Dear Parents,

Thank you for your interest in Harford Friend’s Lower School. One year from now our first group of lower school students will be navigating a whole new world of discovery. Each child will enjoy the privilege of personal attention within a nurturing classroom environment. Families new to Harford Friends School will become a part of a dynamic school community in which our families play a central role.

Harford Friends School faculty and staff serve as one-half of the embrace around each of our students. You are the other half. In fact, we’ve named our parent-teacher association to reflect the importance of a child’s two worlds, “Home and School.” Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a collaborative partnership between home and school for that child to flourish – academically, socially, and spiritually.

Harford Friends School seeks to acknowledge and enrich the spiritual life within our students. As an institution grounded in Quaker values and practice, we “let our lives speak.” While there is no Quaker doctrine or dogma, there are two beliefs central to all that we do. We act upon the knowledge that there is “that of God in each of us.” Regardless of our personal religious and political beliefs, we are each a living representation of the Divine. We seek truth through openness to “continuing revelation” or new knowledge and awareness. As humans we do not know all there is to know and must learn to question and seek answers to discern truth. For more than three centuries, this has been the motivating factor behind the formation of such institutions as Columbia University, Swarthmore College, Friends School of Baltimore, and Sidwell Friends School, among many others.

There are also six tenets that guide our program – simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. These serve as the foundation of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), but clearly are held by others regardless of religion.  It is the intent of Harford Friends School to help a child or any other member of our community to become a more mindful, engaged, skilled, and knowledgeable individual capable of making and expected to make a positive difference in our school, our community, and our world.

The discovery, the enthusiasm, the excellence, the learning all begins here. We look forward to welcoming you to our school and our community!

In peace,

Jonathan Huxtable
Head of School