Friends Forward

At Westtown School many major discipline cases are heard by our student leader and adult Discipline Council. Outcomes and supports for the students who appear before DC are recommended to the Upper School Principal. We use Friends Decision Making practices for this work. We will share strategies we use to train students and adults to live into this important work. We welcome voices from other schools who use similar structures as well. Let's think together about the joys and challenges of this model.

In this session, we will explore how schools can engage in work that produces thoughtful, future thinking AI guidance in support of teaching and learning. This session will feature the experience of working on the MIT AI Student Leaders program to leverage student agency in designing AI policy and will share diverse perspectives on shaping clear, ethical, and practical frameworks for AI use in the schoolhouse. Participants will leave with design strategies and a sampling of school policies, to build guidance that is both adaptable and grounded in their community’s values.

Do you struggle to find the time and resources to fully transmit Quaker practices to your colleagues? Are you interested in learning more about best practices from your colleagues? Would you like to participate in an initial attempt to gather and publish those practices in a resources that could be used by every Quaker school? If you've answered affirmatively to these questions, please join us!

*This workshop will also be held Wednesday, July 8 4:00-5:00PM (Workshop 1).*

Goals for Today-Exploring Quaker Protocols-Threshing
To deepen Quaker practices in our teaching and learning, and in how we engage with one another as a community. Engaging in a Quaker Protocol as a community is one way we can serve that goal.

What is "Threshing"?
"Threshing" means separating the "wheat from the chaff" and working toward collective discernment of a way forward. Quakers use threshing, usually in advance of decision-making or discussion on a topic that might be controversial or difficult.

GOALS include
to explore a topic using a protocol that encourages all voices and that leads to deepening focus on aspects of common interest;
to gain practice using this protocol with colleagues;
modeling a collegial learning practice;
to emphasize the importance of both sharing and listening
to gain practice in following the protocol so all have a turn.

What Threshing is NOT
We are NOT trying to come to any conclusions or resolutions, rather use protocol to gain clarity to help with further decision making.

Credit: Deborra Sines-Pancoe and Shu Shu Coasta, SPARC, Friends Council

*This workshop will also be held on Thursday, July 9 3:15-4:15PM (Workshop 3).*