Unseen Yet Vital: What Curriculum Means at Casady

Photo courtesy of Sydney Hulen (‘24)

Eddy Kang (‘24), Co-Editor-in-Chief

The crisp, white sheet with ordered columns that we receive from our teachers on the first day of classes is often the only glimpse many of us get into the complexity of curriculum development at Casady. To offer us insight into this multifaceted process, Mr. White, Casady’s Director of Curriculum, speaks to some of his influences and goals for the future of Casady curriculum.

Mr. White began his educational career at Casady in 2006, coming aboard as a Middle Division Latin teacher. However, he has spent the bulk of the past two decades holding various administrative positions at schools around the country, including Dean of Students at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA, and Head of Middle Division at the Emery/Weiner School in Houston. 

Emery/Weiner’s focus on progressive education challenged Mr. White to “expand [his] ideas about what’s possible.” His time at Emery/Weiner has influenced his direction as Casady’s Director of Curriculum, as he has come to understand that “there’s not a ‘one size fits all’ program. There’s not a magic formula to doing school well.”

Even so, some core tenets of education have stood the test of time. For Mr. White, intentionality is a crucial component of a well-structured academic program. He dedicates much of his time to meeting with teachers to discuss curriculum review and textbook selection, although his roles vary depending on the academic cycle. He highlights the importance of making academic decisions “within the context of a 15-year program,” as new curricula must be able to easily integrate into the existing structure while also being sustainable long term. 

In fact, according to Mr. White, having a “well-aligned, cohesive academic program,” is where many independent schools tend to struggle. One reason for this common shortcoming is that independent schools aren’t tied to state mandates, which allows for the freedom of a fluid curriculum, but also for the potential lack of organized, intentional goals. Mr. White constantly works to address this area of improvement, and some of Casady’s latest academic initiatives reflect this mentality.

Amidst the prevalence and necessity of computer science in today’s age, Casady’s curriculum is working to be “responsive to technological changes.” With the opening of the newly built Jeff Records Computer Science center, Upper Division students can expect to see new academic offerings for the hot field. Balancing out this STEM-related growth, Mr. White spotlighted a new humanities course that will be “unique to the election, so that students can, through a history context, learn about the election and [related] processes.” 

With the initiation of these novel programs, Mr. White stressed the importance of remembering the overarching goals of Casady education. Building students’ writing skills, nurturing critical thinking, and preparing students for the next level of education are central dogmas of Casady’s mission to its students, amongst many others. 

Although the average person only sees the impacts of curriculum changes “two, three, four years down the road,” it is critical that students understand the immensity of time and effort that numerous faculty dedicate to constantly bettering Casady’s curriculum. Intentional, thoughtful, and diligent work goes into defining and redefining what students know as a Casady education.