SPRING 2010Drew Smith
Head of School
Mullica Hill Friends School will turn 45 years old this coming September. I am sure that those of you who participated in its creation are especially aware of how quickly the time has passed and how much the school has grown.
As one who has worked at the school for half of its history, I feel connected to both its past and its future. As I prepare to move to a new professional challenge, I am confident that the school is in fine hands; with eight alumni who now teach and hold administrative positions in the school, and one founder of the school returning to serve on the Board of Trustees, the spirit and mission of the school is in the hands and hearts of individuals committed to the long-term future of Quaker education in our region of South Jersey.
The school has never had an easy go of it. This has been especially true this past decade, where the effects of a changing economy has not spared the Friends School community. In many ways, it is truly a miracle that the school has survived for so long. Indeed, the region meets none (with a capital “N”) of the marketplace characteristics necessary for financial sustainability recommended by the National Association of Independent Schools! In other words, if one were to start an independent school from scratch, it wouldn’t be in Mullica Hill.
I mention this not as a point for negative consideration; rather I mention it because our 45 years are a testament to the dedication of hundreds of individuals whose sheer will has preserved what is the most well-known source of Quaker outreach within Salem Quarter. Families throughout Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Camden, and Atlantic Counties know that the lives that Quakers lead represent an alternative to the violence, tribalism, and zero-sum competitiveness that all seem to enjoy great prominence in our society. Many of those families have embraced this alternative enough to become members of Salem Quarterly Meeting.
I will most certainly miss being here. It is hard to imagine that next September I will not again be welcoming four- and five-year-old students to a new school year at Friend School. I leave feeling proud of our community and the work we do every day. And I feel grateful for the friendships I have developed with so many of you through the years. Those friendships have made me who I am today and give me the confidence to move on to my next assignment at the Russell Byers Charter School in Philadelphia.
Please know how grateful that I am for the support and care of Salem Quarter and its members. I know my successor, Bruce Haines, will benefit from it as well.
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Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 06:04 PM
