Jonathan Cooper, Author at National Association of Episcopal Schools

HomeArticles by: Jonathan Cooper

Teaching and Leading in a Season of Storms

A winter storm settles over campus, canceling plans and reshaping a long weekend for students who remain. As snow piles up outside, another kind of storm flickers across a television screen—one that raises urgent questions about safety, belonging, and moral responsibility. In this reflection, Danica Tisdale Fisher explores what it means to teach and lead in a season of uncertainty, and why Episcopal schools are called not to retreat from the world’s storms, but to prepare young people to meet them with courage, empathy, and faith. Read More »

Chaplaincy and the Power of Relationships

I love being a part of the NAES Chaplains Group. For a long time, I felt all alone in my role as a chaplain. Then I attended my first conference and discovered, much to my delight, that I was part of... Read More »

Living into Episcopal Identity: Chapel at St. David’s

Seventy toddlers follow a cross and banner into chapel every week at St. David’s Episcopal Day School in Wilmington, DE. A bible sits atop the altar. Nearby, a single apple hangs from a five-foot-tall ficus tree so fake that it passes as real. A stuffed-animal snake sssslithers onto the sssscene. Read More »

Embrace your Superpower!

I have always been a massive fan of superhero films. There is something so captivating about watching the various powers be used for good; the suspense that the music brings as you await to find out what obstacles are being faced, and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with the storyline: love, loss, resurrection, return, and the entirety of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey living out before your eyes! Read More »

Nurturing Abundance in Episcopal Schools

An eighth-grade student recently offered her chapel homily on the theme of “What is the Meaning of Life?” and connected it to the story of Jacob wrestling with God. She said “my purpose in life... Read More »

Reset, Refocus, and Reignite Your Relationship With Your Board: A Personal Learning Journey

Last summer, my director of enrollment management encouraged me to read the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. While I initially approached the book from the lens of enhancing the... Read More »

The Gift of this Calling

Each August, as students return and classrooms come alive again, I’m reminded of how I found a place in Episcopal schools—and why I’ve rooted my career in the Episcopal school tradition.... Read More »

Rooted in Relationship: A Rector’s Reflection on Episcopal Schooling and Community

It has been 16 years since I went through the interview process for the position I currently hold as Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland, California. At the time, I had never been to... Read More »

Good People

Although it was 36 years ago, I still vividly remember my interview for a teaching position at Campbell Hall. At the time, I was teaching at an independent school in Connecticut. I had been offered a... Read More »

The Unseen Foundation: Why Families Choose Episcopal Identity (Even if They Don’t Realize It)

When we survey our parents about why they choose to send their children to Grace, we provide a long list of possible answers. We always include the school’s Episcopal identity as an option. Without fail, it ranks dead last. What ranks highest? Parents tell us again and again that they pick Grace for its community and for the academic and ethical values that define it. I don’t think it’s a stretch to argue that, whether or not folks realize it, the distinctive qualities of our community emerge from the bedrock commitments of our Episcopal identity. Those academic and ethical values that define our community? We didn’t arrive at them by accident. Read More »

Author: Jonathan Cooper