A Brief Timeline of 150 Years of Friends
One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, on September 9, 1867, the Friends School at Brooklyn opened its doors to eight boys and and nine girls. Its doors have remained open for a century and a half, educating generations of children in the Quaker tradition in Downtown Brooklyn, now with over 900 students. Since day one, the key tenets of the Friends education have been: a focus on academic excellence, embracing educational innovation, an insistence on small class sizes and attention to the individual, educating the whole child, and exceptional student/teacher connections – each firmly grounded in Quaker principles and practice.
For an educational institution in Brooklyn, a city and borough which has had its share of historic highs and lows, reaching a 150th anniversary is noteworthy and a cause for reflection and celebration. During the 2017-2018 school year, we are proud to celebrate this milestone anniversary with all members of our community.
The Press Goes Wild
The first announcement to the general public regarding the Friends School at Brooklyn appears in the Seventh Annual Circular and Catalogue of Friends Seminary.
The First Montessori School Opens in Rome and We Open Our First Upper School
The Upper School college preparatory division opens with 21 students.
The Roaring ’20s
The growth spurt continues when a new three-story building, named for Quaker philanthropist Phoebe Anna Thorne, opens. The building has a basement and rooftop play area and is equipped with chemistry and physics laboratories. Enrollment rises to 348.
Louis Armstrong’s First Record and a New Athletic Field
To meet the needs of the School’s growing athletic program, Friends School purchases a six acre athletic field at Avenue M and McDonald Avenue. It is known as Friends School Field.
Football Heroes
The varsity football team completes an undefeated, unscored-on season going 6-0 and ending with a 61-0 victory against Adelphi.
The World’s First Can of Spam and Our First Field House
The School’s commitment to athletics continues to when a field house is constructed at Friends School Field, designed by BFS parent Lorimer Rich, the architect of the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington, DC.
Our First Social Action
The school buildings and Meeting House are threatened with demolition to make way for a new city jail. Fortunately, a coalition of civic and religious organizations persuades the mayor and borough president to build the jail one block away on Atlantic Avenue.
Bobby Fischer Disappears As We Appear on Pearl Street
Friends School Field is sold to the New York City Parks Department and the School conducts its first capital campaign to finance the move to 375 Pearl Street, a seven-story building constructed in 1928 for Brooklyn Law School.
Calvin & Hobbes and a New Preschool Debut
The Preschool program begins with two teachers and 12 three and four year olds.
A New Upper School
Thanks to the generosity of the BFS community, a new 45,000 square foot home for the Upper School at 116 Lawrence Street opened with a joyful ribbon cutting ceremony. The students and faculty of the Upper School moved around the corner from 55 Willoughby Street to the expansive facility in MetroTech.