Above Board: Leading without a Map | News | Friends Select School

 

 

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Above Board: Leading without a Map

I’m grateful to say we have found our bearings.

 

Advance Friends Select, our strategic plan, has helped us navigate through unknown terrain and conflicting traffic reports for the past six years.

 


Last summer, how many of us heard the common refrain from kids in the back seat on a road trip, “Are we there yet?”

 

Above Board

Ingrid Lakey '89, P'27, Board of Trustees Clerk

 

Given whatever map app you use, you could give a pretty accurate answer. Even when an unforeseen traffic jam occurs, almost instantly the app gives you a new route and ETA.

Running a school doesn’t work this way. In the past, as Friends Select’s board of trustees, we might have considered many of the decisions we needed to make to be relatively straightforward and on a clear recurring timeline. We knew which lane we were in. But these days, it can feel as if we are trying to find our way without a map.The COVID-19 pandemic was a massively destabilizing experience. Suddenly, the usual modes of operation were up in the air, unknown, and potentially risky.

Although we aren’t in the depths of that crisis anymore—and I’m grateful to say we have found our bearings—we must also recognize that this is a time of tremendous ambiguity. Climate disruption, artificial intelligence, gun violence, the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in higher education—we must reckon with each of these issues as a society and as a board.

Advance Friends Select, our strategic plan, has helped us navigate through unknown terrain and conflicting traffic reports for the past six years. We have been diligently working to make the goals—excellence in teaching and learning, financial sustainability, use of space, and strategic partnerships—articulated in that plan a reality. This fall, we will update it to take into account our progress and incorporate priorities like environmental sustainability. Over the past year, we have also created a dashboard that will enable trustees to track information more easily so that we can more effectively make real-time, data-informed decisions. As always, our mission as a Quaker school is the bedrock.

As we face day-to-day obstacles and chart Friends Select’s course for generations, we must continually test if we are accountable to our mission. We have to constantly ask how we can approach each challenge as an opportunity to live more fully into our purpose. In this time of ambiguity, we have to be both reactive and proactive to fulfill Friends Select’s mission today and into the future. Deciding which route to take can be daunting, especially without a map or a clear ETA, but there is no doubt we are on an exciting journey.

 

 

Fri, 02 May 2025

Going For Gold: Andrea Kremer ’76, Traci Green ’96, and Maia Weintraub ’21

Friends Select School is proud to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our alumni, who excel in diverse fields while embodying the values instilled in them during their time at the school. Three remarkable Friends Select alumnae—Andrea Kremer ’76, Traci Green ’96, and Maia Weintraub ’21—exemplify this tradition. 

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Friends Select School hosted a Student Civic & Community Engagement Summit (SCCE) last October in celebration of National Voter Education Week. 

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Unveiling a Newly Refurbished Gymnasium

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From the Archives: Updating Our Athletic and Physical Education Facilities

The evolution of Friends Select’s athletic and physical education facilities mirrors the school’s growth over time. 

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Inaugural Falcon Fest Soars

On October 17, Friends Select students, faculty, and staff celebrated the inaugural Falcon Fest, an event designed to cultivate community and school spirit across all grade levels.

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Excellence in Teaching and Learning Beyond Our Classrooms

Friends Select faculty and staff exemplify a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning beyond their classrooms.

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Giving Back: Ben Behrend '12

As a young alumnus, Ben Behrend '12 has been a dedicated supporter of the school that shaped his life in meaningful ways.

 

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