Friends Community School (FCS) is a vibrant and nurturing community with strong Quaker roots, a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and community, and a progressive approach to education. At our core, we believe that intellectual and moral education are inextricably interconnected, and we focus on fostering both academic and spiritual growth in our students. We know that grappling with complex ideas allows students to engage their natural curiosity. Our inquiry-based approach to instruction and our practice of active reflection allow students to build skills that are important in academic and social settings alike. The belief that there is a divine spark, a human dignity, in every person informs how we design curriculum, teach our classes, build community together, and navigate conflict.
Our learning community is dedicated to cultivating lifelong learners — students who value continuing revelation, or an ongoing search for a deeper understanding of self, others, and the larger world — through classroom instruction and experiential learning. We support courageous risk-takers who embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. We celebrate joyous peacemakers who recognize and care for the unique Light in each individual in all they do. Whether in the classroom, in the woods behind our campus, on a class trip to Catoctin Quaker Camp, or engaged in a project or on a team, students learn the importance of collaboration while developing the courage to speak their individual truths. Our relational approach to education allows for deep connections between students and their teachers, which are important in promoting authentic learning and a sense of belonging. And our K-8 context allows for childhood to be centered even as our Middle School students serve as leaders to the community.
FCS lives at the unique juncture of Quaker values, progressive pedagogy, and K-8 education. We take seriously the responsibility of empowering students with the academic, social, and emotional skills that they will need to be successful thinkers, learners, and humans when they leave FCS and move into high school and beyond.
