 Nearly 90 members of the State College Friends School gathered virtually this past Saturday for the Winter Gathering: 40 Years of Spreading Light. We lit candles to represent the light in each of us, eternally connecting us all even when we are far apart. We looked back on 40 vibrant years of Friends education at SCFS, and looked ahead to our next chapter with words from our incoming Head of School, Joe Doherty. We sang songs and enjoyed original music and covers from Laura Boswell, alumna and professional musician. It was a beautiful evening of light, music, and togetherness.
To close the evening, our Interim Head of School, David Kern, spoke about all the love we cannot see. He encouraged us to find the big and small moments in which we can witness this love within our community, if we pause to notice. In all the ways that friends contributed to the Winter Gathering, we see that love glowing bright around our school. We are grateful to friends who attended the live event, prepared and purchased meals, shared music, donated and bid on auction items, hosted breakout rooms, contributed reflections for the 40th Anniversary video, and made gifts directly to the SCFS Scholarship Fund. It was inspiring to witness the love of this community and a joy to experience the sincere connection between us. To learn more about the SCFS Scholarship Fund or make a direct donation, you can click here. The State College Friends School Board of Trustees is delighted to announce the appointment of Joe Doherty as the next Head of School. Following a search process that yielded a high-quality slate of candidates, the Board was in unity that Joe would be the best person to lead our school. This decision came after careful consideration of each candidate and the feedback provided by families, teachers, and staff. There were multiple strong candidates for the Board to consider, and we saw overwhelming support for Joe’s candidacy across the school community. This feedback provided a strong light to guide the Board toward its final decision. Most critically, the Board engaged in deep reflection about the future of the school and the steps necessary for Quaker education in the State College area to prosper long into the future. From this reflection it became clear that Joe’s talents, energy and creative ideas, combined with his commitment to Quaker education, captured the kind of leadership the school needs at this moment. Joe brings 25 years of experience in independent schools, including several years in Quaker education. He began his journey in 1997 teaching astronomy and physical science in California. The student-centered approach to teaching, along with a focus on discrepant events and inquiry-based learning, sparked a lifelong passion for teaching and learning. Another career highlight was his work at Tandem Friends School as a 6th-grade math and science teacher, which completely changed his life. The sense of community, commitment to Quaker testimonies, weekly Meeting, and seeing "the light" in each individual helped frame his role as an educator in a profound way -- “I couldn't be more excited to rejoin a Friends community! It is a great honor to join the State College Friends School community. From the very first time I stepped on campus, I felt the palpable commitment and care from all of the teachers, students, and parents. Every classroom I visited was filled with engaged students, an active learning environment, and an alignment of purpose and vision. My family and I look forward to relocating to State College and being part of this incredible Friends school.”
We could not have reached this point without the support of the community at large. The Board expresses its sincere thanks to the teachers, administrators and staff at the school who welcomed our candidates for in-person visits in a warm and safe manner. Our candidates saw children playing and learning, and saw teachers and the school administration working together. The Board also thanks the many families who turned out to meet with our candidates either in person or over Zoom. Our candidates saw first-hand the depth of caring that families have for the school and for their childrens’ education.
The Board is also thankful to those who spent many hours involved in the search process for an Interim and permanent Head of School over the past nine months. Kat Alden, Allen Behrer, Seth Blumsack, Miranda Kaye, Karen Maynard, Dana Mitra, and Lauren Tomasch devoted a tremendous amount of time to the entire search process. Annie Boggess, Larry Boggess and Lori Pacchioli worked tirelessly last spring and summer as we searched for and welcomed our Interim Head of School. Julie Hartley from Foxdale Village supported the search committee with her deep expertise in human resources. Jackie Elliott handled many requests from the committee to aid in communications and set up the e-mail account used by the search committee. We also thank David Kern, not only for his service as Interim Head but also for the time he devoted to advising the search committee this past fall and his help in identifying potential candidates. We are thrilled that Joe has accepted our offer and that he and his family will soon be joining our school community. Joe will officially begin his appointment on July 1, 2022. The Board is also exceptionally grateful to David Kern for his willingness to lead the school on an Interim basis during this year, and for the wisdom and experience that he has brought to the Board and to the search process. The Board pledges its support to Joe as he transitions into the leadership of our school at a critical time. In peace, Miranda Kaye and Dana Mitra Co-Clerks, State College Friends School Board of Trustees Thanks to the generosity of over 75 donors, this community unlocked a $10,000 gift to the Annual Fund from a school family. On November 30, we received more than double the 30 gifts needed to unlock this special gift. Even more exciting, 23 Friends School families took advantage of the opportunity for their gift to be matched, raising an additional $1,066. Together, we embraced abundance and made Giving Tuesday a community success. We are so grateful for your support and radical generosity. Thank you for keeping Friends School strong and growing.  The second-ever SCFS Get Outside Challenge took place October 13-27. This event was designed to deepen community ties, raise funds, and encourage friends to enjoy the great outdoors. Participants walked, ran, hiked, and biked their way through ten mile markers chosen in collaboration with the 5th- and 6th-grade Geography class. In just fifteen days, our hardy crew travelled from State College, PA all the way to San Francisco, CA - over 2,700 miles! It was a joy to students track their laps around the Friends School campus loop and parents organize class hikes on the weekend. We even had friends of the school log miles in other states. Friends School was thrilled to work with community partners on this challenge. Local businesses, organizations, and individuals pledged to fund mile markers along our route to benefit the 2021-2022 Annual Fund. As participants logged their miles, they "unlocked" these gifts along the way. We are so grateful to this community for their support and dedication. Stay tuned for a full report on this year's Get Outside Challenge to find out our final mileage total, the amount we raised for the Annual Fund, and a breakdown of who traveled across the country with us. Congratulations, friends! We did it.
As the days grew warmer this spring, Friends School found creative ways to practice stewardship. Students celebrated Earth Day with gardening and service projects around campus, conducted scientific observations of wildlife at the school pond, and created pieces of art that will make our building even more inviting. Children and their families participated in the first-ever SCFS #GetOutside Challenge to benefit the Scholarship Fund; in total, friends ran, walked, hiked, biked, and scooted over 1,000 miles in just two weeks. It truly has been a season of big outdoor energy, bearing witness to all the different ways one can practice what Quakers call right relationship with the earth. Read more about this good work by taking a look through the Spring 2021 issue of A Friendly Voice.  #GetOutside with Friends School!
The SCFS “Get Outside” Challenge is a brand new event for our community. In honor of Earth Day, we invite friends to get out into the natural world - running, walking, hiking, biking - from Saturday, April 24 through Sunday, May 9. Participants will gather pledges, get outside, and log their miles to see how far we can go together. In light of ongoing pandemic conditions, this will take place in lieu of the Fun Fair, an event that traditionally offers a delightful day of games, snacks, activities, and live music for our school to enjoy together with folks from the wider State College community. There are so many ways to take on this challenge: families can organize a weekend hike; individuals can plan to go on walks or jogs; a class can work together to set a goal for how many total miles they hope to go; parents can organize a walk, run, or scoot for their pod at a local park. We encourage all friends to choose their favorite way to get outside! How can I participate?
As an extra-fun bonus, Chen’s Mongolian Buffet will be hosting a #FriendsAtChens weekend on May 8th and 9th, the final days of the “Get Outside” Challenge. All you have to do is place an order and identify that you are supporting SCFS, and our friends at Chen’s will donate a percentage of those profits to SCFS. This applies to take-out orders, too! All proceeds from these events will benefit the SCFS Scholarship Fund. We hope that friends will feel led to participate, invite others to join in, get outside and go farther together. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Annie Boggess, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, at aboggess@scfriends.org. If you would like to make a gift towards scholarships at Friends School but do not plan to participate in the “Get Outside” Challenge, friends are encouraged to make a donation to SCFS through Centre Gives on May 11 and 12. With the goal of supporting nonprofits throughout Centre County, the Centre Foundation has hosted this 36-hour online giving event for the past ten years. Centre Gives is an exciting opportunity for community members to amplify their impact and make Quaker education more accessible for all. Click here for more information about Centre Gives, and stay tuned for more details about how to leverage your gift to the SCFS Scholarship Fund. Thank you for your support! State College Friends School is seeking an Interim Head of School for the 2021-2022 school year to begin on July 1. Located in scenic central Pennsylvania just minutes away from Penn State University, SCFS is an independent Pre-K through 8th grade school that serves students from several surrounding counties. For the past 40 years, State College Friends School has offered a vigorous educational program grounded in the Quaker testimonies of equality, integrity, and stewardship. These values shape an academically stimulating and inclusive school community in which our students can develop a sense of confidence and agency in their world.In the face of the pandemic, the SCFS community has approached the 2020-2021 school year with creativity, flexibility, and a commitment to health and safety while maintaining an interdisciplinary, child-centered curriculum. Teachers and students have successfully conducted in-person learning this year through a combination of outdoor education, upgrades to the school’s physical plant, classroom reconfigurations, and innovative pedagogy. RESPONSIBILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS The Interim Head of School will oversee school operations for approximately 100 students in seven multi-grade classrooms guided by seven lead teachers, several assistant teachers, three administrative staff and two part-time staff. They will be responsible for guiding the work of faculty and staff, advancement of the school through enrollment and development efforts, ensuring the upkeep of the school building and grounds, and strengthening the school’s relationships with members of the wider State College community. A successful candidate will bring experience in progressive education at the primary and intermediate levels in addition to effective administrative and managerial skills. The ability to work with faculty and staff collaboratively and build mutual trust and respect with the community will be crucial to the Interim Head of School’s work. While familiarity with Quakerism is preferred, all applicants should be willing to embrace, embody and clearly communicate the Quaker testimonies which are at the heart of the school. APPLICATION PROCESS Applicants should submit materials as a single PDF file to search@scfriends.org. A complete application will include all of the following:
Applicants may also send materials to the following mailing address, though this is not required: State College Friends School Attn: Interim HOS Search Committee 1900 University Drive State College, PA 16801 Questions about the search process should be directed via email to Seth Blumsack, Clerk of the Search Committee, at search@scfriends.org. State College Friends School is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  One of the central tenets of our work at State College Friends School is teaching students how to build peace. This can look like everything from practicing sincere apologies to analyzing social movement tactics from United States history. Children of all ages learn that they have the agency and the responsibility to actively engage in resolving interpersonal conflicts and, one day, finding ways to address the systems of oppression that harm so many. As you look through this issue of A Friendly Voice, we invite you to reflect upon the question, “What does peace mean to you?” We appreciate you taking the time to read about the good work that is happening at our school. If any questions or reflections arise, feel free to share them by replying to this email. If you would like to support Friends School’s mission nurturing tomorrow’s peacebuilders, please consider making a gift to the Annual Fund by clicking here. If you would like to receive a hard copy of future issues of A Friendly Voice, please email Annie Boggess at aboggess@scfriends. |
IRS notice for 501 C3 non-profit organizations: State College Friends School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
