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Welcome New Heads of Friends Schools in 2024-2025
Welcome New Heads of Friends Schools in 2024-2025

Drew Smith recognizes the new heads of school joining our Quaker school community this fall. “Welcome one and all! We are confident that your leadership and vision will help guide our schools in nurturing the intellectual and moral development of their students. We look forward to the creativity, compassion, and wisdom that you bring to your new roles, and we are excited to witness the impact you will make in shaping the future of our schools.” These new heads are leading schools located on both the East and West coasts, in the Midwest and in the Southeast. We are pleased to note that one is a graduate of Friends Council’s Institute for Engaging Leadership.

Join us in extending greetings to these eight new heads/interim heads. Share how important the connectivity of this community has been to you and encourage them to reach out to the Friends school network to enrich their experience.

Welcome Rodney Glasgow!
Welcome Rodney Glasgow!

Dear Members of the Friends Council on Education Community,I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Rodney Glasgow as the Interim Associate Director of Friends Council on Education - the National Association of Friends Schools. Rodney brings with him a wealth of experience, a deep commitment to Quaker beliefs and practices, and a strong vision for the future of our organization. As Interim Associate Director, Rodney will work closely with our board, staff, and community to continue the important work of supporting and strengthening our member schools and their leaders through programming, professional development, and the Member Renewal Process. We are fortunate to have someone of Rodney's caliber working with us.

Rodney is a distinguished educator and administrator with over twenty years of experience in educational leadership, including his most recent role as Head of School at Sandy Spring Friends School. Rodney is also a seasoned school trustee, currently on the boards of Lowell School and The Bishop Walker School for Boys. He has consistently demonstrated a passion for academic excellence, fostering inclusive communities, promoting social justice, and advancing the dignity and worth of each and every individual in our school communities.

Throughout his career, Rodney has been a strong advocate for equitable and just practices in independent schools, and to that end, founded The Glasgow Group in 2016, a dynamic consortium of educational consultants. Rodney will continue in his important role as the Group’s Principal Consultant. We at Friends Council are honored to be associated with this work and are glad to know this work will continue out in the world.

Rodney shares his excitement for joining Friends Council as Interim Associate Director. “I love Quaker schools because they are models for values-based pedagogy that centers inquiry and social-emotional learning. Our students need that, especially now! Before being in a Quaker school, I had opportunities to be enriched by Friends Council. During my time as Head of School, I was incredibly thankful for the good, strong work that FCE does for our schools. And now, I am overjoyed that Way opened to allow me to serve FCE and our member schools in delivering transformative Quaker education.”

Please join me in welcoming Rodney to the Friends Council on Education community. He can be reached at rodney@friendscouncil.org. We look forward to the positive impact he will have on our organization and the lasting and strategic contributions he will make to the Friends school community.

In peace,
Drew Smith

Congratulations Leadership Institute Graduates
Congratulations Leadership Institute Graduates

Friends Council on Education is grateful to be the host and facilitator of the Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools/IELFS – a two-year program of thoughtful and inspired professional growth and development. At the Annual Meeting on April 18, the 2022-2024 cohort of 20 members joined the broader community of 153 Institute alumni.

This year has been one of transitions as Irene McHenry stepped down from the program and Darryl Ford and Shu Shu Costa became more involved as program facilitators. McHenry says, “I am honored to have co-founded and shepherded the growth of the Leadership Institute for the past 21 years. As I step down from leading the program, I look back on many experiences and persons that have enriched the Friends school network. Each cohort member’s engagement in the reflective work of our retreats at Pendle Hill, shadowing a head of school, and creating an action research project has made a huge difference for the individual leader, their school, and the wider community of Friends schools.”

McHenry continues, “Most of our graduates have become heads and administrative leaders in Friends schools, and some in independent and public schools. In the way of Friends, we are influencing the wider world of education and intentionally bringing the special essence of Quaker education into the world.” The composition of leaders in today’s Friends schools is palpably different from a generation ago. There are more women who are heads as well as more heads of color. Moreover, there is a strong sense of shared responsibility of the community of Friends schools to claim the time and space for collaborative and reflective leadership.

Costa echoes McHenry, sharing her thoughts on the program from her added perspective as a member of the 2009-2011 Cohort. "IELFS is a different kind of leadership program, one that fully embraces the idea that true leadership comes from within. When we know who we are, when we have generous space to listen to our Inner Teacher, when we can see the Light that comes from others, we can learn to lead in transformative ways."

Interested in zeroing in on a particular colleague or topic? Use the links below to go directly to a cohort member’s action research project summary.