Knightly News

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

Episcopal QUEST Center Coordinator Dr. Elizabeth Lewis is always thinking of new ways to wow Lower and Middle School students. She’s been known to email administrators in the wee hours of the morning with statements like, “So, I’ve been thinking…” followed by her latest vision for energizing a lesson. She has notebooks packed with ideas and plans. She loves to brainstorm with colleagues about how to create a Louisiana swamp in the QUEST Center or how to build a digestive system large enough for second graders to crawl inside. She celebrates creativity, embraces the dreamers and is thrilled when an idea becomes reality.

Like Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus,” Dr. Lewis clearly loves being a teacher. On any given day, you may find her wearing a praying mantis hat as she leads a discussion on insects or challenging students to think differently as she gathers them around a stream table. “I love this role,” she says. “This is what I am. I am an instigator.”

Louisiana Creature Feature Showcase in the QUEST Center.

Louisiana Creature Feature Showcase in the QUEST Center.

In the QUEST Center in Foster Hall, Dr. Lewis partners with teachers to infuse lessons with creativity and excitement. As a big kid herself, the lessons she creates are often inspired by her own experiences. For example, on a beach trip years ago with her children and a friend, a hammerhead shark washed ashore. The children were enamored with the creature, so the adults decided to dissect the shark right there on the beach. Later, the experience informed Dr. Lewis’ decision to have Episcopal second graders dissect their own shark. “Why not?” she says with enthusiasm. She also keeps in mind how children learn as she plans each adventure. In planning the Louisiana Creature Feature experience, she decided to have the students dress and act as their creatures. “Don’t give a report on a scorpion, BE a scorpion,” Dr. Lewis says with Ms. Frizzle enthusiasm.

Episcopal second graders lean in for a closer look at the shark Dr. Lewis is dissecting.

Finding Inspiration Early On

Some people are born with a compass that immediately points to their passion and life’s work. Dr. Lewis is one of them. She always knew she wanted to work with children, and potential professions included pediatrician, child psychologist or teacher. After taking an introductory course on teaching gifted children, she knew the classroom was where she was meant to be. In many ways, the career path allows her to be the teacher she never had. Dr. Lewis grew up in California in a time when gifted opportunities were available one minute and gone the next. “I never had a good science teacher,” she says in reflection. “I was always excited about learning new things, and I found that outside of school.” Once Dr. Lewis became a teacher, students in her care did not have the same experience.

Dr. Lewis’ first classroom experience was as a fifth grade math teacher. She could have simply taught decimals and percentages, but why not do more? “I get bored really easily,” she says. “I never was a worksheet kind of girl.” One day, her fifth graders entered the classroom to find it had been transformed into a grocery store. Giant posters featuring produce and common grocery items decorated the walls, and there was a play cash register. It was a fun way for students to learn whether or not a buy one get one free deal is really worth it. Her vision had become reality, and it inspired her to keep going.

Today, Dr. Lewis encourages students to explore each day in the QUEST Center. “I’m all about the atmosphere and stimulating environments,” she says in her office which features quotes and trinkets to inspire learning. The creative touches stretch throughout the facility, where QUEST Center visitors are greeted by a skeleton sitting at a table, a dragon peering down from the ceiling and a variety of other stimulating creatures that reflect Dr. Lewis’ goal of encouraging curiosity through the senses. She says sensory experiences truly help students remember the lessons in a way that typical memorization may not. “Whatever it takes to make it fun and memorable,” she says of her determination to inspire students.

Dr. Lewis has already authored two children's books - one inspired by her love of teaching and gardening, and the other based on her inquisitive son.

A Champion for the Dreamers

When she’s not planning the next student adventure, Dr. Lewis enjoys walking, kayaking and gardening. She has four “highly creative” children. One day she hopes to put all of those notebook ideas to good use and write children’s and teacher’s books. She’s already authored two. “My Teacher’s Garden” was a graduate school assignment that morphed into a children’s story. Dr. Lewis describes what a teacher does each day and compares the work of a teacher to that of a gardener, combining two of her favorite endeavors into one colorful tale. “A good teacher differentiates content and instruction for students like a good gardener prunes and nurtures her garden so that each different plant will thrive,” she says.

Dr. Lewis’ second book, “Stick Boy,” was inspired by her son Rob. As a child, Rob was fascinated with sticks. He was a smart, sensitive and creative boy but he received negative attention for his quirks. Dr. Lewis wrote the book to celebrate Rob and the other gifted students like him who often find themselves in this predicament.  She sees inquisitiveness and curiosity as a positive. “Without that, we’re lost,” she says. “There would be no inventors or discoveries. We need to nurture those traits and see them as positive exceptionalities.”

Dr. Lewis sees her role and the role of her colleagues as helping students find ways to make connections that aren’t obvious. “I understand the daydreamers because my kids are all that way,” she says. It seems that Dr. Lewis may also be a dreamer herself and that the QUEST Center has made those dreams come true.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.