Friends Forward

In Friends schools, well-designed meetings are an essential expression of thoughtful leadership. This workshop explores how to create meetings that are purposeful, inclusive, and engaging—spaces where participants actively contribute rather than passively receive information. Participants will learn practical strategies for designing focused agendas, facilitating meaningful collaboration, inviting diverse perspectives, and using silence and reflection to deepen discernment and decision-making. Grounded in Quaker values, this session will help leaders build meetings that respect people’s time, strengthen trust, and move teams forward with clarity, shared ownership, and renewed energy.

Our Peace Path protocol/routine is designed to support students in resolving conflicts independently. Our goal is to make the process, thinking, and conversation around a conflict or unsteady interaction one that is sensitive to both sides of a story, is simple enough for our young students to eventually manage independently, and responsive to the developmental needs of our students. The path is made up of stones that have simple and beautiful designs of a plant growing from seed to flower, representing the steps we are taking to help us reach a peaceful resolution. In this interactive session, we will share our experiences using this tool and explore scenarios together.

A school's mission statement is more than just marketing—it is a covenant of our shared values. How does your school’s mission statement move off the wall and into the daily lives of your students? In this interactive workshop,  we will collaborate to bridge the gap between high-level ideals and daily reality. We will begin with a brief reflection on the core purpose of a mission statement, followed by a dynamic "gallery walk" to analyze how our schools articulate their values. The session culminates in the introduction and collaborative trialing of a "Mission Rubric," offering educators a clear, measurable tool to ensure our decisions and programming faithfully reflects our mission. 

This interactive session explores two approaches to evaluating Quaker identity in schools: the structured, evidence‑based American Friends Council on Education model and the invitational, narrative‑rich UK Ethos Evaluation approach. Drawing on Ackworth School’s recent Quaker Ethos Report, participants will compare how each model captures the lived experience of Quaker values. Through discussion and group activities, the session will invite reflection on the strengths of both approaches and offer practical ideas for developing reflective, values‑led practice in participants’ own settings.