What Schools Teach Us about Religious Life | Second Edition

Daniel R. Heischman is the Executive Director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (since 2007) and has served as the Board President of the Council for American Education (CAPE). An adjunct instructor in the Doctor of Ministry program at Virginia Theological Seminary, he was formerly the Chaplain of Trinity College (2003–2007), Assistant Headmaster and Head of the Upper School at St. Albans School in Washington DC (1994–2003) and Executive Director of the Council for Religion in Independent Schools (1987–1994). From 1979–1987 he was Chaplain and Head of the Religion Department at Trinity School in New York. He is the author of Good Influence: Teaching the Wisdom of Adulthood.

Foreword and Acknowledgments – Introduction: Overflowing Containers – Doing Both – A Bold American Experiment – The Elephant in the Corner? – Unashamedly Unapologetic – That Long, Funny Word – Educating Hearts and Minds – Minding the Light – Delving into the Difficult – Changing the Narrative – Religious Connectivity – Conclusion: Gentler Souls.

“Heischman’s seasoned perspective helps him articulate the challenges these schools face in their attempt to give a young person a place and voice in a small universe, but his perspective also allows him to see the larger social universe to which schools belong.”
Matthew W. Geiger, former faculty member, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (VA)

“In this study—now in its second edition—of ten private (PreK–12) schools throughout the United States, veteran educator Daniel Heischman takes us into the lived worlds of these institutions, probing the unique missions and practices of each. What Heischman sees there tells not only a story of each particular school, but of the complex and shifting religious terrain of American life today. Finding commonalities among the most religiously diverse of schools, as well as noting how non-sectarian schools frequently intersect with the dynamics of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Heischman shows how schools serve as worthy barometers and mediators of contemporary religious life.
“Page after page provides fresh insight and rich narrative on how schools foster a life of faith, develop a sense of service, and enrich the spirit.”
Joseph McTighe, Executive Director, Council for American Private Education

“In our work with divinity students who are preparing for careers in schools, Daniel Heischman’s book provides ample evidence that not only can we engage in religious issues in schools, we must do so.”
Jere A. Wells, Director, Educational Leadership and Ministry Program (ELM), Berkeley Divinity School at Yale