Wilmington Friends has been a huge part of our lives and a second home for more than 20 years, and for 15 of those years, I have served on the Board of Trustees.
Farewell Susan! (But Not Goodbye) After 15 years on the WFS Board of Trustees, we are saying “goodbye” to Board Clerk Susan Kelley who will be rotating off. Susan was Vice Clerk for two years and Clerk for eight, and prior to that she was the Home & School Board Liaison. We are thrilled to say that Susan will remain involved in several Board committees. Here, we talked to Susan about her time on the Board. Please tell us about your background with WFS. What has the School meant to you? My husband, Bernie, and I moved our children, Eric and Lauren, to WFS when they were starting 2nd grade and kindergarten, respectively, in 2000. Bernie first suggested looking at WFS; he had a number of coworkers who had children there. I was very involved at our kids’ previous schools and we liked our neighborhood, so I was hesitant but agreed that if he would set up the appointment, I would visit, thinking he never would! Well, he did make the appointment. We visited and fell in love with WFS. We found it warm, friendly, strong academically, more diverse than our previous school, and with an educational philosophy that matched ours. I had served on the Board of Trustees at Fairville Friends School and had been a class rep at Unionville Elementary School, so I wanted to find a way to get involved in our new school. The first year, I focused on helping in the classrooms when they needed volunteers and making sure that both children transitioned well into their new school. After that year, I moved into various roles in Home & School and continued to volunteer–in the Library, co-chairing two after proms, coordinating concessions for sporting events, and co-clerking the sports banquet until both Eric and Lauren graduated. I also became an ardent sports fan of WFS as my children went through the School. We met many parents during our time there that became good friends, who we now consider lifelong friends. In the past few years, we have had the opportunity to see so many of the children that we knew when our kids were at WFS grow up and graduate from college, medical school, law school, graduate school, get jobs, get married, have children, and some are even considering sending their future children to WFS. The years have flown by, but the School will always mean so much to me. 4
Summer 2020 • QuakerMatters
Working with people like Bryan Garman, Bill Baczkowski, Ken Aldridge, Marilyn Maguire, Ann Cole, Darcy Rademaker, and all the other trustees, as well as the admin team has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I will miss serving on the Board, and seeing, almost every day, the many people that have become so special to me. It is truly hard to imagine not being at school and being a part of the work of the Board. I would stay forever, but it is time for others to take over. I am confident that the School will continue to thrive and adapt to the world in which we live. More importantly, I know that it will continue to serve our community and educate the future leaders of our world while honoring the Quaker testimonies. It is a special community that I feel extremely fortunate to have been a part of in this way for so long. I will treasure these years forever. What interested you about joining the Board at WFS? I have always enjoyed schools and, like my mother, was always involved with the schools my children attended. However, being on the Board is different from being in school helping with events or assisting faculty in some way. It is about the future of the School and ensuring that it continues to provide educational opportunities consistent with its mission, as well as remaining financially viable. I was on the Board at Fairville Friends School in 2004 and was clerk of that Board for several years ending in 2007, so I had some understanding of how Quaker Boards operated. In comparison to being on the Fairville Board, joining the WFS Board was like moving from a summer job to your first “career job.” That was in 2004-2005. I have since held various positions on the Board, most recently serving four terms as Board Clerk. My length of time as clerk is a little longer than is typical, but I remained clerk when we had a transition in leadership when Bryan Garman left to become the Head of Sidwell Friends. I served as clerk while Bill Baczkowski was Interim Head of School, and then remained clerk of the Board when Ken Aldridge became the new Head of School in 2015. I have really enjoyed working with all three Heads of School. I think what I am going to miss most is the amazing people that I have gotten to work with over the years. What interested me most about joining the Board was the ability to be a part of ensuring the future of WFS. When I first
Susan along with parent of alumni Governor John Carney and Head of School Ken Aldridge.
