ESDistinction: A Curriculum of Purpose

March 15, 2023

This article was initially published in The Crest: Spring 2023 Edition by Rebecca Brady, Chief Academic Officer. 

What drew me to ESD is the incredible mission that is both aspirational and actionable: “Igniting a life of purpose through the development of an educated conscience.” As a parent of two young boys and someone who cares deeply for all of God’s children, the Episcopal belief that each child is unique, created in and reflecting the image of a loving God resonates deeply with my values. What I have found in my first year as Chief Academic Officer is a learner- and learning-centered culture in which the mission and Episcopal Identity are lived authentically every day. The faculty members across all divisions of the school are committed to igniting purpose and building on our foundation of academic excellence. ESD faculty members are collaborative, flexible, open, passionate, and brilliant.

As we embark on a strategic plan that involves creating a more intentional curriculum of purpose, I feel grateful for our mission, tenets, manifesto, Episcopal virtues, and hallmarks of an ESD student and educator that provide guidance for our work. The goal of ESDistinction is to identify and develop the skills, virtues, dispositions, academic interests, and community connections in our students to allow them to identify their life’s purpose and live a fulfilled life. While living one’s purpose may look different for all of us, our common understanding of living purpose is making the world better for those around us.

Through ESDistinction, we will more intentionally cultivate experiences that ignite purpose through our programming, ending with an authentic assessment opportunity for students to demonstrate fulfillment of our mission. ESDistinction is a scaffolded, whole school endeavor. ESD students will reflect on the skills and interests that excite them as potential avenues of purpose to pursue, with age-appropriate targets. Through opportunities of discovery in lower school, deep exploration in middle school, and cultivation of skills and interests in upper school, with a culminating senior showcase, students will reflect on a regular basis to discern their particular gifts and life’s purpose. ESDistinction cements the connection between our mission, our expectations for students, their experiences in our curriculum, and our students’ performances on measures that matter.

As we have developed ESDistinction, we have identified interconnected lanes of work. First is a comprehensive skill-building curriculum that gives students the tools they need to succeed in an uncertain future. ESD students will develop D.I.S.T.I.N.C.T skills to design, interpret, solve problems, think deeply, innovate, negotiate, collaborate, and take action across the curriculum. They will focus on E.P.I.S.C.O.P.A.L virtues of empathy, peacemaking, integrity, service, creativity, openness, perseverance, appreciation, and love. Students will develop these skills and virtues through curricular experiences and, importantly, have reflective opportunities as they develop these skills and virtues. From the time that students are able to write, they will document their journeys of skill and virtue development in a portfolio that will follow them throughout their time at ESD.

Secondly, students will experience focused content across high-interest and high-impact curriculum networks, including leadership, government, and public policy; global education and citizenship awareness; business, entrepreneurship, and advertising; STEM; art, design, and architecture; and environment, energy, and sustainability. Our goal is for students to have experiences in these particular areas of interest, though we will not be tracking or assigning students to a particular content area. ESDistinciton exposes students to multiple areas of interest, engaging them in real-world problem-solving in their areas of passion, to explore what excites them and ignites their purpose. We plan to align our community connections, including WORX and local business partnerships, alumni outreach, community service experiences, ESD student clubs, and our Global Service Learning program, with our curriculum networks, giving students opportunities to make purpose-driven contributions to their local and global communities through a curriculum network that ignites their passion.

Finally, students will engage in a process that leads them on a regular basis to discern their life’s purpose. Using guided questions and reflection, starting simply and becoming more sophisticated through their academic journeys, students will reflect on their passions and gifts. This opportunity to reflect and build a portfolio will provide a solid foundation of self-knowledge and experience to develop their paths and make life-shaping decisions.

I am incredibly excited to engage in this work with school leaders and faculty to serve our students and prepare them for a purpose-filled and happy life. My hope for all ESD students is that they are excited by learning, eager to grow through reflection, and called to make an impact through living their purpose.

A Curriculum of Purpose

ESD students will:

• Understand and cultivate dispositions, virtues, and essential skills.
• Master relevant, high-interest curriculum content.
• Engage in real-world problem-solving.
• Make purpose-driven contributions to their local and global communities.

ESD students will discover purpose through building self-awareness, growing in understanding, and taking action.

ESD students will reflect on the skills and interests that excite them as potential avenues of purpose to pursue. Through opportunities of discovery in lower school, deep exploration in middle school, and cultivation of skills and interests in upper school, with a culminating senior presentation, students will reflect on a regular basis to discern their life’s purpose.