About nine years ago, students began a successful drive to reinstitute an honor code. More recently, the school community re-evaluated and revamped that code. Students and others attending an honor convocation also signed the pledge. St. Andrew's students serve on an honor board, which hears cases of alleged code infringements and recommends action to the school's head. We try not to make our punishments too punitive because we want everything to be a learning experience.
Parents also play an active role in Episcopal schools.
Sylvia Thompson, mother of two National Cathedral School students, chairs a study group on spirituality and moral values. Her husband, Dodge Thompson, serves on the school's governing board. Sylvia Thompson also teaches at Beauvoir, the cathedral's elementary school, which their girls attended. I think the idea of a school that was both academically rigorous and provided moral education as well was extremely attractive to us. Sharon Sheridan of Flanders, N.J., is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Episcopal Life.