IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT
2019-2020
The Fund for Friends, our annual fund, provides the foundation for philanthropy at Friends. Gifts provide essential support during the current school year for the School's operating budget, contributing about 7% on an annual basis. Gifts to the Fund help provide for financial aid, respectful faculty salaries, athletics, performing arts, technology and more, which bolster our mission.
The Fund in 2019-20 raised $2,587,952 with 82% parent participation, 16% from alumni and 70% from faculty and staff.
We are grateful to the donors, volunteers and advocates of the School who recognize the importance of their support in creating an unparalleled learning environment.
BRIDGING THE GAP
Summer Bridge
As Friends Seminary was wrapping up the final weeks of our distance learning program for the 2019-2020 academic year, faculty and administrative staff responded to the needs of its students by creating a voluntary program for students called "Summer Bridge," designed to sustain learning between the spring 2020 and fall 2020 semesters.
The School’s desire to create the summer program was not only to give students additional academic and enrichment pursuits at a time when many summer plans and programs were being canceled, but also to thank families for their understanding and support during a swift move to distance learning in March. These programs were offered free of charge to enrolled Friends students with more than 300 participants eagerly signing up in the early days of registration.
Math Teacher Coleman Hall explains, “Summer Bridge was one of the best teaching experiences that I have had in my 10-year career. Not only was I allowed to teach about some math that I enjoy, I also was able to teach history, how to do statistical analysis through the decades, and have conversations about race, white supremacy, and the importance of diversity, inclusion, and advocacy, which is more important than ever to me as an anti-racist teacher.” In one creative endeavor for his class, Jill ’21 and Amy ’21 produced a creative comic describing gerrymandering.
The scope and variety of the Summer Bridge Course Catalog for Middle and Upper School students attests to the strength of the Friends faculty. A special Lower School program, Back in the Saddle for Grades 1-4 provided enrichment and a review of skills to prepare students for the fall. Special programming, including education around the Quaker SPICES for incoming students and parents in Kindergarten was also offered. Staff from the Center for Peace Equity and Justice and the Friends Seminary Outdoor Program (FSOP) created programming for all divisions. Summer Bridge provided opportunities for students and teachers to explore topics of interest at a more relaxed pace.
In addition to the academic hallmarks of Summer Bridge, the program provided the opportunity to connect intellectually with friends and loved ones during prolonged isolation and social distancing. Simon ’25 loved learning to tie knots of all sorts and put his hobby to use during his FSOP session. This opened the door for his 88-year-old grandfather, who was visiting for their shared birthday celebration, to teach Simon knots he remembered from his time in the Navy. Simon comments, “This summer was hard for everyone, but the Summer Bridge Program was a good way to learn new skills, see friends and even make new ones!”
Leitzel Schoen, Dean of Co-Curricular Programs reflects, “It was gratifying to see students’ natural curiosity flourish when traditional incentives like grades and course credits were removed.”
FINDING BEAUTY IN ISOLATION
ChoreoShow: Alone Together
When losing access to dancers and the annual ChoreoShow, the ChoreoLab class pivoted and studied the art of dance for the camera. Each choreographer created a solo work in response to their environment and feelings. Performances included: Antonia's '21 “Disconnect,” “Second Guessing” by Paige '22, “Moonlight” by Josey '21. Janell '20 danced to Beyoncé's Pray You Catch Me, and Mia's '21 piece in three acts: “The Early Days, The Journey, The Beginning.” The compilation also included "LAPSE," a special guest performance by alumna, Piper Morrison '19, which explores the passing of time and its role in our sense of reality. Click here to view the performances.
LIFT EVERY VOICE FROM AFAR
Grade 4 at Carnegie Hall
Friends Seminary's Grade 4 Choir was given the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall this past spring. However due to the pandemic, all are now able to enjoy their performance from the safety of home. Please enjoy the celebration of All Together: A Global Ode to Joy, a yearlong project that honors the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Grade 4 performs their original selection for the event, Lift Your Voice, which is featured along with other school and artist submissions from the Songs for Joy program. Tracy K. Smith, who wrote the reimagined "Ode to Joy" that inspired their composition, was present to read her poem as well! Congratulations to the Fourth Grade Choir and Madolyn Accola, Director. Click here to learn more.
SOME GOOD NEWS COMES
TO FRIENDS
Some Good News, a weekly lunchtime conversation, modeled after John Krasinski’s weekly report by the same name, brought unique perspectives from leading journalists, healthcare professionals, thought leaders, scholars and philanthropists to the Middle and Upper School during distance learning. Sponsored by the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice, the talk show style programs provided students the opportunity to interview a variety of guests from those tackling online conflict and prejudice to others on the front lines of Covid-19.
Dylan Marron '06, host of Conversations with People Who Hate Me, a podcast where he calls up the people behind negative comments on the internet, kicked off the series with a review of his projects around transgender rights and "Unboxing Privilege," a series of satirical videos that focused on injustice and the internet hate that comes with it. He spoke to social media overtaking our perceptions of reality and the damage it causes. He also explained his real and humble approach in engaging with conflict online and stressed action over bumper sticker slogans like 'love trumps hate.' Change takes time, and Dylan is advocating for it on the front lines.
Deborah Roberts, an award-winning ABC News Correspondent for 20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America, and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir joined Friends for a special episode dedicated to journalism and philanthropy . Roberts’ long form reports on 20/20 have consistently produced extraordinary narratives such as her profile of first lady Michelle Obama. Roberts spoke to students on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable and minority communities as well as the federal, state, and local responses. She noted that the path forward is to look for moments of positivity and joy and “find the greater angels within us,” in combating the crisis. In the same segment, Lauren Sandler an award-winning journalist who has written about inequality for dozens of publications including Time, The New York Times, Slate, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and New York Magazine, and has worked as a producer at NPR. She addressed mass unemployment, health discrepancies, and the vast inequalities in working remotely, explaining that “everything is connected.” Rounding out the conversation was Kwaku Driskell, Senior Program Officer for the Early Childhood and Youth portfolio and Raj Borsellino, Program Officer for Adults and Household Supports at the Robin Hood Foundation.
In another episode, the Upper School's Asian Culture Club and Raising Awareness, Advocating Diversity Club co-hosted a conversation with Dr. Khyati Joshi. Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi is a scholar and thought leader on the intersecting issues of race, religion and immigration in the United States. Her writings, speeches, and course work focus on promoting cultural and religious pluralism in the United States.
The program also brought together thought leaders from Bloomberg Philanthropies who have been partnering with Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to help U.S. cities and states responding to Covid-19. Betsy Fuller, a Friends parent, reviewed the unique position philanthropy is in to help the government and the steps Bloomberg Philanthropies is taking to assist the most vulnerable, citing they “depend on data to drive policy-making decisions.”
The series also introduced the Friends community to other parents like Justin Lane, parent to Dahlia ‘26 and New York Bureau Chief and Staff Photographer for the European Pressphoto Agency. Charlie ‘21, who authored a piece on the impacts of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable populations of NYC, led a discussion with Justin on some of his recent work and the stories behind it. He explained that he enjoys taking photos that make people stop and question why they should care and prefers to focus on the odd and visually unexpected. Charlie questioned the driving force behind his work, to which Justin responded, “I feel lucky to get to do what I do” and “be a window to what’s happening now.” Through his work during coronavirus/Covid-19, his photography has served a “greater purpose in helping people understand the pandemic” with compassionate, honest images that show the realities of the disease in New York.
Dionne, mother to Nylu '23, a family nurse practitioner at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Flatbush, Brooklyn took time out of her busy schedule to speak with the Friends community as well. She works in the Family Medicine Department in an outpatient clinic, providing primary care services to their patient population. Dionne helps people with disease prevention, health maintenance, patient education, and diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses.
Some Good News was a hallmark in the School’s efforts to keep its community members connected during the difficult transition to distance learning in the spring. It brilliantly married current events, curriculum, social justice work and the Friends community when it was needed the most.
