Welcome From the Middle School Head
Welcome to San Francisco Friends Middle School!
Walk around our Middle School, and you will hear peals of laughter coming from the yard, you will see students eagerly engaged in projects and discussions as you pass a classroom, and you will feel the camaraderie as students collaborate in the Learning Commons. It won’t take long for you to truly get a sense of what makes our Middle School special.
Our student-centered academic program is grounded in inquiry, and SFFS middle schoolers are engaged in intellectual discovery as they work to understand not just the “what” of a subject but also the “why” and the “how” of all they are learning. Our curriculum offers our middle schoolers opportunities to collaborate, to question thoughtfully, to experiment, to make mistakes, to draw connections, and to practice empathy, care and kindness.
As students move through our Middle School, they have increasing opportunities for independence, agency, and challenge, and they develop strategies to maintain a peaceful and balanced way of being. Our teachers embrace progressive pedagogical ideals and incorporate reflective practices while holding students to high standards and challenging them to think critically. Our middle schoolers engage deeply with complex material across disciplines, and they learn to seek guidance and support when needed so that they have all they need to truly thrive.
Community is an integral part of who we are. SFFS honors the unique attributes, talents, and potential of each individual student while also harnessing the power of the collective community to make the world a better place. Our students regularly reflect upon themselves as students, as community members, and as leaders. They learn to recognize the strengths that they bring, and they learn to recognize the strengths in their classmates. Individually and collectively, SFFS middle schoolers stand up to injustice, fight for inclusion and representation for all people, and work together to take care of the world around them.
Grounded in the core Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship, San Francisco Friends Middle School is a joyful place to explore, to learn, to reflect, to grow, and to shine.
Come join us on campus to see for yourself–we can’t wait to meet you!
Sarah Wolf
Middle School Head