The Lifer
Bonnie Schorsch ’75 Ever since she can remember, Bonnie Schorsch has had a connection with Abington Friends School. Her mother, Edith Dawson Davis, taught Kindergarten and then first grade, and Bonnie started at AFS in PreK and stayed through 12th grade. It was at AFS that Bonnie met her future husband, Peter, who went on to serve as head of the School Committee from 2005-2012. All three of the Schorsch’s children have attended AFS, with Adam graduating in 2003, Christina in 2010 and their youngest, Hannah, set to graduate this spring. As well as being an AFS student, an AFS parent and a philanthropic leader in the community, Bonnie has also been an exceptional AFS volunteer, lending her wisdom, time and expertise to the School for more than two decades. Bonnie has served as Home & School Clerk and was integral to the creation of many AFS events including the Talent Show, the Used Book Sale and Post Prom. We sat down with Bonnie recently to learn more about her longstanding connection with the School.
Oak Leaves: You met your husband, Peter, while you were in high school at AFS. Tell me more. Peter transferred to AFS in 10th grade. We started a friendship and by the time we graduated, we were a couple.
I was raised Christian Scientist but my parents always felt an affinity for the Meeting and my mother taught here and used Quaker principles in the classroom all the time. When we got engaged there was no question that the Meetinghouse was where the wedding would be.
OL: When you had children, did you assume they would go here or did you look at other schools? We looked at every other school! We were young and we had no clue and we’d never thought about education. For my first child, Adam, who was 4 or 5 at the time, I went to every single school and I had very unique experiences. We finally consulted a very well known adolescent and Freudian psychoanalyst. He worked with schools a lot. He said, ‘Why aren’t you looking at AFS?’ We said, ‘We know it so well.’ He said, ‘Go back and look at it in terms of your child.’ We did, and we were just blown away. We were delighted and have been ever since. For each of our children it has been a perfect fit.
OL: Was there a lot that had changed about the School since you had graduated? All the big building projects, such as Lower School and Upper School had happened when we were there. So, physically the school was very much the same. Academically, spiritually and philosophically it also felt the same.
Michelle Lockman and I went on to start the Post Prom and began the Talent Show and the Used Book Sale to support the Post Prom.
OL: Was it hard to get buy in for the Post Prom? We had to finesse getting the students on board. They were so resistant at first! There was a culture of ‘We’re going to the shore!’ and it was worrisome to parents and to the school. We set up tables in the Upper School with candy and food and said, ‘Come to our meeting.’ We coaxed out of them what they’d like to do at a post prom, like go swimming, play racquetball. It took four years and then it was grandfathered in because the new incoming 9th grade had never known anything different. The School got more involved and now it’s mandatory that if you go to Prom you have to go to the Post Prom. You can’t bring in an outsider to run these kinds of events. You need someone who knows the school and knows the students. Parents who volunteer have that sensitivity and awareness of the school climate and of a particular class, because each grade has a different feel.
OL: Tell me about how you first became involved in volunteering at AFS. Initially I volunteered at the Book Fair and when Adam was in 3rd grade and was doing the Creek Walk I realized we needed a boot exchange. We set up at the beginning of each school year. People would bring in outgrown boots and take away a pair that fit their child.
Are there special challenges to volunteering when your kids are in Upper School? When I used to volunteer in Lower School I was like, ‘Where are those Upper School parents?’ I just didn’t see them. People would say your kids don’t want you around anymore when they’re in Upper School. There’s a psychological shift as they become more independent. You step back because it’s the right thing to do. It did make the Post Prom a little tricky. Here I am chaperoning for my grown son and his date.
So I found ways like that to make a difference and I felt like I was being helpful. I was also a classroom parent for different grades. I volunteered for celebrations in Lower School that I found very gratifying. Other parent volunteers became very close friends along the way.
I didn’t give my kids the opportunity to get embarrassed by my presence. In Middle School I would hug them anyway and they would wince, but if you persevere they secretly like it and if you’re friendly to all their friends they get over it. By 9th or 10th grades they were seeking me out.
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