THE HALLMARKS OF AN ESD EDUCATOR

The quality of instruction provided in a classroom is directly correlated with the quality of the educational professionals providing that instruction and leadership to our students. Best practices, strong pedagogy, and content knowledge are important, but when one looks past the measurable and observable characteristics of a teacher, what sets ESD educators apart from others? During the spring of 2022, ESD students, faculty, and staff collaborated during focus-group discussions to explore what truly makes an ESD educator unique. During these meetings, the qualities discussed naturally fell into the same categories that make up the Hallmarks of an ESD Education: academic rigor and excellence, a strong sense of community, an understanding of self, and a faith-informed foundation of values. In developing the Hallmarks of an ESD Educator, we are validating the necessity of fostering, promoting, and aiding the development of qualities that are not typically presented in a job description or evaluation instrument. Our ESD educators model these hallmarks for one another and for our students and community.

by Bernadette Gerace, Chief Human Resource Officer

Amy Henderson, Upper School Teacher and Department Chair, exemplifies the first hallmark, academic rigor and excellence. Mrs. Henderson sets the bar high for her students and helps them to achieve their goals. She says, “I want my students to have confidence that they can do the difficult material and believe in themselves. In working with them, encouraging them, and providing achievable stepping stones to get there, they continue to build that courage.” As a department chair, she supports her teachers and invites collaboration and discussion during all of their meetings and interactions. Lenore St. John, Lower School Librarian, strives to make learning fun for all students. She encourages the youngest of learners to use their natural curiosity to guide them in exploring their individual interests, exposing them to many different authors and illustrators in order to expand their understanding of the world outside themselves.

ESD promotes enduring understanding through classroom experiences and real-world applications that involve students in the in-depth discovery and development of their talents, skills, and acquired knowledge.

STUDENTS:

• Think flexibly as they engage in complex, ambiguous, and thought-provoking educational experiences.

• Draw upon higher-order cognitive and soft skills to develop questions and address problems.

• Take responsible risks that appropriately challenge their competence and comfort.

• Strive for accuracy as they persevere toward achievement at high standards.

• Think about their thinking as they reflect on their achievement and remain open to continuous learning.

The second hallmark, a strong sense of community, is something we at ESD are immensely proud to model. ESD’s Director of Campus Safety, Jody Trumble, depends on her connection with the ESD community to be the most effective in her role. One of her favorite things to do is walk around the campus and greet those she meets along the way. Each communication, short or long, helps her understand what ESD needs each day. If she can help bring a smile, comfort, or peace to just one person, then she has helped strengthen connections at ESD. Kwinten Brown, middle school teacher and coach, has spent the past few years in various positions at ESD, beginning as a seasonal coach, moving into the facilities department, and now is in his first year as a teacher and coach. One morning, he noticed a fellow staff member had a flat tire and dropped what he was doing to change her tire. What a true example of community!

STUDENTS:

• Listen to others with understanding and empathy and think interdependently as they collaborate in teams.

ESD provides strong community-based support and shared goals that help students develop an understanding of and appreciation for the strengths and challenges of the broader community.

• Communicate effectively across varying media for a wide range of audiences and purposes.

• Understand and appreciate differences (e.g., individuals, nations, cultures) while recognizing the dignity of every human being.

• Take individual and collective action to redress communal concerns that demonstrate their growing global competence and service to those in need.

The fourth hallmark is a faith-informed foundation of values. Gabrielle Harrington, ESD Eagles’ Nest Merchandising and Inventory Specialist, is not only a staff member at ESD but also a loving mother of ESD graduates and grandmother of current ESD students. She says that ESD is a community like no other. Her heart is invested not only in her work but also the greater ESD community as a whole, and she strives to encourage others and show love and respect daily. She has watched her daughters and granddaughters develop their own lives of purpose through their years at ESD.

Understanding of self is the third hallmark, and Scott Goetsch, Middle School Teacher and dean, shares that his natural curiosity and love of learning are what led him to be a teacher. He continues to learn, experiment, and explore while bringing the joy of his experiences to his students, helping them understand that science is an ever-changing and exciting field, not just terms to memorize. They spend time in class in demonstrations, labs, and collaborative work so students are active in learning, engaging, and talking about all things science. Mr. Goetsch is grateful for ESD’s support for teachers and staff to continue their growth and development as educators. ESD has supported him as he has traveled to China for a program on eclipses, to Hawaii for graduate-level work on the slopes of active volcanoes, to Costa Rica for volcano and climate change studies, and to local and national conferences to help him update and innovate his teaching.

ESD nurtures each student’s individual talents and skills by providing opportunities for those individual traits to flourish and develop in numerous settings and myriad experiences.

STUDENTS ARE:

• Developing self-awareness and discipline through introspection and action.

• Developing and can articulate a strong sense of their own strengths and challenges as they embrace opportunities for both success and growth.

• Becoming health conscious as they learn to successfully manage their own self-care and develop mindfulness.

Building upon our Episcopal Identity, Founding Tenets, and Code of Conduct, ESD presents students with value-based decision-making and leadership opportunities that help each student develop a strong belief system, an educated conscience, and a guiding moral compass.

STUDENTS:

• Apply moral reasoning in their self-discipline and decisionmaking as ethical citizens.

• Take responsibility for their actions as ethical citizens.

• Understand that leadership involves moving a common mission forward through engagement, empowerment, and service.

As a longtime educator, I have spent time in different educational communities, and ESD is unique in its commitment to its mission and Episcopal Identity. The Hallmarks of an ESD Educator allow us to help our faculty and staff members continue to grow and develop into the best versions of themselves in order to provide the best possible educational experience for our students. Developing these hallmarks is a lifelong process, and our ESD educators strive to model this growth mindset for our students and for each other.

Head Of School Addresses Community

David Baad discusses the future of school curriculum, budget, and leadership

by Abby Baughman ’24

Head of School David Baad addressed ESD faculty, staff, and parents on January 26 in the second annual community meeting. Baad covered the school’s annual operating budget, the endowment, and the findings of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest report, which is a combination of internal and external reports about all aspects of the school. He also shared plans to add to the curriculum, develop more landscaping, and hire the new head of upper school.

Typically, private schools have an endowment of around two and a half times the size of the operating budget – the operating budget is made up of tuition. ESD’s operating budget is about $40 million, so the endowment would ideally be about $90 million.

“We are a young school; however, we’re competing in schools that are much larger in Dallas,” Baad said. “For us to maintain our excellence, we have to continue to think about the size of our endowment, so we have three strategic priorities [with the endowment]. [The] first that we’re putting forward is that we want to create what we’re calling an intentional curriculum of purpose. Second, we want to make sure that we are attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional employees to work at ESD. Third, we want to attract, develop, and retain a talented and diverse student body.”

Baad was accompanied by Mary Adair Dockery, the chair of the ESD Board, in the address, as she explained the school budget, financial needs, and the board’s role in ESD’s management. The meeting was well attended, with 75 percent of the Bray Theater filled.

“It is important as a community to have transparency from the executive team and board about the state of the school,” Diane Nealon, eighth-grade parent attendee, said. “For me, [and] I expect others as well, it is reassuring to see that the school is in the very capable and experienced hands of the leadership team and board.”

The meeting also announced some potential new classes, like personal finance, Spanish for professionals, philosophy and religion, the science of wellness, and introduction to law. “Rebecca Brady, our new chief academic officer, has been hard at work on a lot of academic initiatives with the department chairs,” Baad said. “Every year, we think about new electives to add to the upper school curriculum, and the creative faculty come up with these ideas. It’s a real wide range of possible intellectual interests that kids can spark in those classes.”

Associate Head of School Ruth Burke recently secured ESD the right to develop the land east of Eagle Family Way. Baad also introduced plans for the campus landscape. They are planning to add a full rock road, holly trees along the east stadium fence along Midway Road, and six to eight large caliper trees on the southern border of our campus.

“We’re going to start doing some work to beautify the south side of campus, as I know it’s a little ragged right now over there,” Baad said. “We had this zoning proposal that we got approved recently, so later this spring, you’re going to notice some landscaping improvements along the eastern and southern borders.”

ESD is planning to change out the stadium lights to LEDs. In addition to helping reduce ESD’s carbon footprint, the new lights will lessen light pollution. “We also know that through our zoning application we had permission to install two cell phone towers, and we’re going to do that on campus here this spring,” Baad said. “What we’re really excited about is that in tandem with the cell phone towers, it’s going to also allow us to install new green LED lights in the stadium, meaning higher-quality lights in the stadium and less light pollution out into the neighborhood in our effort to be a good neighbor.”

This year, ESD is adding a health curriculum for middle school. There will be a required course for the seventh graders to take in the second semester. “We recognize the need amongst our middle school students for health [to be taught], so we have developed and started to implement a formal health and wellness curriculum,” Baad said. “The content is focusing on learning skills to maximize students’ physical, mental and emotional health.”

Current Head of Upper School Henry Heil is leaving ESD at the end of the school year to become the Head of School at Brookstone in Columbus, Georgia. ESD has begun its formal search for a new head of upper school.

“We are so thrilled and proud of Henry,” Baad said. “As I said in my letter, it’s a real sign of institutional strength when we send leaders off to