I. Board Pathway: At least half of the board members are members of the Religious Society of Friends.

II. Meeting Pathway: The school is in a care relationship with a meeting. The school’s by-laws or minutes clearly stipulate the way in which the meeting and the school participate in nominating and approving the candidates for the board.

III. Membership Assessment Process (MAP) Pathway: The school is engaged in a continuous membership assessment process with the Friends Council to evaluate the Quaker dimension of the school. This process requires one full year of preparation involving the whole school community. It is expected that a broad representation of the school community, especially the faculty, will be involved in carrying out this membership assessment. Prior to the team’s visit, the school provides written responses to each of the queries below. Further, the board and the faculty should review and approve the membership assessment document before it is forwarded to the Friends Council. The process culminates with a visit from a Friends Council assessment team. The Council Board assesses schools that are members through the MAP pathway every 3 to 5 years for membership reapproval.

A. Expectations:
When a school applies for membership through the membership assessment and visitation process, the focus is on the Quaker dimension of the school. This Quaker dimension should include, but not be limited to, the following:

• involvement of Quakers in all constituency groups, including a significant proportion of Quakers on the Board;
• orientation to and support for students, teachers, parents, and board members in understanding, valuing, and practicing Friends worship and decision-making in the life of the school;
• influence of Friends values and process in program and curriculum;
• commitment to support the Quaker dimension through hiring and staff development.

The Council will also take into consideration the governance (board structure, policies, and leadership), financial stability, and community relationships the school has established as a part of the membership assessment and visitation process.

B. Queries:

1. What is the involvement of Quakers in all constituency groups, (students, teachers, administrators) including a significant proportion of Quakers on the Board? What structures are in place or efforts made to recruit Quakers for each of these groups?
2. Describe the school’s commitment to support the Quaker dimension of the school through hiring and staff development.
3. Describe the school's practice in regard to meeting for worship and the Friends practice of decision-making. How are members of the community (trustees, students, faculty, parents) assisted in the process of understanding and valuing Friends worship and decision-making?
4. How are trustees, students, faculty, and parents made aware of the school's Quaker roots, testimonies, and practices?
5. Describe the influence of Friends' values on program, curriculum, and the school's relation to the wider community. How are these values reflected in daily classroom life?
6. How does your school demonstrate commitments to a respect for the truth and for the divine spark within each person? Through descriptions of recent experience, show how these commitments are further reflected in relation to service, simplicity, competition, diversity, and nonviolence.
7. Describe any affiliations with other Friends institutions.
8. How could/does membership in the Friends Council on Education assist you in carrying out your school's mission?
9. List the names of individuals and groups and related school roles of those completing the various sections of this membership assessment form.

C. Attachments:
Please include all of the following with your membership assessment:

1. School catalogue and admissions materials. School budget for the current year, actual figures for the previous year, and 5-year budget projection.
2. Faculty, student, and parent handbooks.
3. Bylaws and founding documents.
4. List of board members and officers and names of Meetings to which board members belong.
5. Board policy manual, if available.
6. Preparative materials and minutes from the three most recent board meetings.
7. A copy of the Friends Council statistical survey for your school for the current year.
8. Any document that you believe will help the Membership Assessment team understand the ways in which you are a Friends school.

D. Procedure for mailing materials:
Packets of written materials (written responses and attachments) must be mailed so that the Friends Council Visiting Team receives the packets at least 45 days in advance of the proposed visit date. Please provide multiple sets of materials (one set to Friends Council office and one set to each member of the visiting team.)

E. Arranging the visit
The Head of the school and the clerk of the visiting committee should jointly prepare a schedule for visitors on the day of the visit. This schedule should include an opportunity for the visiting committee to:

• attend School Meeting for Worship;
• meet with the board clerk and other member(s) of the school board/committee;
• visit regularly scheduled classes, especially Quakerism and religion classes;
• meet informally with students, faculty, school administrators, parents;
• meet with members of the local Friends body;
• meet with the Quaker Life committee of the school
• meet with the head of school at the beginning and end of the visit.

F. Cost
The host school provides for the transportation, lodging, and meals for the visiting team. Each visitor will turn in a voucher at the end of the visit and the school will reimburse each visitor for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses.