MMFS HEAD’S REPORT 2024-2025
Halloween Parade
US Fall Play: Antigone in Munich
MS Day of Service
Costa Rica Trip
Illuminations: Benefit 2025
MS Musical
LS Fairview Lake Trip
MS Culture Fair
LS Hot Dog Day
LS Art Show
From the Head of School MMFS Values
Dear MMFS Community,
Last year, one of the ways we commemorated 40 years of revealing brilliance was the creation of a roadmap for the future of MMFS. What emerged from a yearlong process involving many different constituencies of our community was an innovative and groundbreaking Strategic Plan.
“This Strategic Plan lights a path for MMFS to reach its full potential, as a beacon of opportunity, scholarship, innovation, and equity.” The Strategic Plan outlines 3 initiatives: investing in students, student brilliance, and leaders in LD education.
I am confident we can reach these goals because of the support and strength of this community. The MMFS mission calls on us to cultivate an environment in which our students can reach “their full potential.” Now we call on our community to do nothing less for the institution.
I am truly grateful for the generosity of this community, which is demonstrated in so many different ways. Every gift to the MMFS Fund or the Visionary Fund, sponsorship of the Benefit, purchase from the Giving Garden, or contribution to the Senior Gift illuminates the commitment of MMFS families and friends to the ongoing success of our school. Every hour spent cheering at a game or a performance, volunteering with the PA, or participating in a focus group for the Strategic Plan contributes to the future of MMFS.
Thank you for all you do for the MMFS community.
In Friendship,
André Del Valle
LEARNING
Students with learning disabilities succeed in school when given the attention and specialized teaching they need. We prepare students for college and life.
QUAKER VALUES
We are guided by the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship.
ANTIRACISM & EQUITY
We challenge ourselves to dismantle systemic racism in our school and the world around us, and strive to provide an equitable and safe community.
EXCELLENCE
At MMFS we believe that special education is excellent education. We pursue excellence at every level.
MMFS Strategic Plan
“The Strategic Plan lights a path for MMFS to reach its full potential, as a beacon of opportunity, scholarship, innovation, and equity.”
Investing in our Students Student Brilliance
Develop a financial model that ensures the benefits of an MMFS education are available to more students, regardless of their background.
Ensure that our physical space meets the fundamental needs of more and more diverse families.
Deepen our investment in academic excellence.
Partner with our students to instill LD pride in our whole community.
Develop an Ethical Leadership Training for students in a Quaker mentorship program.
Leaders in LD Education
Become a premier source of teacher training and a national resource for LD education.
Attract and retain highly qualified faculty.
Provide ongoing education about learning disabilities, antiracism, and Quakerism for our families.
Alumni Spotlight
We’ve caught up with MMFS alumni! Let’s see what they’ve been up to post MMFS...
Justin White, Class of 2020
What is a favorite memory from MMFS? “One of my favorite MMFS memories was going on the Germany and Austria trip with all of my friends. It remains one of the best trips of my life.”
What is one piece of advice you have for graduating seniors? “I wish I spent more time on reading and writing because you’ll have to write a lot of papers in college.”
Since graduating from MMFS: Justin graduated from Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York in Spring of 2025. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Studies and served as Assistant Treasurer of the Black Student Association (BSA) where he was responsible for coordinating events and managing budgets. Currently, Justin serves as a coach on the MMFS Varsity Boy’s Soccer Team, where his love for youth development and athletics continues to guide his professional journey. Justin says that MMFS helped him develop effective study habits and discover which strategies work best for him in college. Justin is happy to return as faculty and loves working with MMFS athletes, reminding them that the LD community and stewardship foster a sense of belonging and show that no one has to face life alone.
Caroline Canty, Class of 2023
What is one thing you miss about MMFS? “I miss the closeness and the special sense of belonging that made MMFS such a unique place.”
Which Quaker SPICE has stuck with you the most? “Simplicity. It’s so easy to collect things in art school, from art supplies to film gear. All these material things have made me think about my consumption at RISD.”
Since graduating from MMFS: Caroline is currently a junior at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she is majoring in film and video with a concentration in history, philosophy, and social sciences (HPSS). She is working at Brown Motion Pictures and assists in set lighting. One thing Caroline loved about MMFS was how global her curriculum was and the many opportunities it provided to travel. Her trips to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, London, and Italy were particularly memorable, and she feels fortunate to have been able to go on a civil rights trip to Atlanta. These experiences at MMFS have inspired her to study abroad in Vietnam this coming spring semester, where she is eager to learn Vietnamese history and explore how the wars have shaped the Vietnamese art scene to this day.
Philanthropy at MMFS
Dear MMFS Community,
As we look back on the past year, we are truly thankful for the tremendous support of our school community. Your generosity to the MMFS Fund has made a lasting difference, allowing us to continue providing outstanding educational opportunities for our students.
Through your continued generosity, we have strengthened our programs, supported our devoted faculty, and opened doors to experiences that inspire and empower our students. Your dedication enriches not only our school, but the entire MMFS community.
This year, we launched a groundbreaking Strategic Plan, shaped by various members of our community, which will guide MMFS into an exciting new chapter of growth and possibility.
Together, we are shaping the future of our students and ensuring that they receive the highest quality education. Thank you for being an essential part of our mission. We are very grateful to our entire community of donors for the 2024–25 school year and look forward to building together in the year ahead. Your support will be especially meaningful as we bring our Strategic Plan to life and invest in the future of MMFS.
In Friendship,
Sadia Mehmood-Pellicano Director of Development
Note: Subject to final audit
Your Donations at Work
We are immensely grateful to our entire community of donors for their support during the 2024–25 school year. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, and the students of MMFS, thank you for your generosity. Each and every gift helps bridge the gap between tuition and the true cost of educating and supporting our students.
Strengthen our arts, athletics & extracurriculars.
Provide financial assistance to families to ensure access & diversity.
Provide international trips and travel programming.
Ensure small class sizes, and specialized support for students.
Offer the latest advances in technology to our students.
New This Year
Fundraising Platform
We will use a new fundraising platform called Boost My School to launch the MMFS Fund this fall. Boost My School makes it effortless for donors to make a gift from desktop or mobile. And donors can view live
MMFS Website
We introduced our brand new website, which went live at the end of June, to our community in August. It’s a dynamic calling card for MMFS, showcasing who we are and how we reveal brilliance in students with learning disabilities.
Our Mission Board of Trustees 2024-25
Larry Botel, Board Clerk
María Elena Torre, Associate Board Clerk
Jim Clay
Deborah Edel
Ted Ehrhardt
Daniel Freelander
Joan Giambusso
Molly Magrid Hoagland
Eric Lagdameo
Ken Lippmann
Molly Magrid Hoagland
Larry Neubauer
Michael Phillips
Tasha Richards
Larry Shire
Doris Simmons-Brown
Judine Somerville
Kay Wilson Stallings
Richard White
Rosa Witsell
Angus Yuen-Killick
Susan L. Weiner, Trustee Emerita
André Del Valle, Head of School
Mary McDowell Friends School is a K–12 college preparatory program dedicated to the success of students with learning disabilities. Grounded in the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and social responsibility, we cultivate a diverse and anti-racist community in which all students can reach their full potential. Our specialized teaching methodologies and challenging curricula empower students to become academic achievers, creative thinkers, advocates for equity, and contributing members of a global society.
Our Commitment to Antiracism and Equity
The Mary McDowell Friends School community is committed to providing students, families, faculty, and staff with a learning and working environment that addresses racism and inequity with integrity and action. We welcome diversity in many ways, including race, color, culture, age, sex, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, family composition, ethnicity, nationality, religious expression, and disability. We commit to building an appreciation and understanding of each individual as well as of our community as a whole. We celebrate the strength of our diversity. We commit to making anti-racism and equity central to our mission of cultivating “a diverse community in which all students can reach their full potential.” We believe that Black lives matter, and that we have a responsibility to challenge not only our national legacy of systemic racism but also the structural inequities within our own community. We will amplify our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) voices, and look to Quaker tradition to guide us in creating a safe, inclusive, and equitable school. It is essential that we embrace our Quaker values and testimonies as we work toward antiracism and equity in our community and beyond.
