Find Your Voice. Speak Your Truth.
Use It for Good.
At the heart of Friends School Haverford is the Quaker belief that there is an inner light in every person. This belief has guided our school community for generations. It is why we treat one another with deep respect, welcome families of all religious and humanistic traditions, and ask even our youngest learners to see the worth in themselves and in each other.
From this foundation grow the Quaker testimonies, known as the SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. At FSH, these are not rules to memorize or boxes to check. They are ways of being, practiced each day in our classrooms, in Meeting for Worship, on the playground, and in the wider world. As children grow from toddlers to fifth graders, so does their understanding of what it means to live by these values.
Each testimony reflects both its centuries-old Quaker roots and the daily life of our school community, adapted to honor the developmental journey of children from one-year-olds through fifth grade.
Simplicity
In a world full of noise and excess, we help children discover what truly calls to their curiosity and imagination.
Simplicity at FSH means clearing space for deep play, genuine connection, and the kind of learning that happens when a child is fully present. We try to keep our environments simple and free from unnecessary distraction, not as rules but as an invitation to discover what truly nourishes. When children are not overwhelmed by too much, they can hear themselves think.
At FSH, this looks like: A preschool classroom with open shelves, natural materials, and unhurried morning meeting time, where children learn early that the best kind of busy is focused and full of wonder.
Peace
Peace is not simply the absence of conflict. It is a skill, a practice, and a commitment to building something better.
At FSH, our teachers have developed and refined a model for peaceful problem-solving that begins in our very youngest classrooms. Children learn the language of feelings, the courage to name a hurt, and the skill of listening before responding. They are prepared not only to resolve conflict when it arises, but to notice injustice and work toward repair in their friendships, their communities, and the world.
At FSH, this looks like: Two toddlers sitting knee-to-knee with a teacher, using words and pictures to work through a disagreement over a toy truck, learning at two years old that every person’s feelings deserve a hearing.
Integrity
We invite every child to be exactly who they are, and to act from that honest place, even when it is hard.
Integrity at FSH means being truthful, taking responsibility, and doing one’s best work not for a reward, but because it matters. We teach children to be proud of themselves and their effort, to respect themselves and all of humankind. When mistakes happen, as they do for all of us, we lean into repair and reflection, not punishment.
At FSH, this looks like: A preschooler who, unprompted, tells a teacher they accidentally knocked over a friend’s block tower and wants to help rebuild it, learning early that honesty and care go hand in hand.
Community
Through our doors to the day a kindergartner confidently joins Meeting for Worship, every child at FSH grows up knowing they belong to something larger than themselves.
Our community is small by intention: teachers know their students deeply, families contribute their talents and energy freely, and partner classes pair older and younger children to learn from one another across age and grade. We value our close ties to Haverford Monthly Meeting and the neighborhood that has sustained this school since 1885.
At FSH, this might look like two children meeting as partners each week, first shy, then curious, then inseparable, learning to read and play together, each one a teacher and a student at once.
Equality
The Quaker belief that there is goodness and worth in every person is a joyful one. It means every child who walks through our doors arrives already worthy, not of something to be earned, but of being truly seen.
At FSH, we encourage consensus in decision-making, welcome families across religions, races, backgrounds, and beliefs, and work actively to ensure every child’s voice is heard. We examine systems of power with honesty and age-appropriate care, so children can grow into people who notice inequity and know they have the power to respond.
At FSH, this looks like: A class gathering in a circle to decide together how they will care for their classroom garden, with every voice included from the quietest to the loudest, because every perspective shapes what grows.
Stewardship
We are caretakers of the earth, of our campus, and of one another.
FSH’s wooded grounds are not just a backdrop for learning; they are a living classroom. We tend our campus as a habitat for wildlife, teach children to walk lightly on the earth, and help even our youngest students understand that small choices like picking up litter, turning off a light, or noticing a spider web can reflect a deep love of the world. Stewardship also means caring for our shared spaces, our time, and our relationships.
At FSH, this looks like: The whole school gathering to plant native wildflowers along the fence line, with every age group digging together, learning that what we tend together outlasts any one of us.
Living the Testimonies at FSH
We return to these testimonies not just in philosophy, but in practice: in the rhythm of weekly Meeting for Worship, in the way we set up our classrooms, in how we approach conflict, how we celebrate one another, and how we engage with the broader community of Haverford and beyond.
The testimonies are living things. They grow with our children, deepen with our teachers, and evolve with our community. As every FSH family becomes part of this more than 140-year story, they carry these values forward in ways we have not yet imagined.
Friends School Haverford has been under the care of Haverford Monthly Meeting of Friends since 1885. We welcome students and families of all religious and humanistic traditions.