Brooklyn Friends School is a private college preparatory school in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. Founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1867, the school enrolls approximately 725 students between the ages of 2 and 18.
History and governance Founded in 1867 by the Religious Society of FriendsJazmine Hughes, A Quaker School Promoted Liberal Values. Then Its Teachers Unionized. , New York Times (September 3, 2020). as a coeducational Quaker school, Brooklyn Friends School is one of the oldest continuously operating independent schools in New York City.
Starting as a grade school, BFS added a kindergarten in 1902, a high school division in 1907, and a Preschool and Family Center in 1985 and 1992 respectively. The most recent addition, the BFS Preschool, has gained prominence as one of the city's premier early learning centers.
The Academy Award-winning 1981 documentary Close Harmony chronicled how a children's choir of 4th- and 5th-graders from the school joined with elderly retirees from a Brooklyn Jewish seniors' center to give a joint concert.
In 2000, the school's Head, who had been in the position for ten years, resigned at the request of the board of trustees over allegations of financial mismanagement; audits revealed a deficit of $900,000 for 2000 and $375,000 for 1999.Tara Bahrampour, At Brooklyn Friends School, A Dispute Within the Family , New York Times (March 12, 2000). The outgoing Head of School denied any impropriety, and some parents defended his leadership.
The school had about 400 students in 1995Michael Cooper, Brooklyn Friends: Still Keeping the Precepts , New York Times (August 6, 1995). and about 107 teachers in 2000.
The school was founded by the Quakers' Religious Society of Friends. The school and the Quaker meeting ended their affiliation in 2010.Sarah Maslin Nir, Quakers and Elite School Share Uneasy Ground , New York Times (April 1, 2011). Few of the school's modern-day students are Quaker, although the school culture and curriculum incorporate Quaker ideals. The school's charter specifies that half of the board of trustees must be Quaker and one of the two chairs of the board must be appointed by the Quakers.
In 2019, Crissy Cáceres accepted the opportunity to become Head of School, having previously been Assistant Head of School at Georgetown Day School.
Heads of School Heads of Brooklyn Friends School Tenure Mary Haviland 1867-1874 Clara Lockwood 1874-1884 Susan Peckham 1884-1902 S. Elizabeth Stover 1902-1907 Edward B. Rawson (Co-Head) Nancy J. Adams (Co-Head) 1907-1913 John L. Carver 1913-1917 Guy W. Chipman 1918-1931 Wayne Douglas 1931–1934 S. Archibald Smith 1934–1937 Douglas Grafflin 1937-1942 Warren B. Cochran 1942-1953 William J. Meeneghan 1953–1968 Arthur Gregor 1968-1969 Stuart P. Smith 1968-1978 Francena Palmer 1978-1979 Kay M. Erdstene 1978-1986 Ralph E. Gillette 1986-1990 James P. Handlin 1990-2000 Michael Nill 2001-2010 Lawrence Weiss 2010-2019 Crissy Cáceres 2019-present
Academics Brooklyn Friends School is split into four academic levels: Early Childhood (2s/3s/4s), Lower School (K-4), Middle School (5-8), and Upper School (9-12). Brooklyn Friends' educational approach emphasizes "social impact, diversity, inclusion, and student well-being."
Athletics and Arts Brooklyn Friends School offers both Performing and Visual Art curriculums. Performing arts include courses in dance, drama, music, and technical theater. The visual arts program includes drawing and painting, sculpture, ceramics, woodworking, photography, video, and art history.
Their athletics programs include Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Softball, Track, and Volleyball.
Early Childhood (2s/3s/4s) and Lower School (K-4) As of 2025, the school combined its Early Childhood and Lower School Learning Communities. In Early Childhood, "children build independence, explore, and discover through play-based learning." The Lower School curriculum includes classes in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, Spanish, dance, music, visual arts, woodworking, physical education, and health.
Middle School (5-8) The middle school curriculum includes classes in the humanities (English and history), mathematics, science, languages, visual arts, performing arts, physical education, health/life skills, organization and study skills and information technology.
Upper School (9-12) The Brooklyn Friends Upper School curriculum includes the arts, humanities, sciences, and ethics.
Brooklyn Friends School offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for students in the 11th and 12th grades.
Faculty and staff union In spring 2019, more than 80% of faculty and staff members at the school voted to unionize. The school did not object at the time. In late 2019, collective bargaining over contracts began, and union representatives participated in negotiations over the layoffs of about 30 teachers due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.
In August 2020, however, the school's leadership moved to dissolve the staff members' union. The school's move to decertify the union prompted opposition from parents, who believed the school was betraying its values by engaging in union-busting; over 1,000 parents and alumni signed a petition calling on the school to halt efforts to decertify the union, and about 130 teachers and staff members signed a petition of their own.
Notable alumni Matthew Gentile, director/screenwriter Emily Green, Geese guitarist Dan Hedaya, actor Therese (Tay) Hohoff, literary editor Robert Levin, pianist, musicologist, pedagogue Patrick "Wiki" Morales, hip-hop artist and producer Stacey Plaskett, US House of Representatives Delegate for the US Virgin Islands Francine Prose, writer and criticFrancine Prose, Lessons of a Teacher Speak to a Mother, and Now Her Son , New York Times (March 8, 2000). Fisher Stevens, actor, director, producer and writer Susanne Suba (1913-2012), Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator Cameron Winter, Geese frontman and solo artist Adam Yauch (1964-2012), hip-hop artist and member of The Beastie Boys
See also Education in New York City
References Notes
External links
School website