I recently had lunch with another school head from the neighborhood, who was asking me about managing fear following the terrible shooting that occurred two weeks ago today near the school. I talked to her about my own fear – as a private individual who both works and lives in Edgewater, am I afraid, and…
On Thursday, Feb 1, I attended a vigil to remember the three high school students who were shot within yards of the front door of Chicago Friends School. I did not speak at the vigil but spent some time afterwards wishing I had had the presence of mind to speak about Quaker commitment to the…
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 graduate from Chicago Friends School’s class of 2023.] 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…
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,…