WFS case statement

The Campaign for Wilmington Friends School

Today, Friends School is part of a global neighborhood—and we are just as bold in our belief that Quaker education can make the world a better place.

Robotics in Motion Cover photo: Using his smartphone, Matt ’14 directs and records video with a “Quadricopter” he programmed as part of a computer science/robotics project.

A Better World In 1748, Wilmington Quakers founded Friends School to serve the children “of the neighborhood”—for the good of the children and for the good of the neighborhood.

Those early Quakers were visionary in their assertion that quality education, combining practical preparation with moral principles, was the best hope for civic, as well as individual, advancement.

Today, Friends School is part of a global neighborhood, and we are just as bold in our belief that Quaker education can make the world a better place.

Our vision for the Future of Friends continues to focus on a timeless mission and timeless values, aligned for the demands and opportunities of the 21st century—to give students the knowledge, skills, confidence, and inspiration they need to succeed and to “let their lives speak” toward the creation of a more just and sustainable world.

At Wilmington Friends School, we honor our history by always looking forward to the future that our students will help to lead. We invite our partners to join us in shaping the future of Friends.

From the 19th to the 21st Century Sydney ’16 with an 1825 globe from the Friends School Archives; the “Wilson Globe” is believed to be the first ever used in a Delaware school.

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Global Learning Center Athletic Facilities Renovations

Getting There Building on the strength of historic foundations, a dedicated and caring faculty, and recent programmatic successes—including national recognition from the E. E. Ford and Malone Family Foundations—Wilmington Friends has embarked on a comprehensive campaign to: 

Expand and renovate facilities to advance student skills in

critical thinking and communication, creativity and design, leadership and collaboration. 

Promote, through facilities design, the progressive

integration of technology and environmental stewardship in support of the curriculum. 

Develop a model global education program, developing

critical skills while integrating the School’s Quaker mission, academic program, and history of local and global engagement. 

Increase faculty salaries and support for ongoing

professional development to attract and retain the best teachers. 

Build on the School’s mission-based and market-

responsive leadership in providing financial aid.

QUEST Term Endowment

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A 21st Century Learning Commons

Transformation by Addition

“Contemporary school libraries

••• Global Learning Center

are more than centers of information access. They are centers for

The Global Learning Center and parallel renovations will do much more than provide needed classroom space. The project is purposefully designed to advance global education at Friends and the progressive integration of technology in support of the curriculum—especially through opportunities opened by the student laptop program.

learning that extend and sup-

Every student will be better served as the middle/upper school building is transformed into a tech-integrated environment that supports critical components of global education in support of:

to global connection….A forward-

port the work that goes on in the classroom. They are focal points of collaboration and entry points looking library will include multifunctional spaces that facilitate



Design and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)

studying, researching, meeting,

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World languages and cultural understanding

creating, collaborating, and shar-

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Collaboration across classrooms and disciplines

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Small group research study

ing of final student projects.”

- Independent School Magazine, Summer 2013

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New Labs, New Possibilities The new upper school STEM Lab will support independent studies and research using computer and electronic design and three-dimensional prototyping. It will also provide a base for students to prepare for team competitions in robotics and other STEM programs. The third floor Project Lab will provide space and resources for middle school students to complete independent mastery projects as well as collaborative, team-based work.

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The Value of Zero The plan for the new classroom wing is to be a “net zero� building, producing more energy than it requires for operation.

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Global Learning Center (continued)



The Global Learning Center, designed to support collab-

orative and technology-based projects, will include four classrooms for world languages and one for history/social science. 

Relocating a history classroom opens space for an upper

school STEM and design lab, connected to the existing physics classroom. 

The library adjacent to the addition will be renovated as a

learning commons—an extension of the design for collaboration, to make the most of technology in support of curriculum, a hallmark of which is the development of exceptional communication and research skills. 

The existing third floor will be configured specifically to

serve middle school, with both tech-friendly language classrooms and an interdisciplinary project lab. 

Environmental features of the new building will allow us to

teach by example, as well as by instruction: Geothermal wells Rain garden (water collection and re-use) Additional solar panels

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Leading the Field

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••• Athletic Facilities Renovations

In the distinctive athletic tradition at Friends, coaches are teachers, and fields are classrooms. As part of our learning facilities improvement, we will convert one athletic field (at the end of School Road, near lower school) to multi-sport turf and install a top-quality track.

Priorities in choosing among the latest turf technologies include: lowest risk of injury, effective surface-heat reduction, and most favorable environmental impact. The new facilities will: 

Provide a quality surface on a field where, unlike most

areas at Friends, the soil does not naturally support grass. 

Help student-athletes to prepare for competition on turf,

notably in state tournaments and in college, and better serve our lower school physical education program. 

Allow the Friends track team to practice and host

competitions on campus. 

Continue to strengthen the School’s position in a

competitive admissions market.

An Outdoor Classroom “Friends plays to win, but the School has never lost its focus on the educational value of athletics – for everyone who participates, from future Division I players to the student who just wants to try something new.

Each student who plays in a Quaker uniform takes away life lessons, which he/she will carry forever.

The Right Time for Turf Advances in turf technology make this the right time to convert the one Friends field where grass is difficult to sustain. The improved field turfs are easier on both the athletes and the environment.

- Debbie Mellor P arent of Alumni

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Summer QUEST In June 2013, 42 Friends students traveled to the Dominican Republic and participated in The D.R.E.A.M. Project (Dominican Republic Education & Mentoring program).

One of D.R.E.A.M’s goals is to promote literacy in the town of Caberete through educational and youth empowerment programs. WFS students led summer camp activities, teaching classes and working one- onone with D.R.E.A.M students ages eight to 14.

“The trip refocused the center of attention in my life.”

- Caroline ’14

Integrated Service Learning In addition to connecting directly with D.R.E.A.M. Project students by leading educational and recreational summer programs, Friends students refurbished part of the organization’s facilities. QUEST Term would provide an ongoing, structured program for such intercultural service learning, both through extended school trips and back home in Wilmington.

Transformation by Experience

••• QUEST Term

To answer the responsibility and opportunity of our mission to offer students a transformative educational experience while developing essential skills, we propose a new signature global education and leadership program — QUEST Term, named for Friends School’s nationally recognized Quaker Center for Understanding, Engagement, and Stewardship.

QUEST Term is designed to develop student attributes including research, analytical, and communication skills; a sense of citizenship and cross-cultural understanding; and an orientation toward both collaboration and leadership, with confidence in approaching new challenges.

A high-school extension of successful college-level models, QUEST Term will provide unique preparation for both the 11th and 12th grade International Baccalaureate (IB) program and university study by providing: 

Integrated academic and experiential learning

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Intercultural service-learning experiences

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Global and local civic engagement

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O pportunities to develop leadership skills

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Sustaining Community

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••• Endowment & Annual Giving

In order to sustain the community of faculty, staff, students, and families that we value as the strongest foundation of Friends School, we need to increase yearly income from our endowment.

Endowment is the best assurance of the School’s long-term financial sustainability as a leader in educational quality and opportunity. Endowment is an investment in our community to: 

Continue to recruit and retain the best teachers—the people

who inspire students, bringing the Friends mission and program to life—through competitive compensation and benefits and with ongoing opportunities for professional development. 

Attract and retain the best qualified students, regardless of finan-

cial need, students who bring talent and diversity that enrich our program and community for all. 

Temper tuition increases and rising demand for financial aid,

while meeting the costs of program and facility investments.

As endowment sustains Friends in perpetuity, annual giving supports the school today, funding the needs at the heart of our day-to-day operations, from technology to salaries. Annual giving is also an essential part of this campaign, with annual gifts counting toward, and accounting for, a significant percentage of our goal.

Supporting the Best Faculty Building endowment will ensure that Friends can continue to attract and retain the best teachers--the people who bring our mission and program to life for students every day.

Community

Setting the Stage

••• Additional Projects

“The new theater lobby is dedicated to Violet Richman, and it’s hard to imagine a better

The Global Learning Center, turf field and track, QUEST Term, and endowment support for faculty and financial aid are the culminating projects of Friends School’s comprehensive campaign.

Other campaign projects include — 

New theater and Neff Gym (underway, still seeking

funding) 

New QUEST Center and middle/upper school

Meeting Room (near completion) 

Improvements to football/girls’ soccer field, baseball

field, and tennis courts (completed) 

Relocated/renovated upper campus band, choir, and music class-

rooms (completed) 

Relocated/renovated upper school art room and renovated middle

school art room (completed)

representative of teachers who have a lasting impact on their students and the School. May the resonance surrounding this lobby bring forth the same joy as that of Violet’s incredible laughter and beautiful smile.”

- Raymond Osbun ’71

Wilmington Friends truly has been a 21st century school since 1748, and it has thrived for so long because the people entrusted with its mission have recognized their obligation to look forward.

Building on the foundations of history, the successes of recent initiatives in global education, the talents and dedication of our faculty, and the sense of community among our families and alumni, we are positioned to meet the promise of the future once again. The opportunity and responsibility have never meant more.

In that spirit, we ask you to consider making a gift that will strengthen our foundations for current students and sustain the promise of a Friends education for generations to come.

-B ryan G arman , H ead

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101 School Road Wilmington, DE 19803 302.576.2900 www.wilmingtonfriends.org

The Campaign for Wilmington Friends School