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Our Episcopal Identity
Episcopal School of Nashville is an independent co-educational Pre-K through middle school, serving students of diverse ethnic, cultural, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Valuing the education of the whole child, the school encourages students to engage their minds, bodies, and spirits as they grow in confidence and communion with others.
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Our Episcopal Identity

The Episcopal Tradition

“From the word go, it truly was a model of how to go about starting a school.”

– Rev. Daniel Heischen, Executive Director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools

 

The Episcopal School of Nashville is proud to be a member of NAES, the National Association of Episcopal Schools. NAES schools generally share the following characteristics:

 

  • They are established not solely as communities for Christians but as ecumenical and diverse ministries of educational and human formation for people of all faiths and backgrounds, including Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians, Christians and non-Christians, and people of no faith tradition.

 

  • They welcome a rich variety of human beings, from increasingly diverse religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds. In fact, the intentional pluralism of most Episcopal schools is a hallmark of their missions.

 

  • They seek to integrate religious and spiritual formation into the overall curriculum and life of each school community.

 

  • They exist not merely to educate, but to demonstrate and proclaim the unique worth and beauty of all human beings as creations of a loving, empowering God.
Episcopal School of Nashville is founded by people who believe that serving others is an integral part of our lives and our service to God. As such we find God in and through each other.

 

Diversity, inclusiveness, and a sense of community are vitally important at Episcopal School of Nashville. We know that all persons are special in the eyes of God; therefore we have intentionally cultivated a culture of inclusiveness that values each student’s uniqueness and celebrates differences as a reflection of our Episcopal Identity. We welcome the intellectual, spiritual, physical, and financial contributions of people of all faiths as we seek to uplift the values that unite us.

 

Chapel is integral to who we are as a school community. While Chapel incorporates liturgical elements that are distinctly Episcopal, the overall goal is to give every student the opportunity to support and explore his/her own spiritual development. We will not seek to convert others; rather, we will encourage others to have a faith that builds and grows over a lifetime. Remembering that we are all on spiritual journeys, we will join with students and families as we learn and grow together.

In practice, these principles and ideals are expressed through:

 

  • School Worship that is creative, inclusive, draws fully upon the liturgical resources of the Episcopal Church and is a regular part of school life for all faculty and students.

 

  • Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with Pre-K through first grade students.

 

  • Community Life, in which reflection, prayer, and matters of the spirit are honored and cultivated and the physical, mental, and emotional health of all are supported and nurtured.

 

  • Religious Formation and Study that is meaningful, academically substantive, and age-appropriate; and in teaching the Christian tradition, fosters dialogue with other faith traditions.

 

  • Social Justice, which is the integration of the ideals and concepts of equity, justice, and a just society throughout the life of the school; the embracing and honoring of diversity; and the inclusion of community service and service-learning as an integral part of the life of the school.

 

By weaving these principles into the very fabric of the school’s overall life, Episcopal schools ensure that their missions are built on the sure foundation of a Christian love that guides and challenges all who attend our schools to build lives of genuine meaning, purpose, and service in the world they will inherit.