Wilmington Friends School

Wilmington Friends School
Address
101 School Road Wilmington , Delaware 19803 United States
Coordinates	39°46′07″N 75°33′02″W
Information
Type	Private school
Religious affiliation(s)	Society of Friends
Established	1748 (277 years ago) (1748)
CEEB code	080160
Head of school	Kenneth E. Aldridge
Teaching staff	74.1 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	Preschool - 12[1]
Enrollment	694 (includes 46 PK students) (2017-18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	8.7[1]
Website	www.wilmingtonfriends.org

Wilmington Friends School is a private Preschool-12 school in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, United States, near Wilmington.[2] It is affiliated with the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers.

History

The school was founded in 1748 by members of the Wilmington Monthly Meeting of Friends.[3]

Of the school, Delaware historian Benjamin Ferris wrote in the 19th century, "Thousands of children have there received the first rudiments of an English education."[4]

In 1937, the Friends School moved from its original site to its current location in Alapocas, just outside the city of Wilmington. In 2019, it was announced that the school was selling its lower school building and constructing a new lower school on the middle and upper school campus. The community surrounding the school had an opposing viewpoint however and after years of push back and a denied request to alter variances, plans for the sale were cancelled. Wilmington Friends is now planning a significant remodel and expansion to the lower school, which will remain intact at its’ current location.

Notable alumni

• Ashley Biden, American social worker, activist, philanthropist, and fashion designer[5]
• Adam B. Ellick, correspondent for The New York Times who filmed a documentary about Malala Yousafza
• Linda Holmes, NPR personality and writer[6]^[better source needed]
• Matt Meyer, New Castle County Executive
• Crystal Nix-Hines, United States Ambassador to UNESCO
• Daniel Pfeiffer, politician and podcaster^[citation needed]
• Carol Quillen, president of Davidson College
• Mabel Vernon, American suffragist, pacifist, and a national leader in the United States suffrage movement^[citation needed]

References

1. "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for Wilmington Friends School". nces.ed.gov. US Department of Education. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
2. "Home". Wilmington Friends School. Retrieved February 14, 2021. 101 School Road Wilmington, DE 19803 - The school is not in the Wilmington city limits, as seen in a comparison with the zoning map as of July 2021. The Wilmington Friends School is indicated on the map as being outside the Wilmington city limits.
3. Hillegas, Jeanette O (October 1975). "Wilmington Friends School--1748". Independent School Bulletin. Retrieved February 8, 2008. This is another brief account of one of the seventeen member schools founded in the United States before 1776.
4. Ferris, Benjamin (1846). A history of the original settlements on the Delaware. Wilson & Heald. p. 298.
5. Joseph, Adam. "Joe Biden and Me". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
6. "WFS Summer 2013 Magazine". Issuu. p. 31. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

External links

• Official website