Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste

By Dr. Terry Macaluso, Head of School

While I don’t really want to endorse Lenin as a political icon, it’s fair to say that one of the things he did exceptionally well was choose something to demonize, spur on the feeling of crisis, and use human fear as a natural galvanizing principle.  I think we should be thinking about the crisis we’re in in the same way—without the demonization.

Educational reform has been “stuck” since the industrial revolution in the United States.  Up until about 8 weeks ago, schools were still largely organized around the lessons learned from the development of the assembly line.  The school calendar is still based on agrarian life, and I doubt we have many farming families in our school.

This may be the time to jump start some new ideas.  Maybe the real impact of COVID-19 is that every challenge we face (as we think about how to go forward in a way reminiscent of what school looked like on March 1, 2020) will force us to create alternative models that provide a much better educational experience for people who are willing to take the step of moving—ambitiously—into a new school reality.

In early June, parents/guardians will receive a survey inviting you to share what you’ve learned from the EPSRemote experience.  The best thinking from all of us will go a long way toward informing our plans to open this coming fall.

Thanks in advance for your excellent ideas!

-Taken from the May 7, 2020 Community Briefing