FAQs

We believe that education is a journey of self-discovery. Our Montessori preschool program is designed to ignite your child's imagination and creativity, allowing them to explore their interests and passions freely. With an emphasis on fostering independence, our students develop self-confidence and a sense of responsibility from an early age. Through a balance of structured learning and hands-on play, our dedicated educators create a supportive environment that encourages each child to reach their full potential. By instilling a lifelong love for learning, we lay the foundation for a fulfilling educational experience.

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Across our Lower School & Middle School, we prioritize inquiry-based, experiential, and service-learning models to offer a transformative educational experience for our students. By stepping outside the traditional classroom walls, our young learners embark on a journey of discovery, exploring the wonders of the world firsthand.  Our students are active participants in their learning journey, cultivating critical thinking and problem solving skills, along with a strong sense of social responsibility. Our aim is to nurture self-confident, socially aware, and academically curious individuals who are eager to make a difference in the world.

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We are accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools, who conducts a full accreditation process every five years, as well as midpoint check-ins with recommendations for continued growth. We are also members of the National Association of Independent Schools and the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, and we use their annual testing benchmarks to cross-check our curricular depth, breadth, and rigor. We are also members of Friends Council on Education, a national organization that supports all 75 Quaker schools throughout the United States through professional development, teaching resources, and faculty networking. 

All four organizations guide our approach to the transformative power of a Quaker education and ensure we provide a vibrant, vigorous, and adaptive learning environment for all students.

We believe in the power of narrative student assessment to foster holistic growth and individualized learning. In addition to annual standardized testing (ERBs) and traditional grading models, we also provide personalized assessments that offer a more comprehensive and authentic understanding of each student's learning journey, going beyond mere test scores to appreciate a student's creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. By using qualitative feedback in conjunction with other assessment models, we encourage students to take risks, learn from mistakes, and celebrate their achievements. Our approach to whole-child, growth-mindset assessment ensures that every student is seen, heard, and appreciated for the unique contributions they bring to our learning community.

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We are dedicated to achieving a small student-to-teacher ratio in order to foster personalized attention, individualized instruction, and stronger community relationships, allowing for a more supportive and effective learning environment. Our typical ratios are as follows:

• Preschool: 6:1
• K-5th Grade: 7:1
• 6th-8th Grade: 9:1

Quakers are known for their reverence for the natural world and their deep call to care for the earth. The unification of our campus and the purchase of adjoining green space in Spring 2021 inspired us to reimagine our existing environmental education initiatives. As part of an ongoing collaboration with faculty, parents, students, and community partners, we are building a comprehensive program with an integrated curriculum across all grade levels at the newly established Longleaf Center for Environmental Education. 

Depending upon grade level and subject area, teachers work in conjunction with our EE Coordinator, Karen Linehan, to deliver lessons related to ecological systems and biodiversity; air and water quality; energy and climate change; stewardship of land and water; recycling and composting; individual and organizational sustainability; and environmental justice. 

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Most students, parents, and staff at FSW are not Quaker. We follow varied religious traditions—or none at all—but our identity as a Friends School is central to who we are. At its core, a Friends School aims to provide a holistic education that combines academic excellence with the development of ethical character, social responsibility, and personal growth.

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Our ongoing commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) is to build a transformative community of dynamic learners who are guided by unwavering empathy, cultural competency, and social awareness. Through school-wide programming, faculty/staff professional development, family workshops, donor and endowment support, cross-cultural community events, and organizational partnerships, we prepare students to navigate an increasingly networked global society, challenge systemic biases, and contribute to a more just and inclusive world.

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Most of our graduates from 8th grade seek out advanced placement and honors classes, as well as magnet programs. Recent school placements include North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Isaac M. Bear High School, Southeast Area Technical High School (SEA-Tech), and Wilmington Early College High School. College placements include Ivy League universities like Brown, Princeton, and Yale; liberal arts colleges like Davidson, Emory, and Guilford; and art & design institutions like SCAD, FIT, and KCAI. Both during and after high school, it is our hope and intention that FSW graduates continue to live out our guiding principles and remain lifelong learners, global citizens, and compassionate leaders in the greater world.

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The Parents Association (PA) supports our students through the generosity of their time and resources, and they help strengthen student programs, build community, and provide additional support through fundraising. If you are a parent or guardian of a Friends School of Wilmington student, you are automatically a member of the Parents Association. There is no fee to join and there are no requirements for membership. 

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