FRIENDS SCHOOL HAVERFORD Haverford, Pennsylvania HEAD OF SCHOOL Start Date: July 2021 friendshaverford.org Mission Guided by Quaker principles since its founding in 1885, Friends School Haverford provides an intellectually rich program to an intentionally diverse school family. The School promotes academic scholarship, creativity, respect, integrity, and self- awareness with a commitment to creating a culture of stewardship and kindness. Friends School Haverford graduates are uniquely prepared to go forth with boldness of intellect and character. OVERVIEW Friends School Haverford, founded in 1885, is a Nursery-8 coeducational day school well known for its welcoming, child centered culture and intellectually rich program. Serving students and families of all religious and humanistic traditions, the School offers a warm and diverse environment that helps students develop a strong sense of identity as they hone their intellectual and social-emotional skills. Serving around 100 students, Friends School Haverford is dedicated to the Quaker tenets of integrity, service, simplicity, equality, community, peaceful conflict resolution, stewardship, and sustainability. Students emerge as curious, confident, knowledgeable, and thoughtful young people — with the skills necessary to succeed in high school and beyond. Friends School Haverford seeks a dynamic leader as its next Head of School starting July 1, 2021. The successful candidate will be an experienced educational leader devoted to the School’s Quaker mission and program. The Head of School has oversight of all organizational activities and serves as the School’s academic leader, fostering a climate of excellence and ethical growth among students, faculty, and staff. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a highly regarded independent school with an unwavering commitment to student success. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 2 Fast Facts Founded: 1885 Total students: 96 Total faculty: 22 Faculty with advanced degrees: 57% Student/teacher ratio: 5:1 Students of color: 38% Financial aid budget: $335,475 Students receiving aid: 25% Endowment: $2.1 million THE SCHOOL Founded in 1885 as a coeducational elementary school, Friends School Haverford is the oldest Quaker school on Philadelphia’s Main Line. The School was established by the Haverford Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. From the earliest days, Meeting members, community members who sympathized with Friends educational ideals, and families associated with Haverford College have sought to provide a highly engaging Friends elementary school in the community. Today, Friends School Haverford serves students from nursery school through grade eight. The overall program is rooted in academic challenge, intellectual vigor, artistic expression, service, and kindness. Teachers encourage children’s curiosity, creativity, and joy of discovery as they grow intellectually, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Employing the tenets of progressive, constructivist education, the School fosters an atmosphere in which students learn to work independently and in cooperation with others. Students are challenged to question, explore, reflect, reason, and communicate effectively. Emphasizing essential Quaker tenets for life and learning, Friends School Haverford cultivates a community characterized by diversity in belief, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic background. Embedded in the mission is the belief that each child deserves to be seen, heard, and deeply known. From the youngest students to the graduating eighth graders, the School believes that all children own their voice and that the School’s job is to help them find that voice and speak their truth. Friends School Haverford is governed by the School Committee, which is responsible for the mission, philosophy, policies, financial health, and appointment of the Head of School. Members of the School Committee include parents, alumni, community leaders, and neighbors. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 3 ACADEMICS The core of the student-centered curricular program focuses intently on language arts, mathematics, and social studies, supported by engaging classes in science, Spanish, art, music, and physical education. In the Early Childhood program (Nursery School through Kindergarten), teachers collaborate in a curriculum that is nature-based, child-centered and progressive. The theme-based academic program focuses on language and literacy development, mathematical thinking and expression, and scientific thinking, exploration, and discovery. The Lower School (grades 1-4) helps each student build a strong personal and academic foundation, with an emphasis on the skills and habits of lifelong learners. In language arts, students learn to use their skills in the context of self-expression and connecting meaningfully with others. The program includes both writing and reading workshops, which engage students in collaborative learning and a focus on metacognitive skills. The program also includes active engagement in mathematics, social studies, science, Spanish, and the arts — much of it shaped around the interests of the students. The Middle School (grades 5-8) academic program is designed to prepare students well for high school and life beyond. The language arts curriculum seeks to nurture students’ love of reading and a critical eye toward texts and the world at large. The humanities program challenges students to look critically at history as an intentionally constructed story and nurtures in students the capacity to change the world for the better. In the Quaker tradition of social justice, great care is taken to represent undervalued groups in the curriculum. Students develop research and critical-thinking skills while simultaneously learning about history, anthropology, and civics. The comprehensive mathematics curriculum engages students in mathematical practice through problem-solving, interactive experiences, technology, and visual learning. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 4 Secondary School Placement Ninety-nine percent of Friends School Haverford students are admitted to their first-choice high schools. In recent years, students have matriculated to the following schools: AIM Academy Christopher Dock Mennonite School Conestoga High School Delaware Valley Friends School Friends’ Central School Friends Select School George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science Germantown Academy Girard Academy Music Program The inquiry-based science curriculum incorporates Harriton High School independent student work and cooperative group Haverford High School experiences. In grades 5-6, students study cells, genetics, light and sound, and the history of science. In grades 7-8, Lower Merion High School the focus shifts to ecology, forces and structures, energy, Revolution School and climate change. Science, Technology, Engineering, Science Leadership Academy at Art, and Math integration (STEAM) is also an important component of the overall curriculum. Beeber Short Ridge Boarding School During the COVID-19 pandemic, the faculty and staff Springside Chestnut Hill have been offering students and families a rich learning St. Joseph’s Preparatory School experience through a thoughtfully constructed distance- learning program that includes both synchronous and The Agnes Irwin School asynchronous learning, along with morning meetings, The Baldwin School weekly reflections, a plethora of carefully curated The Concept School resources — and constant, ongoing support. The Haverford School The Shipley School THE ARTS The Woodlynde School Westtown School Art, the stories of artist’s motivations and the methods William Penn Charter School employed by the greatest artists — whether contemporary or historic — are tightly interwoven in a curriculum that introduces students to the power of self-expression. Studio Arts — including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, weaving, pottery, and more — begin during the earliest years and continue through eighth grade. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 5 At every age, students engage in music as a language of self-expression with exceptional power to reach people through their emotions. In the Nursery School, students are introduced to group music- making activities. By the time they reach Middle School, they have facility with music notation and are confident readers. A feature of the Middle School music program is that all students are taught to play the marimbas and memorize rhythmically complex arrangements of songs based on the Shona music of Zimbabwe. Every year, the Friends School Haverford Kwaya Marimba Group offers concerts throughout the Philadelphia region. ATHLETICS Friends School Haverford believes that preparation for a life of healthy physical activity is an inherent part of a good education. To that end, students engage in physical activities and play at all grade levels. Over the course of the third- and fourth-grade years, students learn the skills and game rules for soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, and lacrosse. They understand the qualities necessary for playing on a team, including sportsmanship, teamwork, and leadership. Students further develop their motor skills by engaging in aerobics, gymnastics, and track activities. Middle School students continue playing the sports they’ve learned in previous years, and build on their knowledge of game fundamentals, team strategy, and skill development. Students are motivated to participate fully and confidently and engage in both a healthy competitive spirit and sportsmanship. The program offers co-ed soccer