Impact Stories

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Discover inspiring stories that highlight the transformative impact of your generosity on programs and experiences across our school community.

A New Rhythm of Innovation

From Summer Planning to Classroom Practice: Friends Faculty Shape the Year Ahead

Last September Friends Seminary launched its first Anchor Grant & Lighthouse Award gallery walk, transforming a September afternoon into a living library of teacher-designed innovation. Conceived by K–12 Dean of Studies Hassan Wilson, the initiative gave faculty time and structure to turn summer research into concrete classroom practice—and to share that work openly with colleagues across divisions.

Two complementary grants powered this work. Anchor Grants deepened curriculum that aligned with divisional and K–12 priorities, strengthening coherence across courses and grade levels. Lighthouse Awards elevated projects that tested new, transformative approaches to teaching and learning, illuminating what might be next for Friends classrooms. Together, they created space for deep study, thoughtful risk-taking, and collaboration grounded in Friends’ mission.

At the gallery walk, posters, prototypes, and annotated unit plans showcased projects ranging from AI-informed science instruction and “Socratic AI” in Upper School Art History to a flipped model for Chemistry 1A, a refreshed Ancient India unit in Grade 6, and a Grade 3 STEM collaboration that turned curiosity into engineering habits. In Algebra 1, new reflection portfolios helped students transform test corrections into meaningful analysis of their own thinking.

Rather than a one-time showcase, the gallery walk marked the start of an annual rhythm in which summer work was brought into public view, remixed, and refined in community. The result was a faculty that designed carefully, shared generously, and kept students at the center of sustained innovation. Click here to learn more.

Young Parkitects

Reimagining Public Spaces with Purpose in Grade 1

Last spring, Grade 1 students in 1MLJ became “Parkitects,” engaging in an imaginative, interdisciplinary inquiry into how public spaces were designed, used, and cared for. Guided by Quaker values and systems thinking, students were challenged to reimagine nearby Stuyvesant Square Park so that it better served both the community and the environment.

The project began with a fictional brief from the Global Parks Initiative—but the work quickly became very real. Students visited Terrain-nyc, an award-winning landscape architecture firm led by Friends parents Steven Tupu and Wendy Chang, where they learned how professionals designed inclusive, sustainable parks within a complex urban ecosystem. Supported by Terrain designers, students saw firsthand how each design decision was part of a larger network of cultural and environmental connections.

Back at school, children conducted “site inspections” in local parks, noticing everything from seating and shade to pathways and plantings. They asked who felt welcome in each space, how nature was supported, and where improvements might help more people—and species—thrive. Those observations informed their own park plans, as each student designed a “dream park” that balanced creativity with thoughtful attention to access, equity, and stewardship.

The project culminated in collaborative blueprints for a reimagined Stuyvesant Square Park, inviting students to connect their ideas to a real neighborhood space. Along the way, they were practicing empathy, honing observational skills, and learning that even at six or seven years old, they could help imagine a more just and sustainable city. Click here to learn more.

A Year of Growth

Differentiation, Collaboration, and Bespoke Learning in Middle School Math

The Middle School Math program embarked on a transformative year focused on differentiation, collaboration, and bespoke learning. Led by Head of Middle School Michelle Cristella, Math Department Chair Melanie Smith, and a dedicated team of teachers, the department reimagined structures and strategies so students at all levels could engage deeply and confidently with math.

A partnership with Dr. Rhonda Bondie, former Harvard Graduate School of Education professor and author of Differentiated Instruction Made Practical, anchored this work. Through ongoing professional development, classroom application, and reflection, teachers refined their practice to respond more precisely to students’ needs—adjusting tasks, supports, and assessments while maintaining high expectations for all learners.

This learning did not stay within the math department. Faculty shared strategies with colleagues in Science and Technology, sparking cross-disciplinary dialogue about differentiation and student-centered instruction. Within the Middle School, differentiation became a shared lens, culminating in a Middle School Differentiation Fair where teachers presented successful lessons and projects, strengthening a culture of collective learning and professional curiosity.

Friends’ K–12 leadership structure made this level of collaboration possible. With the K–12 Dean of Faculty and K–12 Dean of Studies, the School aligned professional learning, scheduling, and resources with long-term curricular priorities. The result was a sustainable model for instructional growth—one that honored the complexity of Middle School math while ensuring that each student was known, challenged, and supported. Click here to learn more.

Windows and Mirrors

Reflections from South Africa

Last June, 18 Upper School students and three educators—Kara Kutner, Director of the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice; Kirsti Peters, Director of Diversity, Equity & Belonging; and History Teacher Stephon Richardson—traveled to South Africa for an immersive Global Education experience designed with EDU Africa. The program invited students to explore identity, resistance, reconciliation, and shared humanity in a nation whose history continues to shape global conversations about justice and democracy.

In Cape Town, students drummed with local musicians at Gugu S’Thebe, learned about protest music as a vehicle for community and resistance, rode the cable car up Table Mountain, and met artisans in local markets. Workshops at Soil for Life and with artist-researcher Dr. Marlon Swai introduced the concept of Tidalectics, while a cooking lesson in Bo-Kaap illuminated resilience and heritage through Cape Malay cuisine. Visits to Robben Island and the District Six Museum, led by guides who shared personal stories—including a former political prisoner—brought the history of apartheid into sharp, human focus.

The journey continued in Johannesburg and beyond. Students visited Lesedi Cultural Village, experienced wildlife on safari, and spent reflective time at the Apartheid Museum, drawing connections between South African and American histories and contemporary activism. On Youth Day in Soweto, they honored the student uprisings of 1976, visited the Hector Pieterson Museum and Mandela House, and ended with a joyful meal and cultural exchange in Pimville, where a local family welcomed them with song, dance, and new African names.

The trip served as a living classroom—one that asked students to listen deeply, reckon with complexity, and return home with a renewed sense of responsibility to their communities and the wider world. Click here to learn more.