Master Planning for The Future
May 1, 2024
This article was initially published in The Crest: Spring 2024 Edition by Ruth Burke, ESDPA Associate Head of School.
First 50 Years: An Extraordinary Journey
In its first 25 years, ESD grew from two borrowed classrooms at Saint Michael All Angels Church to more than 128,000 square feet of learning space on 36 acres on Merrell Road. By the mid-1990s, buildings on campus included the Hart Athletic Center (Haggar Gymnasium), The School House, Gill Library, and the Cook Math and Science Center. In 1997, Wolf Run Outdoor Education Center in Anna, Texas, opened the doors to two bunkhouses and a lodge on a sprawling 18th-century working organic ranch gifted to ESD by Mr. and Mrs. Pete Gifford.
Throughout the next 20-plus years, 2000-2023, our campus on Merrell Road doubled in building square footage and expanded to 42 acres. With the addition of five incredible spaces since 2000, the Gene and Jerry Jones Stadium, The Frank Arts and Humanities Center, All Saints Chapel, The Stephen B. Swann Athletic and Wellness Center and, perhaps the most transformational in the life of our community, the Lower School, today our learning spaces on Merrell Road total 410,000 square feet.
The extraordinary physical plant growth ESD experienced through its first 50 years was precipitated by incredible enrollment growth and the merger with the former St. Michael School, which added early childhood and elementary students to our nest.
ESD’s Mission, Founding Tenets, and Episcopal Identity set it apart from all other schools. Founding Rector and Headmaster The Reverend Canon Stephen B. Swann’s passion for educating the whole child and his unwavering belief that every child is made in the image of a loving God filled a unique niche in the landscape of educational offerings and struck a chord with families and the greater Dallas community. Thanks to Father Swann’s vision and the tireless work of many before us, ESD’s growth and maturation, as I’ve said before, truly is one of the greatest startup stories to ever take place in Texas.
Father Swann and his family gathered with Mitch Hart, Chairman of the Board and close family friend, in 1974 to bless the campus and dedicate the original 23 acres for God's purpose.
Envisioning The Next 50 Years and Beyond
I can't imagine a more exciting opportunity than the one we have before us – to envision what ESD’s campus can become in the next 50 years and beyond. I have no doubt that when ESD celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2074, the work of the ESD2030 strategic plan will be recognized as pivotal in our school’s history. ESD2030 will pave the way for the future generations of ESD students and teachers. In addition to an exponential increase in the school’s endowment to secure our greatest assets – people and programs – the plan calls for a comprehensive master plan. This is extraordinary and humbling work.
Our goal is to create a master plan that will take ESD well into its centennial years – a forward-thinking master plan that will endure for decades. This plan is not about what we “need” or “want” regarding space. Our focus is on what we want to accomplish through our mission to ignite lives of purpose.
To be successful in this daunting task, it’s critical to think beyond what we know today. We will “future think.” Although unknown to us are what new, undiscovered careers and professions await beyond 2050, we do know that teaching essential skills, such as critical thinking, and habits of mind will prepare our students for their futures. Also integral to this process is how, at ESD, teaching methodology, technology, physical spaces – indoors and out – and strength of community all intersect to create dynamic learning environments that lead to discovering purpose.
Dedicated and passionate educators, engaged and motivated students from all walks of life, financial sustainability, and a sense of belonging in this community is what this strategic plan is all about. Our campus and the environment it creates will have an active, not passive, role that will be critical to our success.
It’s Our Time
The paradox is that while we dream about the future, we must remain rooted in ESD’s past, never forgetting the founding days of borrowed classrooms followed by a single gymnasium with
partitions for classrooms, the sense of community and belonging that is nurtured by a campfire and sitting at a round table, teachers as shepherds, and gathering every day to worship and reflect together. This foundation, unique to ESD, will be central to envisioning and preparing our campus for the next generations of ESD.
Conducting a comprehensive master plan is an integral part of the ESD2030 strategic plan to ensure our campus and physical spaces will be ready for this next phase of our school’s journey. And it doesn’t stop there. It is non-negotiable that our spaces and places facilitate our programs, strengthen our community, and exist in ways that sustain the unmistakable essence and feeling that is ESD.
The immediate goal of substantially increasing our endowment in the next few years provides us the gift of time to lay the groundwork for our master planning process. We will proceed with a three-year timeline, as outlined below.
Three-Year Timeline
