About Us

Mission

Episcopal School of Acadiana is a coeducational, independent day school for students in grades PK3 through 12. Our mission is to instill in every student the habits of scholarship and honor. ESA challenges students to develop intellectually, spiritually, and physically.

A Presumption of Goodwill


Dear current and prospective ESA Families,

The best schools are a partnership of committed educators and devoted parents and guardians. Episcopal School of Acadiana actively seeks to establish and sustain that partnership in principle and in practice. Our mission, vision, and values unify the School community and guide everyday decisions and institutional policies. Together, these guiding principles capture the School’s high expectations for student achievement, parent and guardian support, and teacher performance. Student success requires the community to work together with trust and confidence.  

As part of our effort to generate strong parent-school relationships from the day a family joins the ESA community, the School provides this articulation of both our guiding principles and our desired path to mutual respect between school and home. At ESA, our philosophy, mission, vision and values together provide a clear set of the School’s expectations.

What follows are expectations, of ourselves as ESA educators, and of you, as ESA parents and guardians, designed to facilitate our relationship with you from year to year. The benefits of an exceptional education are maximized when the adults in our students’ lives collaborate. Thank you for reading, thank you for joining us in our high expectations, and thank you for entrusting your children to us.

Sincerely,
Headmaster

 
A Presumption of Goodwill: The Relationship between School and Parents at ESA

Fundamentally, the relationship between ESA (teachers, administration and staff) and our parents and guardians depends on a presumption of goodwill. Parents and guardians love their children. They want and need to look out for their children’s best interests. The School, for its part, hires and supports wonderful educators and “school people.” As educators, we, too, are charged with looking out for your children’s best interests.

Fundamentally, then, ESA as a school community seeks to establish and sustain effective partnerships among faculty and staff and families.

Effective school-parent partnerships include:

  1. Mutual respect and a presumption of goodwill
  2. A shared commitment to productive and consistent communication
  3. A common vision of the goal to be reached: engaged and challenged students, connected with teachers in a process of developing responsible college and world-ready citizens prepared for success in whatever path they choose.

Elaboration of Expectations

ESA is an environment of high expectations. Those expectations apply to the leadership, the teachers, and the staff of the School, as well as to students and their families. We seek parents and guardians who, likewise, will have high expectations of us as educators.

Parental Expectations of ESA
  1. Families can expect the School to presume goodwill from you as parents and guardians.
  2. Families can expect the School to keep students at the center of our mission and goals.
  3. Families can expect the School to provide opportunities for students to pursue academic excellence, spiritual development, arts and athletic goals, and leadership roles. 
  4. Families can expect the School to keep parents and guardians well-informed through reports, letters, conferences, meetings, publications, electronic communications, and informal conversations.
  5. Families can expect the School to ensure faculty and staff maintain expertise through professional development, and that they model lifelong learning.
  6. Families can expect the School to maintain a professional and respectful relationship with all school constituents.  

ESA’s Expectations of Parents and Guardians

  1. The School expects our families to presume goodwill about our work with your children and with you.
  2. The School expects our families to support our mission, vision, policies and procedures and to understand the Honor Code and its role.
  3. The School expects our families to respond in a timely manner to communications from teachers, coaches, and administrators.
  4. The School expects our families to follow proper channels when questions or concerns arise, consulting with the adult at ESA closest to the situation (advisor, teacher, administrator, etc.).
  5. The School expects our families to maintain civility and respect in relationships with all members of the ESA community. 
  6. The school expects our families to involve themselves in the life of the School as much as possible (volunteering, communicating, attending events and conferences – contributing time, talent and treasure).

ESA's Mission, Vision, & Values


Our mission is to instill in every student the habits of scholarship and honor. ESA challenges students to grow intellectually, spiritually, and physically. 

At ESA we nurture the twin virtues of freedom and responsibility. We pursue these virtues in the daily life of our school by balancing joy and challenge, inventiveness and tradition, respect and informality, trust and support. We cultivate and celebrate this balance, in our vibrant, eclectic community that prizes both individual freedom and cooperation. We take responsibility for what we do and say, and freely use our individual talents and strengths to become energetic citizens who sustain our community by making positive contributions.

We live out our Episcopal Identity by respecting the dignity of every person on our campus and striving to live according to the qualities expressed in our school prayer when we say, “Bless us in our work and in our play. Make us gentle, generous, truthful, kind, and brave. Keep us in purity of heart, and let the life of our school go on from strength to strength and have its place in meaning in Thy Kingdom.”

IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ESA’S MISSION, OUR STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO LEARN, LIVE, AND GROW THROUGH THE FOLLOWING:

  • Habits of Honor

    Habits of honor develop in our community, which expects the choice of right over wrong. Our code of honor promotes fairness, truth, and honesty; our commitment to honor affords the freedom necessary for responsibility and the confidence that ideas, ideals and property are respected.

  • Habits of Scholarship

    Habits of scholarship develop from the relationship between passionate teachers and creative students. Fueled by the joy of discovery, self-motivated students exhibit an intellectual vitality which strengthens their beliefs yet inspires an open mind.

  • Intellectual Development

    Students develop intellectually in our nurturing environment where they master skills and knowledge. They are challenged to learn, think and question critically. Students take intellectual risks, learn how to express and support their ideas, and are encouraged to defend their positions.

  • Spiritual Development

    Students experience the Episcopal traditions and liturgies and they are supported in their search to discover a personal relationship with God. Spiritual development follows through sharing meaningful experiences with each other and through offering our leadership and talents at ESA and our service to the larger community.

  • Physical Development

    Students’ physical development is grounded in our physical education curriculum and our participatory sports program, both of which encourage lifelong health and physical activity. Every student acquires physical skills, learns the value of competition and teamwork, and cultivates the ethos of sportsmanship.

1/5

Elise Sonnier, ’97, Visual Arts Teacher

ESA is a trusting community. We rely on each other to be honest so that we can all enjoy the benefits of knowing that we are collectively and individually worthy of trust."

ESA's Honor Code

The Honor Code encompasses the principle values of our community: honor, trust, and respect. Over the years, ESA students and teachers have embraced the honor code, as well as the freedoms and responsibilities it fosters. READ MORE 
Episcopal School of Acadiana is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS). ISAS is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools' Commission on Accreditation, and has voluntarily submitted to a rigorous and impartial review of its accreditation program and demonstrated its adherence to the Commission’s Criteria for Effective Independent School Accreditation Practices. ISAS is commended by NAIS for the quality of the Association’s accreditation program for its Member Schools.

Episcopal School of Acadiana

Episcopal School of Acadiana is a private coeducational day school for students in grades PK3 through 12. Our mission is to instill in every student the habits of scholarship and honor.

Episcopal School of Acadiana (Lafayette Campus)

PK3 through 5th grade
721 E. Kaliste Saloom Rd. Lafayette LA, USA 70508
Phone: 337-993-2263

Episcopal School of Acadiana (Cade Campus)

6th through 12th grades
1557 Smede Rd. at Hwy. 92 Broussard, LA, USA 70518
Phone: 337-365-1416
ESA does not discriminate on the basis of physical disability, race, religion, gender, or national or ethnic origin.
Privacy Policy