On Wednesday evening, the third cohort of the Mastership Program will begin their yearlong professional growth journey.  Like last year, we have a great mix of educators from all divisions including one with over 25 years of experience and another going into only his second year of teaching.  In the coming weeks, they will build the bonds of trust with each other, conduct role plays, learn innovative teaching practices, receive incredible amounts of feedback from colleagues and students, and further develop their interpersonal and affective skills.  At the core of Mastership is the belief that through experiential learning and high quality feedback, an educator can become even more self-reflective and growth-minded: two core competencies essential for making strong connections with students and innovating one’s teaching.

Watch last year’s final video produced by the Mastership cohort to get a sense of what they come away with from the program.

You will see from the Core Program diagram below that Mastership is broken into layers with each layer designed and taught by different Episcopal personnel.  For instance, our Director of Communications, Drama Teacher, and Chair of Creative Writing teach the Written & Oral Communication layer.  In a few cases, an outside professional teaches sessions such as those on group dynamics.  By breaking the program into layers taught by different people, it becomes manageable to run as well as provides participants with an opportunity to get to work with others in the school community with whom they might otherwise never connect.

The program is designed to embody the same goal of self-reflection as it sets for the participants.  Two Episcopal board members are charged with evaluating whether the program is meeting its goals and providing a life-changing experience for the participants.  Their evaluation is based on extensive interviews with participants and teachers in the program.  The real proof, however, comes from the participants themselves who want to continue in the program as mentors and teachers the following year.