate of activities to bring students together on campus
A Healthy Balance for Students
The new schedule was designed to nurture focused and engaged students and also help them maintain a healthy pace of life. It will include:
- Fewer and longer transitions between classes and activities
- Longer block periods for classes
- New faculty office hours
- A nightly homework load that's more manageable for students
- Unscheduled academic time, where students can work on their own or meet with teachers or classmates
- An afternoon break to transition from academic classes to athletics and afternoon programs
