When I talk to my friends and family about the community at Eastside Prep their response is usually one of surprise. “You eat lunch together?” “You get together outside of school?” Responses from students are no different, “Really, teachers do things together when they’re not at school?”. EPS is an extremally unique place when it comes to community. The school provides space and encourages faculty and staff to spend time together, get to know one another, share stories, and move beyond simply being co-workers. It’s important for people in a community to be invited into the conversation, to be seen and heard, and to have fun. The relationships I’ve built at EPS keep me coming back every year.
Collegial Dynamics
(1) develops mutually respectful and productive relationships with colleagues
In pervious schools I’ve worked in, my teaching assignment was so demanding I had little to no time to collaborate with collegues, let alone develop productive relationships. I remember one year teaching seven out of eight classes in a day, having four preps and an average class size of 35 students.
Working at EPS has provided me the opportunity to develop strong working relationships with colleagues that are productive and inspiring. The number of groups and teams I’ve been a part of at EPS is a huge contributor to developing relationships with colleagues. Most obvious, is the work I do with the English and social science disciplines. Throughout the trimester we work together developing curriculum, refining assignments, grade norming, and exploring new directions we can take a course.
Unlike many schools, collaborative interactions at EPS do not stop within the discipline. EPS offers countless opportunities to work closely with others in different areas on campus. For me, this includes planning EBC trips, working together during service learning days, engaging in professional development, coaching cross country, to name just a few. I’ve been able to continually develop respectful and productive relationships with colleagues simply because I’ve been open to trying new things at my time at EPS. While teaching English is central to what I do at school, I’ve found that building relationships with colleagues has often occurred outside the discipline. Commiserating over a broken down school bus during the senior retreat, harvesting blackberry bushes at a farm in the Skagit Valley, getting to know one another on a half-day plane flight from Seattle to Bangkok. It’s leaning into these moments with colleagues that have been some of the most memorable and fun experiences at work.
When I began working at EPS in the fall of 2012 Elena, KP and myself made up the entire English discipline. The three of us shared a small office in a building now replaced by TMAC. It was the first time I experienced the collaborative, fun, and close-knit nature of EPS. This office, adorned with Christmas lights, huge bookshelves, a large couch where students would often relax, was a place of engaging conversations, commiseration, and collaboration.
It’s interesting to compare the EPS of 2012 with the EPS of 2022. As time passes it can be easy to say that ‘the good old days’ are gone, where the entire faculty can fit in one classroom, or grab a drink together at The Keg (now the annex). But our growth has been part of my journey at EPS and I believe that the spirit of connection and relationship building I felt in 2012 is still central to our school.
Note from Elena Olsen about Collegial Dynamics
(2) partners consistently with colleagues on projects (i.e., integration, service learning)
EPS is a highly collaborative school and because of this teachers often find themselves working closely not only with teachers in their discipline but with other faculty and staff members around campus. I’ve found the adage that ‘two heads are better than one’ to hold true at EPS. Most consistently I find myself working with other teachers in the English and social science disciplines refining and developing course content.
In my early years at EPS I often found myself swamped navigating the number of courses, texts, and assignments I was responsible for. In a year I would teach at least 6 to 7 different courses each containing two or more texts, several major assessments, and countless assignments. The sheer volume of content was tremendous. What I appreciated most was the willingness of the other teachers in the discipline to not only hand over all their materials they no-doubt spent hours creating but also then solicit my opinion on how assignments and assessments could be improved. Coming from a place where teachers often kept their lessons under lock and key it was refreshing being provided with so many resources and also encouraged to share my opinion on them as well.
Fast forward ten years and I’ve found myself one of the longest tenured English faculty members at EPS. I’m the one inviting new hires to meetings to talk about the course curriculum, to hand over all the materials associated with the class and solicit their input on the course.
Just as developing respectful and productive relationships often takes place outside the realm of the English discipline, partnering with colleagues on projects outside the classroom has been some of the most rewarding and fun aspects of my time at EPS. EBC week, service learning days, and field trips all provide opportunities to partner with colleagues on the logistics of setting up a fun experience off campus. Some collaborative projects I’ve done in the past include leading the 10th graders to UW and the Seattle Library for a day of research, service learning at the farms in Skagit Valley, leading day hikes and backpacking trips in the summer, working with faculty on the senior retreat, the list goes on and on. Planning these experiences for the students has required my close collaboration with colleagues, which has been supported by EPS encouraging respectful and productive relationships and providing us time to do so during and after work. In short, partnering with a colleague on projects on and off campus is simply fun.
- Medieval Literature Final Exam
- Education Beyond the Classroom Adventures
- Collaborative Assignment created with Verity Sayles
- English Discipline Design
(3) engages in collegial activities hosted by the school
When I moved to Seattle from Austin in 2012 my wife and I had a motto when it came to getting invited to pretty much anything. “Say yes to everything!” It’s the best way to immerse yourself in a new community, meet new people, and learn. It’s something we continue to say though it’s admittedly more challenging now that we have more responsibilities, namely a five year old (named Eloise).
At EPS saying yes to colleagues has given me the opportunity to do so many wonderful things and make many lifelong friends. To name just a few, I’ve watched Mariners games, played trivia, relaxed at holiday parties, participated in scavenger hunts at Pike Place, and played bubble soccer.
As I mentioned before, a setting in which co-workers actually want to hangout together afterhours is an anomaly in the American workplace. The relationships I’ve formed over the years often began at these events. Outside of these events hosted by EPS I’ve found myself backpacking and traveling with collegues, having dinners, enjoying happy hours and simply joking around. I even had several colleagues in attendance of my wedding in Austin, TX. And for all posterity to know, I did not in fact invite then Head of School Dr. Terry Macaluso to said wedding. Sorry Terry, I’ll forever wonder what gift I missed out on and regret not being able to hand you an Italian Bonbonniere.
I look forward to continuing to say “yes” to all the events that come my way.
Community Membership & Support
(1) acts as a strong and positive ambassador for EPS
Being a strong and positive ambassador for EPS is more than simply saying the faculty, staff, and students are great, and together create a wonderful community. As a teacher at EPS I place the mission statement to ‘Inspire students to create a better world’ at the center of much I do.
A place where is see myself becoming an ambassador for EPS is during the Back to School Nights as well as the open houses. As my confidence as an educator has grown over the years I’ve moved from approaching conversations with parents in a more guarded way to really leaning into them. When parents inquire about the texts we read, the projects we design, and the community we create in the English classroom at EPS I’m happy to tell them all we do. It’s not a sales pitch, I’m excited about what our school provides students and faculty and I’m happy to share that with prospective families.
Other areas in which I have served as a strong and positive ambassador for EPS include:
- Teaching mini-lessons during open houses
- Inviting teachers outside of the community into my classroom
- Hosting and interviewing prospective English and social science candidates
- Participating in the 9th grade picnic for all students entering the upper school
- Sitting on a Q&A panel for 8th grade students and families that will be attending the upper school
(2) attends school events and student performances (i.e., arts, athletics, social)
What better way to be a part of the community and support students than by showing up and cheering them on during their sports events, theater performances, and recitals.
For the most part, teachers interact with students in their classroom. I get to know them as students of literature, work with them to craft an essay, discuss the nuance of a text, and for the most part when they leave the classroom students often hang out in the halls and I return to my office. Occasionally, I get to see them in a completely different light. Watching their athleticism on the court or field, seeing them on stage performing Shakespeare, delivering their original poetry and music at an EPS coffee house; these events provide a new way to see students at our school. After these events I’m usually left with the feeling that these students do so much and it’s wonderful to see them engaging in the world outside my classroom.
Being head coach of the middle school cross country team has allowed me to attend several meets in the fall. It’s wonderful watching the students practice throughout the week and then compete with other schools in the region.
(3) participates visibly in the daily life of the school
When I first began working at EPS is was elated to find out that the school would be providing me with breakfast, lunch, and snacks daily. No more packing lunches! I quickly realized that this benefit was not simply to keep me happy and fed throughout the school day but was an essential part of the school’s philosophy. Unlike so many other institutions students don’t eat in the cafeteria and teachers don’t eat in the teacher’s lounge. Faculty sits next to and often with students daily. For me, meals at EPS are a time for conversation, laughter, and community. This culture, while fostered in the lunch room, extends far beyond.
Some ways I’ve participated visibly in the daily life of the school is by:
- Having breakfast and lunch with colleagues
- Chatting with students in the halls about their lives outside of school
- Dressing up for Halloween
- Sponsoring the Student Newspaper
- Attending events both on and off campus
I continue to participate in the daily life of the school for a simple reason; it’s fun.
(4) recognizes and supports diversity in all its forms
Equity, Inclusion, and Compassionate Leadership:
Since its implementation in 2015 I’ve been attending the equity, inclusion, and compassionate leadership meetings at EPS. These meetings have been an fantastic way to closely examine my content and instruction in the classroom but has also offered me the opportunity to explore this topic in my life as well. The work done in the EICL meetings have allowed me to consider how my past has influenced my life in and out of the classroom. EICL meetings welcome vulnerability and have provided me with multiple perspectives that allow for both reflection and action. By considering my past, my identity, biases, I’m better able to develop classroom content that fosters more thoughtful engagement, participation, and empathy for myself and my students.