One of our traditions at Chicago Friends School is that each classroom makes its own class rules at the beginning of the year. This practice starts with students stating goals for their year, and then discussing what kind of learning and classroom environment they need to reach these goals. After our middle school classroom devised…
This meditation about the mission of the school recently featured in our newsletter. Why does Chicago Friends School exist? What are we trying to do? We are trying to make students who will make a better future. Let’s stop and think about that for a second: Making a better future. It’s easy to be discouraged…
It happened so quickly. There was a ward meeting about the possibility of sheltering migrants at a local park center in July, and by August 1 there were hundreds of migrants moving into a shelter steps away from our school. These families with children had made the arduous, almost 3000-mile journey across MesoAmerica and had…
On Monday, students in grades 3-8 will be taking the El down to Daley Plaza to participate in the citywide celebration of United Nations Peace Day. This is a tradition we have participated in since 2018. Students make their own peace signs, travel to the El, and participate in the call for peace, a ceremony…
A guest post written by the parent of a 2023 graduate of Chicago Friends School. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over nine years since Chicago Friends School entered our lives. Our then pre-K student wanted a small class size where he would have freedom to play and explore. We wanted a place that…
As I write this, the dust is just settling on two Supreme Court decisions that will affect education in America and the promise it provides. The first decision denies student loan forgiveness, and the second denies affirmative action. Their accumulative effect will be to preserve power and privilege in the hands of wealthier, whiter people,…