 November/December 2000 (XXXVIII 5) |
s the 1999-2000 school year came to a close, the last meeting of the Friends Schools Working Group was the occasion to tie up loose ends, review the year, and set goals for the year to come. The March 25, 2000, session of Yearly Meeting had been supportive of the Education Covenant, several major funds had committed to generous support of scholarship assistance for Quaker children, and the working group was beginning to experience a renewed sense of direction and accomplishment.
Mission Statement The Mission of the PYM Friends Schools Working Group is:
To nurture and support the schools under the care of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and to strengthen them in their efforts to provide an excellent education within a framework based upon the testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends.
To be a resource for Friends Schools, as they work in the disparate worlds of practical education and Spirit-led Quaker principles to create a setting in which children can learn.
To serve as a link between Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the Friends schools in its area, and to endorse wholeheartedly the PYM Covenant on Education.
To emphasize the principle that the Yearly Meeting and the schools under its care are religiously-based entities whose work is best done in a Spirit-centered atmosphere.
In witness to this Mission, the Friends Schools Working Group will carry out projects that:
- Assist Friends schools by:
- Recognizing their membership within the PYM Friends school community;
- Recommending small financial grants for special projects and workshops;
- Identifying prospective school committee members.
- Help to articulate Quaker faith and practice to the families and teachers in Friends schools by:
- Visiting schools, and meeting with teachers and Heads;
- Providing information, workshops and speakers as requested.
- Foster greater cooperation and communication among local Friends schools, their Heads, teachers and students, as well as School Committee members by:
- Maintaining communication through newsletters and other appropriate means;
- Being helpful and attentive should any special problems or concerns arise within a school.
With the concurrence of the Education Standing Committee, the funds budgeted for education had been equally divided between the Friends Schools Working Group and the Public Education Working Group, with $10,000 being allocated to each for distribution to deserving projects. Along with the Newsletter Working Group, which issues a monthly newsletter to Friends school teachers, administrators and Quakers teaching in public schools, these three working groups undertake the work of the former Committee on Education. All three groups meet together once a month at the Fourth and Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia.
In its role of ministering to the needs of the 40 Friends Schools in the PYM region, the Friends Schools Working Group undertakes to visit each Friends School on a regular basis. Priority is given to small schools and schools that are in their first few years of operation or that require special consideration. Quite often, a visitor is able to discern a need with which the committee can offer to help immediately. Discussions with school heads and faculty are especially important in gaining an understanding of the character of each Friends School.. During the past year, over half of PYM schools were visited and even more were contacted more informally by phone. Eleven schools received enrichment grants totaling almost $10,000 over the course of the year. Each of the schools was asked to supply a copy of their Mission Statement and nearly all responded.
These days everyone is busy, without exception. Nevertheless, the Friends Schools Working Group needs your help. The work we do is not only vital, but also pleasant, and parking for our meetings at Arch Street Meeting House is very convenient. We have approximately nine meetings per year with little preparatory work needed and often we have cookies! If you have a profound belief in Friends education, remember your own Friends School days with great affection, or just want to know more about our schools, we would love to have you join us.
Telephone Tom Hoopes, PYM Coordinator of Education Programs, at 215-241-7223 or tomh@pym.org. He will tell you how to become involved with the Friends Schools Working Group.
Charlene DiMicco
Middletown Meeting (Bucks, PA)
Friends Schools Working Group
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM