At Friends Select, upper school students have opportunities throughout the year to participate in special programming designed specifically to uplift the values of social justice.
This includes clubs and activities, as well as classes that are offered like Race and Society and African American History. Between the first and second semesters, student leaders partner with teachers to produce Social Justice Week. Regular classes are suspended for the week and the other students in upper school get to learn from their classmates who have spent the first few months of school designing curriculum, planning field trips, and inviting guest speakers for their designated tracks. For Social Justice Week, the tracks that are offered are student-generated and have included Food Insecurity, Environmental Justice, Education Reform, and the Drug and Opioid Crisis, among other topics.
In addition to this specialized programming, teachers work to incorporate themes of social justice into their everyday curriculum. This is apparent in the texts that are chosen, the discussion-based approach to classes, and the agency that teachers give to students to speak up about issues that are important to them. In the past, student groups have advocated for time off from school to work at polling places on Election Day, organized protest walks, and started initiatives to bring to light issues of injustices that they experience at school and in the world around them. Our teachers and administrators are good listeners and strong advocates for supporting social change.
Students have opportunities to be part of several affinity groups in upper school that meet weekly. There is a Queer Student Union, a Jewish Student Union, and a Black Student Union, among others. There is a weekly club that helps to plan other programming throughout the school year that focuses on DEI issues and how to address those issues in school. This group helps to plan a diversity day called DICE (Day of Inclusivity, Community, and Equity) and an MLK Teach-in where they invite guest speakers who have chosen careers that continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work.
