caren and jon of the arts team

20 years of friendship

visual art teacher caren andrews and drama teacher jon burnett talk about their longtime friendship, professional partnership, and building the sffs arts program from the ground up.

Two decades ago, Caren Andrews remembers that she was first drawn to a small, fledgling school in the Castro because of the way it seemed to mentor its teachers and provide generous opportunities for growth and free thinking. She would become San Francisco Friends School’s first art teacher— and she’s happily been creating art with her students first at Diamond Street, and now at 250 Valencia, ever since.

“I appreciate being an artist at a school that encourages us to speak our Inner Light. We aren’t shut down or censored—and that’s [an essential] part of art-making.” She notes that San Francisco Friends School also supported her when she pursued a Master’s in Arts Integration halfway through her 20-year tenure as an art teacher here.

Caren says she’s come to consider her classroom a “thinking lab,” where students can stretch their creativity and feel a sense of belonging, whether they consider

Opposite page: Longtime Friends and colleagues Caren and Jon in Caren’s art room. This page: students at SFFS enjoy and are supported by a robust Arts Program.

themselves artists or not. She says that her students help her to stay focused: “Young children demand that you are present—you cannot think about what else is going on.”

Originally, longtime SFFS Drama Teacher Jon Burnett planned on joining Friends as a part-time teaching assistant—but he felt a strong connection to the Quaker values espoused by the school due to his family’s own Quaker roots, and he knew he wanted to make the move more permanent. “I came in one day a week at first for two kindergarten classes and extended day—and gradually I began coming in more days and the Drama Program expanded and grew.”

Jon remembers being struck by how “art was respected here and given time and space. Every student learns to stand and deliver and express themselves... Kids appreciate words, story-telling, and the power of stories.... I feel a responsibility to be sure that this thing represents what the school is about. I try to find stories that make sense for the values of the school and I want to find a balance, too—middle school plays should have some lightness, some humor sometimes, and also tackle weightier themes sometimes. I want kids to have a good range of experiences in drama.”

“We have a lot of kids who graduate from here who look for the arts in their high school and collegiate experience. Jon notes how inspiring it feels to be with a group of students who have hit a creative groove. “It feels like magic and it snowballs. Kids can transform... they can have an epiphany in drama class.”

Jon explains that sometimes a Middle School class can get a reputation as a raucous group—and often that’s the crew who are simply brimming with creativity and looking for an outlet—and they find a place to thrive in the arts. “The arts present a wonderful way to keep joy alive and a place for kids to connect.”

Both Jon and Caren mention how appreciative they are of spending so many years at an institution where they are valued as both artists and educators. “Here there’s a sense of the arts being important to this school that I love, important to its mission,” Jon says.

Caren agrees: “[Founding Head of School Cathy Hunter] had a vision and a strong commitment to the Arts Program, and that’s probably part of what fueled both of us staying is feeling valued. We know that this place is built on valuing all forms of learning and expression.”

As we wrap up our talk, Caren smiles as she says: “If were to leave tomorrow, I would leave a better human because of my experiences at Friends.” •