As the only national organization of Friends schools, the Friends Council on Education is in a unique position to assist schools and their teachers, students, and families by providing publications and programs to support the implementation of Friends values in the classroom and in the life of the school community.

Friends Council nurtures the spiritual life of Friends schools, strengthens the connections between the schools, and promotes Friends education through providing consulting services, professional development seminars, literature to support Quaker testimonies in school life, and peer network meetings across schools.

The Friends Council website provides resources to member schools and the general public on Friends education, peace education and Quakerism, as well as a job posting service and information and links to member schools. The Council also provides the E-Quakes listserv, a communication channel for dialogue about issues related to Quaker testimonies in education.

Friends believe that each person has the capacity for goodness and a responsibility to attain that goodness. Our schools create deliberate moral communities—communities that value the process of reflection and inquiry, and are rooted in the fundamental Quaker belief in truth as a process of continuing revelation. Quaker pedagogy is based on the principles of teachers as caring facilitators of the learning process, dialogue as the foundation of learning in the classroom, and curricula reflecting Friends testimonies and values. Friends schools support the development of persons who are creative thinkers, peacemakers, and confident humanitarians, contributing to responsive and responsible public leadership in the world. The Friends Council on Education supports the development of teachers and leaders who can make this possible.

—Irene McHenry
Executive Director