List of Friends schools

Friends schools are institutions that provide an education based on the beliefs and testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). This article is a list of schools currently or historically associated with the Society of Friends, regardless of their current degree of affiliation.

Friends schools vary greatly, both in their interpretation of Quaker principles and in how they relate to formal organizations that make up the Society of Friends. Most Friends schools are similar in their mission however: to provide an academically sound education while also instilling values of community, spirituality, responsibility and stewardship in their students.

Some institutions founded by Friends were never formally "Quaker Schools." Some historically Friends institutions are no longer formally associated with the Society of Friends. Those that continue to call themselves "Quaker schools" may have formal oversight from a Friends yearly or monthly meetings (often called coming "under care of" a meeting), and others are governed by members of the Society of Friends and/or adhere to aspects of Quaker practice.

Sidwell Friends School

Coordinates: 38°56′21″N 77°04′29″W / 38.939217°N 77.074628°W / 38.939217; -77.074628

Sidwell Friends School is a highly selective Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" (English: Let the light shine out from all), alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light. All Sidwell Friends students attend Quaker meeting for worship weekly, and middle school students begin every day with five minutes of silence.

The school's admissions process is merit-based. As documented on the school's website, it gives preference in admissions decisions to members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), but otherwise does not discriminate on the basis of religion. The school accepts vouchers under the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Described as "the Harvard of Washington's private schools", the school has educated children of notable politicians, including those of several presidents. Both of United States President Barack Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, and Vice President Joe Biden's grandchildren attend the school. President Theodore Roosevelt's son Archibald, Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia, Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore's son, Albert Gore III, graduated from Sidwell Friends.