For decades, the Friends Select After School Program (ASP) has created an engaging, extracurricular environment for students in lower and middle school while providing peace of mind for their families.

Undergraduate enrollment in colleges and universities across the United States dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a total two-year decline of 4.2% after 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. But for the 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the country, applications have increased nearly 30%, with many serving as a first choice for college-bound students. 

I have been the head of Friends Select’s board of trustees for three years, during which time I have learned so much about our school, independent schools in general, and boards. What I love about this work is that it boils down to stewardship.

Although Friends Select's Families of Black Students Collective (FBSC) is in its first official year, this Family Association affinity group is already having a tremendous impact on the school community.

Two years ago, Toni Graves Williamson, Friends Select School’s director of equity and inclusion, was asked to write an adaptation of Robin DiAngelo’s New York Times bestseller White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism for young adults.