Alexandria Friends School
Encyclopedia
Alexandria Friends School (AFS) is a private, non-profit Friends "Quaker" middle and high school (grades 6-12) located at 3830 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia
, USA. It was founded in 2006 by faculty and staff from Thornton Friends School
's Alexandria campus, which closed at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. AFS’s goal is to "help students connect with their education and discover their innate love of learning". The founders of AFS are dedicated to continuing the nine-year tradition of Quaker education recently established in northern Virginia by the previous school and to reestablish the historic connection of the Religious Society of Friends with nearby Quaker Lane. The school will temporarily close its high school in 2012 and accept applicants for 6th and 7th grade only for the 2012-2013 school year. Each year thereafter, grades will be added until grade 12 is once again enrolled.
Alexandria Friends School is operated in accordance with the practices and principles of the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers"). In 2009, the original Thornton Friends School of Silver Spring, MD, ceased operations. Alexandria Friends School is now the only school operating on the Thornton model. The unique program and approach to learning that makes a school a "Thornton" school begins with an emphasis on the core Friends' testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.
In the Friends tradition of service to others, each student completes forty hours of community service for each year she or he is enrolled in the school. Students sign a statement of commitment which includes a pledge to tell the truth (Integrity).
Like most "Quaker" schools, AFS includes Meeting for Worship on a regular basis (twice a week for twenty minutes each time) where the community of students and staff gathers for silent reflection. Sometimes there is a query or question posed to guide that reflection.
Teachers emphasize equality by being on a first-name basis with the students, and let them know that teachers are learners just as much as the students are. Faculty meetings are conducted as Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business, which means that all decisions made at faculty meetings are arrived at by Sense of the Meeting, what some Friends have described as a process that goes "beyond consensus". Administrators consult with the faculty on all decisions that directly affect them and the future of the school. The school is guided by the Friends' belief that "there is that of God in every person", which leads to respect for both students and staff as human beings.
The school's motto is "nurturing the Inner Light". Among the things that constitute the Thornton program are these: the school meets the students where they are when they come to AFS and strives to bring them forward from that point, academically, spiritually, and emotionally. Grade levels and competition are deemphasized. Courses are taught depending on the students' needs for having a particular subject in any given year. Every effort is made to help the students let go of their past difficulties, relax, build confidence, and rediscover the joy of learning. Much of this is accomplished through community.
The school is small by design. Friends believe that it is important for everyone in the gathered community of the Meeting (or, in this case, the school), to be able to know one another well. Small classes, small advisory groups, and numerous all-school activities which often include the students' families contribute to this. Small classes also permit a high degree of individual attention and instruction.
The school works intentionally to build that sense of community among students, staff, and the students' families. All-school camping trips, where students and staff work together to prepare meals and clean up after themselves, are held at the beginning and end of each school year. Potluck dinners with the students' families help everyone to connect with one another on an informal, social basis.
The school is countercultural to the extent that it emphasizes simple living in an age of consumerism, and care for the environment, something which society at large has begun to embrace.
The school’s academic curriculum includes courses in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), English, history, and electives such as art and sports. Each school day ends with "Renaissance" classes featuring popular electives in its aftercare program.
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, USA. It was founded in 2006 by faculty and staff from Thornton Friends School
Thornton Friends School
Thornton Friends School was a 6-12 Quaker school with three campuses, two in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A., and one in Alexandria, Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area...
's Alexandria campus, which closed at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. AFS’s goal is to "help students connect with their education and discover their innate love of learning". The founders of AFS are dedicated to continuing the nine-year tradition of Quaker education recently established in northern Virginia by the previous school and to reestablish the historic connection of the Religious Society of Friends with nearby Quaker Lane. The school will temporarily close its high school in 2012 and accept applicants for 6th and 7th grade only for the 2012-2013 school year. Each year thereafter, grades will be added until grade 12 is once again enrolled.
Alexandria Friends School is operated in accordance with the practices and principles of the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers"). In 2009, the original Thornton Friends School of Silver Spring, MD, ceased operations. Alexandria Friends School is now the only school operating on the Thornton model. The unique program and approach to learning that makes a school a "Thornton" school begins with an emphasis on the core Friends' testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.
In the Friends tradition of service to others, each student completes forty hours of community service for each year she or he is enrolled in the school. Students sign a statement of commitment which includes a pledge to tell the truth (Integrity).
Like most "Quaker" schools, AFS includes Meeting for Worship on a regular basis (twice a week for twenty minutes each time) where the community of students and staff gathers for silent reflection. Sometimes there is a query or question posed to guide that reflection.
Teachers emphasize equality by being on a first-name basis with the students, and let them know that teachers are learners just as much as the students are. Faculty meetings are conducted as Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business, which means that all decisions made at faculty meetings are arrived at by Sense of the Meeting, what some Friends have described as a process that goes "beyond consensus". Administrators consult with the faculty on all decisions that directly affect them and the future of the school. The school is guided by the Friends' belief that "there is that of God in every person", which leads to respect for both students and staff as human beings.
The school's motto is "nurturing the Inner Light". Among the things that constitute the Thornton program are these: the school meets the students where they are when they come to AFS and strives to bring them forward from that point, academically, spiritually, and emotionally. Grade levels and competition are deemphasized. Courses are taught depending on the students' needs for having a particular subject in any given year. Every effort is made to help the students let go of their past difficulties, relax, build confidence, and rediscover the joy of learning. Much of this is accomplished through community.
The school is small by design. Friends believe that it is important for everyone in the gathered community of the Meeting (or, in this case, the school), to be able to know one another well. Small classes, small advisory groups, and numerous all-school activities which often include the students' families contribute to this. Small classes also permit a high degree of individual attention and instruction.
The school works intentionally to build that sense of community among students, staff, and the students' families. All-school camping trips, where students and staff work together to prepare meals and clean up after themselves, are held at the beginning and end of each school year. Potluck dinners with the students' families help everyone to connect with one another on an informal, social basis.
The school is countercultural to the extent that it emphasizes simple living in an age of consumerism, and care for the environment, something which society at large has begun to embrace.
The school’s academic curriculum includes courses in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), English, history, and electives such as art and sports. Each school day ends with "Renaissance" classes featuring popular electives in its aftercare program.