a retreat to educate newly elected members about their responsibilities and work through
several case studies and mock hearings. The Council meets as needed throughout the year
with the guidance of two faculty advisors and offers recommendations to the Head of Middle
School for consequences of infractions. As advisors, a colleague and I are present in the meetings and guide proceedings when necessary, sometimes asking clarifying questions and
occasionally focusing deliberations, but rarely do we offer unsolicited suggestions.
And it works. It works because there is community buy-in. It works because we begin every
academic year with an Honor Code Week in which the Code and the Council are explained
daily and in all chapel gatherings, and students begin the year understanding that there are
The 2014-15 Trinity Episcopal School Honor Council, photo courtesy of Lilla Clark.
standards for living in community, that it benefits the self as well as the greater community to
live within the Code, and that there are consequences for choosing to step outside the Code.
The system works because the Council elections are serious business, because the faculty
stress the importance of the Council in classes, and because we stress the responsibility
Continues on page 22
CSEE Connections
Winter 2014
Page 17