Program Profile: School for Friends in Washington, DC

A strong focus on nonviolence, cooperation, and diversity keeps School for Friends connected to its Quaker roots.

Program Overview
School for Friends was founded in 1981 in Washington, DC, by a group of neighborhood families and Quakers. Since its inception, School for Friends has focused on the values of nonviolence and cooperation and helping children build the skills that support those values.

Diversity is central to the mission of School for Friends. Located in a neighborhood with many gay and lesbian residents, it has always welcomed families headed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) parents. For almost 30 years, Director Jim Clay has provided leadership in this area, modeling as a gay parent public support for family diversity. His efforts have had an effect. He says proudly, “Many of the ideas and policies we have championed have been adopted by surrounding programs, so we no longer have such a high concentration of LGBT-headed households. LGBT parents now feel comfortable in those programs too!”

Family engagement is also central to the program’s mission. Clay talks about his school’s high level of family participation: “As you may imagine, none of this happens by magic. A lot of encouragement and nurturing must take place to actually have families involved at this level. We always seek to find some way for all families to be involved and to have their culture honored.”

Family Engagement Program Practices

Family Participation in Decision Making
School for Friends actively encourages parents to be involved in decisions about their children’s education. Four to six parents serve on the board of trustees, which determines the school policies. The group reaches all decisions by consensus, so there is a good deal of discussion and negotiation to reach agreement on policies. All committees (including the diversity committee) are run by parents.

Reciprocal Relationships
Staff invite families to share their unique knowledge and skills by volunteering and participating in events and activities at school. For example,

• In the fall, each family completes a checklist indicating the activities and committees in which they would like to participate.
• Parents and other family members regularly volunteer in the classroom—as room parents, on field trips, reading to the children, and so on.
• Each classroom has a “family of the week” (or “family of the day”), which is invited to share something about their home life during their chosen week. Families share their cultural heritage or their child’s favorite books, songs, family photographs, or foods.
• Alumni families are invited to an After School for Friends event, where they share their experiences and support families whose children are transitioning to kindergarten. Families get important information about the public, charter, and independent school choices available to them, which provides perspective and strengthens community connections.

All teachers have benefitted from teacher “switch days,” during which staff swap classrooms with a colleague. Switch days help teachers get to know the children and their families better. Clay says, “Teachers find these days so valuable to get to know the children in another classroom, exchange ideas with other teachers, and visit with children they have taught in the past or with children they will teach in the future.” The school lets families know when these special days happen and emphasizes their significance for children, teachers, and families.

A Comprehensive Program-Level System
Clay and the staff have worked hard over the years to institutionalize family engagement and a commitment to diversity into the structure of School for Friends. Written policies and practices support the school’s commitment. A diversity committee made up of family members and staff is charged with acting on issues pertinent to diversity in the school. As one of its first accomplishments, the committee drafted a diversity statement. The following excerpt (find the full statement on the School for Friends website) reflects the shared vision of staff and families:

We are proud of our success in consistently attracting a diverse student population. At School for Friends, diversity exists not only in terms of race, religion, and nationality but we also have a longstanding commitment of welcoming children of gay and lesbian parents, supporting single parents, and welcoming families of all income levels. Among our children are those with different learning styles as well as many who are adopted. These are just some examples of the kind of diversity you will find at School for Friends; each year we encounter applicants who bring some component of diversity.

The diversity committee considers whether the school is effectively meeting the statement’s intent and considers other ways the school can address issues of diversity. For example,

• Each year, eight percent of all tuition fees and a small grant from a family foundation is automatically allocated for financial aid. This helps to ensure that families from a variety of economic backgrounds are able to participate in the school.
• Typically, about 20 percent of the children receive some form of financial aid.
• Unlike many private preschools in Washington, the program does not screen for developmental delays. The school partners with the Center for Outreach in Education to assess children and provide needed classroom supports.
• A typical center in the same neighborhood is not as ethnically diverse. At School for Friends, 50 percent of families are non-White (African American, Asian American, and Latino). Families report that diversity was extremely important to them when they were looking for an early childhood education program for their child.

Developed for NAEYC's Engaging Diverse Families Project through a generous grant from the Picower Foundation.
© National Association for the Education of Young Children.