Friends Academy (Massachusetts)

Friends Academy
Location
North Dartmouth, Massachusetts United States
Coordinates	41°37′28″N 70°58′57″W
Information
Type	Independent
Established	1810
Head of school	Stephen Barker
Grades	Preschool to Eighth grade
Gender	Coeducational
Campus size	65 acres
Color(s)	blue & gray
Website	http://www.friendsacademy1810.org

Friends Academy is an independent day school in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts founded in 1810. Its academic programs run from Preschool to Eighth Grade.

History

Friends Academy was founded in 1810 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) from New Bedford, Dartmouth, and the surrounding area. The campus was first located on County Street in New Bedford. It later moved to a building on Morgan Street.

The school moved to its current Dartmouth campus in 1949. Formerly the site of the Tucker farm and later the Herring family estate, the property was donated to the school by the heirs of the Herrings. Friends Academy's early childhood education program is housed in the Tucker farmhouse, built circa 1813. The school also occupies the former Herring mansion (grades K-5) and the Stites building (grades 6-8).

End of Quaker affiliation

The school's board of trustees was originally required to maintain a Quaker majority. This practice remains common at other Friends Schools (e.g. Moses Brown School). Board members tended to be wealthy and influential members of the Society of Friends, and were expected to give a set percentage of their income to the school. At some point, a wealthy trustee balked this requirement and became a Unitarian. Hoping to make peace (or perhaps to retain the continued support of the rich trustee) the board voted to allow non-Quakers as members. With no restrictions on Quaker majority, the school soon dropped its religious affiliation and ceased to be a Friends school. However, the school still has some faint links to the Quaker community: each year the graduating class holds a pre-commencement ceremony at Apponegansett Meeting House that is similar to a Quaker meeting for worship.

Academics

Programs for: Early Childhood—Ages 3 and 4, Lower School—Grades K-5, and Upper School—Grades 6-8.

Faculty & Staff

The school's permanent head of school is Stephen Barker.

Athletic & Extracurricular Activities

The school offers lacrosse (both boys' and girls' variants), soccer, girls' field hockey, boys and girls basketball, track, cross country, and tennis. Field hockey is the only non-coed sport.

External links

The official webpage: www.friendsacademy1810.org