2020-2021 Epiphany School Admission Viewbook

Welcome to Epiphany School 2020-2021 Admission Viewbook

Thank you for your interest in Epiphany School! Founded in 1958, we are an independent, NWAIS-accredited elementary school in Seattle serving students in Pre-K through Fifth Grade. Our vibrant and inclusive learning community is filled with talented faculty, engaged students, and involved parents. We work together to inspire and equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to grow into confident and courageous learners and leaders.

In these pages you will discover our engaging program, with learning and joy at the center of all we do. Even with the challenges brought on by COVID-19 in the 2020-2021 school year we continued to offer a robust learning experience for all our students. In this viewbook we highlight the full range of our typical academic, social-emotional, and extra-curricular offerings. As you explore, you will see this icon— —indicating key changes we have made due to COVID-19.

Some of the features we have introduced in response to the global pandemic—such as physical upgrades to our facilities, advanced cleaning protocols, expanded instructional supports, and a nimble academic program that can shift seamlessly between in-person and remote learning as needed—will serve us well long into the future.

We are thrilled that you are considering becoming a part of the Epiphany School community. We look forward to meeting you soon!

Warmly,

Jenn Elkin Head of School

Greg Jones Director of Enrollment Management and Admission

Application Checklist In lieu of in-person experiences this admissions season, we are offering virtual campus tours and our live Open House, Small-Group Q&A sessions, and parent interviews over Zoom. You can find more information on our Virtual Admissions Hub at epiphanyschool.org/virtual-hub and register via Ravenna. To apply for the 2021-2022 school year, be sure to complete the following before the January 14, 2021 admission deadline.

PRELIMINARY APPLICATION (completed online through Ravenna Hub) Complete Household Profile Complete Application and submit fee (you can request a fee waiver by contacting admissions@epiphanyschool.org) FAMILY FORMS (completed online through Ravenna Hub) Parent/Guardian Statement (Puget Sound Independent School/PSIS Common Form) Family and student photo TEACHER EVALUATION FORMS (completed online through Ravenna Hub) Pre-Kindergarten Applicants (one teacher evaluation required) Evaluation #1 (current teacher) Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Applicants (two teacher evaluations required) Evaluation #1 (current teacher) Evaluation #2 (previous teacher) SCHOOL RECORDS (submitted through Ravenna Hub) First through Fifth Grade Applicants Only Transcripts for two years including current year SCHOOL EXPERIENCES (scheduled online through Ravenna Hub) Parent/Guardian online tour/Q & A session Student assessment/playdate Attend Virtual Open House (optional) PARENT/GUARDIAN INTERVIEW A 30 minute session with the Director of Enrollment Management and Admission (an opportunity for you to ask questions and for the school to learn more about your child and family)

Why Epiphany School?

By the Numbers 245 students enrolled in Pre-K through Fifth Grade 60 faculty and staff 2-3 cohorts per grade 7:1 student/faculty ratio 31 zip codes represented in our current student body

38% of our students identify as students of color 3,057 professional development hours invested by faculty and staff to stay at the leading edge of educational best practice

$12 million endowment underpins the school’s financial sustainability $20,292 average amount of financial aid awarded

93% fundraising participation by families, board, faculty, and staff 17,850 hot lunches delivered to students

Epiphany School is a vibrant community known for excellent academics, strong social-emotional learning, and a warm, family-friendly atmosphere in which every child is truly known. Our talented faculty weave the school’s core values of respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness into each grade’s learning experience, helping every student grow in character, independence, confidence, and leadership over time.

Epiphany School believes that close collaboration and partnership with students and their families is paramount to creating a learning environment in which children stretch, grow, and thrive. Our engaged parent body participates in school life in myriad ways, from volunteering in the classroom to leading demonstrations in our science lab to helping produce dozens of beloved events.

6 weeks of Epiphany School

Whether attending our epic annual Carnival in September (open to all!) or exploring our campus on an admissions tour co-led by our poised and confident fifth graders, you will immediately sense the warmth and authenticity of the community we’ve built together.

Summer Camp

We look forward to welcoming you to our school!

56 student runners on the ES Cross Country team

2,600+ hours volunteered by our amazingly dedicated families 63-year legacy of exceptional elementary education

2020-2021 School Year: While we cannot have visitors or in-person events on campus this year, Epiphany School families continue to participate in school life through volunteer roles that support our faculty and students and virtual events that keep community spirit high. We hope our virtual admissions experience gives prospective families a sense of our school’s warm and welcoming community.

“We loved our time at Epiphany School. The school sparked in our daughter the love of learning and exploring—and the willingness to stretch. Epiphany encouraged public expression, presentation, and performance in a way that was nurturing and inclusive. She and her classmates grew in so many ways.”

—Rob Lilleness, Parent of Alumna, Class of 2019

Epiphany School Campus 2020-2021 School Year East Denny Way Madrona Hall Lower Division Classrooms Library Music & Drama Classroom Academic Administration

Student Gardens Pre-K Playground Boulders Play Space Commons Play Space

Augustine Hall Upper Division Classrooms

Cage Game Courts

Sander-Alvord Gymnasium

Reed Hall Upper Division Classrooms

Spock Hall Front Office Business, Advancement, & Development Offices Upper Division Classrooms

Chips Playground

East Howell St

Our Program

Every day we teach young students from Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade how to take responsibility for their education, while supporting them to develop their own unique voice and individuality.

Collaboration and Communication

We build responsibility, collaboration, and social-emotional learning into each grade level, so that children increase their independence, confidence, and leadership abilities over time.

Through intentional ongoing communication and collaboration, our teachers and specialists truly know every one of our students. This deep understanding allows us to support and challenge each child precisely where needed across every subject area.

Innovative and immersive lessons with classroom teachers focus on the core foundational subjects of Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Humanities, and Social-Emotional Learning. Our specialist teachers add richness and depth to the curriculum with focused classes on the following subjects for all students starting in Pre-K: • Art • Drama, Music, & Performance • French • Lab Science & Integrated Science • Latin (Third through Fifth Grade) • Library • Physical Education

Whether navigating the complexities of friendships or exploring creative ways to approach a math problem, our students find the confidence and courage to try new things, take intellectual risks, and speak up, knowing they have the full support of a caring community of peers and adults.

Teaching the Whole Child Epiphany School’s curriculum is rich in content and subject integration to promote reasoning, knowledge, and skill development. For an overview of all subjects at Epiphany School from Pre-Kindergarten to Fifth Grade, see our interactive curriculum guide at epiphanyschool.org/curriculum.

Student Support LEARNING SKILLS Some students benefit from the individualized support offered in our Learning Skills program. Learning Skills specialists work to leverage a student’s strengths and bolster emerging skills through one-on-one instruction. Learning Skills specialists create Student Success Plans and work in concert with the student’s teachers to integrate and create strategies for an optimal learning environment. The goal for all students is to develop a toolkit of learning strategies and an understanding of how they learn best so that they may become confident self-advocates in all academic settings.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) Attending to the social-emotional needs of students is a hallmark of Epiphany School. Our teachers and staff connect social-emotional and academic learning throughout the day to create an educational environment where students feel a sense of safety, belonging, and significance. Supported by a school-wide Responsive Classroom approach, our social-emotional program focuses on addressing five core competencies across every grade: cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.

COUNSELING Our dedicated School Counselor provides weekly SEL lessons to each classroom. In addition to classroom work, the School Counselor may work with students in small groups or one-on-one to help further develop students’ social and emotional skill set. Our School Counselor is also available to provide referrals to outside mental and behavioral health professionals as well as various community resources.

SERVICE LEARNING Students at Epiphany School actively contribute to the well-being of people and the planet on both a local and global scale. Year-round community service projects include student-led donation drives, awareness campaigns, and Day of Caring, a full school day dedicated to hands-on service projects and fieldwork in partnership with nonprofits throughout Seattle.

2020-2021 School Year A nimble academic program designed to meet every student’s needs—on campus and off To make school as safe as possible in 2020-2021, we created cohorts within each grade and added additional teaching staff to support the small groups. We spread classrooms across our spacious campus, invested in facility upgrades focused on health and safety, and hired a school nurse.

These investments, among others, enabled us to bring students onto campus for in-person learning beginning in Fall 2020. Meanwhile, our robust remote learning program remains available to those students who are unable to come on campus.

Students remain in their small cohort with a lead teacher for all academic classes while specialist teachers deliver live lessons via Zoom and other media. The smaller cohort groups and the creative approach to reallocating classrooms to allow for physical distancing allows for individualized support.

Our Learning Skills specialists continue to meet with students individually. Extensive investment in professional development, tools, and technology ensure classroom and specialist teachers meet every student’s needs, whether they are learning on campus or remotely.

Sample Schedule A Week in Kindergarten MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

8:15-8:30

Arrival

8:30-9:00

Morning Meeting

9:00-10:00

Math

10:00-10:15

Recess

10:15-12:00

Reading, Writing and Humanities

12:00-1:00

Lunch/Recess

1:00-1:15

Quiet Time

1:15-2:00

Art

Science

STREAM/Maker Time

Social-Emotional Learning

FRIDAY

PE

Library

PE

STREAM/Maker Time

Music

French

2:00-2:15 2:15-2:45 2:45-3:00

Closing Meeting

Our 2020-2021 schedules, slightly altered from the above, allow for simultaneous in-person and remote learning, staggered arrival and dismissal, and built-in time for hand hygiene. Students learning from home receive the same homeroom and specialist lessons daily across all the grades.

“Our classroom and specialist teachers ensure Epiphany School students build a foundation for lifelong learning that is richly textured and clearly transferable to the paths they take in life.”

—Jenn Elkin, Head of School

Extended Day/Clubs Our Extended Day program, including before- and after-school care, after-school clubs, and break camps, is on hiatus for Fall and Winter 2020-2021.

Extended Day is designed to meet the needs of busy families—and students who just want to spend more time with their friends at Epiphany School! Run by a full-time Extended Day Manager, the diverse programming is designed to reinforce the academic and social-emotional learning that happens across campus during the school day. In a typical year, over 90% of our student body from Pre-K through Fifth Grade participates in Extended Day at some point.

After-School Clubs Epiphany School student clubs are forever evolving to meet the needs of our families. There are three club sessions throughout the year: Fall, Winter, and Spring. Offerings are updated based on demand and interests.

Ideas for school clubs come from our students themselves, their parents, teachers and staff, and community members.

After-school clubs meet during Extended Day and include enrichment courses taught by vetted experts, craft and game clubs led by staff and faculty, and hands-on experiential learning opportunities.

Recent after-school clubs have included:

Before- and After-School Extended Day Through a balance of structured activities and unstructured playtime, Epiphany School students interact with their peers and other students across grade levels before and after school. In the afternoon, children have the freedom to move around and explore both indoor and outdoor settings. Offerings include access to the library, an activity or craft project of the day, study time in Homework Club, and supervised playtime on our turf-covered Commons, game courts, and Chips playground. Two healthy snacks are offered each afternoon.

Before-School: 7:00-8:15 am After-School: 3:00-6:00 pm

• Capoeira • Chess • Cross Country • Digital Music Production • Gymnastics • Homework • Improv

• Kickball • LEGO Engineering • Mandarin • Parkour • Sewing • Volleyball • Yoga

School Break, One-Day, & Summer Camps Extended Day offers engaging week-long camps during most school breaks as well as half and full-day programs during in-service and conference days.

Summer Camp

School may be closed over the summer, but the fun and learning continues on campus with Epiphany School Summer Camp, open to all students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. Our summer camps operate under the same guiding principles as our school-year program. As always, we create a nurturing environment that seeks to inspire and challenge children to be curious, courageous, and confident. Our talented staff cultivates an inclusive community that encourages empathy and respect toward all.

Each week-long session includes ample outdoor playtime, quiet reading and art time, and hands-on activities led by faculty, staff, and outside experts. Recent camp themes have included soccer, cooking, gardening, parkour, outdoor arts and crafts, theater, basketball, pop art, and early engineering.

Summer camp registration is open to Epiphany School and non-Epiphany School students alike. Join our community for the summer!

epiphanyschool.org/summercamp

Tuition & Financial Aid

How to Apply

Student Potential

Epiphany School’s online application process opens each September through Ravenna, an independent school online inquiry and application tool. At that time, you will be able to begin submitting your application materials. You can also submit an inquiry at any time, which will allow you to register for a Small Group Q&A, Virtual Open House, parent interviews, and a student assessment.

It is the role of the Admission Committee to determine which students are best qualified for admission. A number of criteria may be used to reach this determination, including academic and social assessments through the school visit, review of the application materials, and parent interviews.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, tuition at Epiphany School is $28,440.

The following factors are important considerations in the admission of new students:

Age Requirements Pre-Kindergarten: Applicants must be 4 years old by September 1.

Kindergarten: Applicants must be 5 years old by September 1.

Sibling Preference Siblings of students currently enrolled at Epiphany School are given preference for admission consideration. Sibling applicants must adhere to the school’s age requirements as well as demonstrate academic and emotional readiness for admission.

Applications to first through fifth grades will be considered based on space available.

Financial Aid We are committed to making financial assistance available to families for whom the cost of tuition would be a barrier to attendance. In the 2020-2021 school year, the average financial aid award was $20,292.

Epiphany School has a needs-blind admission process, meaning that admission decisions are made independent of the financial aid award process. Only students accepted for admission are considered for financial aid awards.

For FAQs and to apply, please visit epiphanyschool.org/ admission.