Health, Safety, and Well-being at Episcopal

Please Note

Amy Perkins and Jennifer Ketchum will be attending the Parents’ Association meeting on March 7, 2018. Parents of Episcopal students are automatically members of the Parents’ Association and are welcome to attend PA meetings.

Amy Perkins, Director of Student Services

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Amy Perkins ‘92 rejoined Episcopal last Fall and is serving as Director of Student Services.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Davidson College and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of North Florida.  She credits the Episcopal church community with instilling the importance of service, that led her to work with Habitat for Humanity along the Texas-Mexico border and VISIONS Service Adventures in Peru.  Additionally, she served as a Counselor, Dean of Student Success, and Director of Student Onboarding at Florida State College at Jacksonville.  

Jennifer Ketchum

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Brand new to Episcopal, Jennifer recently relocated from Washington, DC, where she spent the last two decades serving as an educator in the Archdiocese of Washington Catholic schools.  Last June she completed a nine year tenure as Principal of St. Peter School on Capitol Hill.  Jennifer’s interest in faith-based schools with strong academic programs and positive character development combined with her passion for health and wellness brought her to Episcopal to serve in her current position as a consultant for the new Health, Safety, and Well-being effort.

A native of southern New Jersey, Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rowan University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University, and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from the University of Notre Dame.  

Health, Safety, and Well-being

Now more than ever the most productive learning environments are founded on the establishment of a physically and emotionally safe space, and Episcopal School of Jacksonville seeks to prioritize the Health, Safety, and Well-being of its entire community with a renewed sense of commitment that goes beyond any single year of programming.  Prioritizing Health, Safety, and Well-being will result in a comprehensive, evolving array of programming for students and parents, professional development for faculty and staff, and resources for the entire community.    

The Health, Safety, and Well-being (HSW) effort will begin next Fall and include themes and activities integrated across the Four Pillars and throughout the school community.  A committee composed of faculty and staff members is currently working to determine programming for next school year and compiling resources to be made available for faculty, students, and parents.  This Spring the committee will seek input from a variety of stakeholders within the school community.  

The HSW Committee is looking at seven areas of well-being:  intellectual, spiritual, social-emotional, mental, physical, environmental, and financial.  Specific themes and related subtopics will be explored next school year inside and outside of the classroom through activities, conversations, and communications out to the community.  In addition, we are exploring how to partner with HSW experts for special events.

Theme content will include some of today’s biggest issues such as social media, anxiety and stress, high risk behavior, environmental stewardship, balance, and global sensitivity, along with other mental, spiritual, and physical health topics.  We will most likely find that several of next year’s topics will continue to be integrated across school life in future years, and a number of subtopics will be revisited throughout the year as they align with more than one aspect of overall well-being.

We look forward to sharing additional details as they become available.