Welcome

Dear Friends,

Throughout its dynamic history, Germantown Friends School has always cherished its core belief that each individual has that of God within, supporting students as they discover their unique Inner Light and celebrate it in others. The school’s evolution has been grounded in Quaker values, progressive pedagogy, and a classical approach, a foundation that allows GFS to share its mission to seek the truth; challenge the intellect; honor differences; embrace the city; and nurture the mind, body, and spirit in relevant and meaningful ways.

The ethos of continual revelation that guides the school’s approach to teaching and learning also extends to its strategic vision. There is no end. There is no limit. This nimbleness allows GFS to be an adaptive, responsive, and healthy institution today and for generations to come. In fact, the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Visiting Committee also found GFS to be “a school that was no longer willing to rest on its previous history and success, but instead a school that was focused on being better every single day.”

Compelled by its foundational values, GFS embarked on the Strategy Through Inquiry process two years ago, giving the community a platform to explore its future direction and role within education more broadly. The School Committee embraced these ideas and perspectives and married them with campus and operational needs to identify a set of purposeful directives to enhance and advance the GFS mission. Your enthusiastic participation and thoughtful contributions to the process have informed a clear vision for the future of GFS that prioritizes the themes of Mission-Driven Program, Learning in Community, Strength and Stewardship, and Responsible Impact.

Today, we pause to celebrate the school’s storied journey, and also to look forward, presenting a framework for the future of GFS that ensures an educational excellence attuned to our changing world.

Just as the community answered the call to help identify and shape this exciting vision, I ask you now to join with us in moving it forward. I am confident that our lively, thoughtful, hopeful, and inspiring community will continue to prepare young people for the demands of today and tomorrow. I am grateful for your partnership.

Warmly,

Dana Weeks
Head of School