Time with Tony - 10/24

Last week, I gathered with many of the Heads from the 76 Quaker schools in our network at Pendle Hill, near Swarthmore College, just south of Philadelphia. Our two days together were filled with conversations about the political climate, sustainability, and the growing use of AI in schools. During this Meeting, we participated in a discussion on neurodiversity in our classrooms, led by the Heads of three Pennsylvania Quaker schools who specialize in working with students with advanced learning needs..

In recent years, educators everywhere have noticed a steady rise in ADHD diagnoses among children, a development that invites us, as a community, to think carefully about how we understand and support our students. The CDC now estimates that about one in nine U.S. children has been diagnosed with ADHD, a change that reflects not so much a sudden increase in incidence as a deepening public awareness of children’s differences and needs. Factors like broader diagnostic criteria, more open discussion around mental health, and the visibility of learning challenges during the pandemic have helped families recognize what children experience day to day. Rather than seeing these diagnoses as deficits, we can understand them as insights into how a child’s brain manages focus, organization, and self-regulation, abilities that are part of every learner’s growth.

Here at FSW, we lean into this work through the lens of our Quaker values: knowing each student deeply, nurturing the inner Light within every child, and approaching learning as a balance of intellect, emotion, and spirit. I’m deeply grateful for the dedication of our student support team, Landis and Michaela, whose daily work embodies compassion and calm expertise. Their presence helps ensure that children receive the care that honors both their challenges and their gifts. At the same time, our teachers continue to be the heart of this effort. Their commitment to knowing each child well, collaborating thoughtfully with colleagues, and sustaining a shared focus on the whole child is what allows our classrooms to be places of growth and belonging.

As professionals and researchers call for renaming ADHD to reflect more accurately its connection to executive functioning (our ability to focus, plan, and regulate emotions), it’s encouraging to see language evolve toward deeper understanding. Whether or not that change becomes formal, the conversation itself affirms what we already know in practice: that every child brings their own developing rhythm of attention, impulse, and imagination. In our Quaker context, we meet each learner with patience, curiosity, and hope. We do not aim to “fix” children, but to help them know themselves and to thrive in community. This work, carried out daily by our deeply committed Division Coordinators, teachers, Landis, Michaela, and all who support our students, reflects the best of who we are. A learning community grounded in care and guided by the Light within.