s a parent I often find it difficult to sustain the spirit our children experience in First Day School and meeting throughout the week. There are so many competing influences in the general culture that often overshadowed my own beliefs. As each generation of Friends passes, that struggle to maintain our identity and to walk in the world becomes more difficult. Things that unified my grandparents generation-many friends who shared their beliefs, the plain language, and an understanding by others in Delaware Valley communities of who they were and for what they stood-made rearing my mother in Friends ways much easier. Meeting not only nurtured the spirit, it also provided a social network. Attending monthly, quarterly and yearly meeting and also the Cape May Conference were planned for and anticipated with joy. It was an opportunity to visit with F(f)riends. As the world has become more mobile and numbers of Friends have dwindled in proportion to the rest of the population, competing with pop culture has become more challenging. Attending Friends schools helped to bridge those two worlds for my children and me.

What Friends schools do in particular is nurture the spirit giving our children a collective opportunity to learn and practice those beliefs we hold most dear. The education is an intentional one that leads children to internalize a way of being. Each Friends school may have a different means of making that happen, but central to all is meeting for worship. It is a time when the entire student body gathers together waiting on the spirit and it can be a very powerful experience. The quality has much to do with the preparation and the daily happenings that nurture children. This might best be explained through the example of one elementary school, West Chester Friends School.

It begins with a Board who is committed to offering a fine education delivered in the manner of Friends. Board meetings are held in a manner similar to meeting for business. At its monthly meetings, each member places before him/her a name card. On the back is the statement of the school's philosophy, a constant reminder of the essence of the school for which they have been charged to support. It is their responsibility to hire a Head who is compatible with this philosophy and who has the vision to implement it successfully. The Head is responsible for hiring teachers and staff who must not only be well-prepared in their professions, but also have a philosophy compatible with Friends. During interviews, discussions on philosophy are essential. For those who have limited experience with Friends, an openness to the testimonies is explored.

The testimonies are the basis for the curriculum and at each grade level specific testimonies focus the social studies and Quaker curriculum. As an example, the third grade emphasis is on equality. Students study immigration, the Underground Railroad and Quaker abolistionists as well as important peacemakers such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi. Children's literature serves as a vehicle for understanding and discussion. Classroom teachers as well as specialists (including a Quakerism teacher) integrate curriculum to support these studies. A Quaker school psychologist provides weekly guidance classes for all grades; he touches on life issues, giving students the tools to cope peacefully in their immediate world.

Service projects planned by the Student Council and the Faculty Outreach Committee are integral to school life. Last year children of all grades enjoyed activities with and performing for the residents of the Hickman, Sharpless, and Barclay Homes at various times of the year. The fifth grade students met with Hickman friends weekly to do projects and visit. Children in grades one through five participated in Jump Rope for Heart and raised money for the American Heart Association. Early Start and kindergarten classes hopped for Easter Seals. In conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, WCFS held a coat drive for a local women's and children's shelter. There was also a canned food drive for the Salvation Army. Classes also cooked for the homeless. Internationally, the children prepared earthquake relief kits to be sent to El Salvador by the American Friends Service Committee, collected toothpaste to send to children in the Amazon region of Peru along with an informational booklet about dental hygiene written and illustrated by first graders, and raised money for the Heifer Project. The latter endeavor resulted in a visit from Beatrice Biira of Uganda, a high school student, who was able to receive her education because of the revenues generated as a result of a gift of a goat to her family through this project. The children were all familiar with her story as they had read Beatrice's Goat prior to her arrival. They were able to directly see how their actions actually could make a difference in someone's life.

It is often difficult to benchmark the intangible. However, the writing of students provides us with concrete evidence of how deeply the spirituality of a Friends school touches its students. The boxed pieces above were written by two students in their final year. Both were non-Friends, but their words reflected what I believe we Friends want for our children. Their words spoke of what was in the walls.

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Mary Beth Hempel served as head of West Chester Friends School from 1993-2001.