WFS StrategicPlan Wilmington Friends School | 2026 - 2031
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The Wilmington Friends School Vision This strategic plan honors the complexity of what it means to learn and grow as a child in today’s world. As students are increasingly drawn to the virtual, they also yearn for the tangible: hands-on learning, time in nature, and human connection. Human relationships remain essential to healthy development, and families are seeking schools that can translate that understanding into meaningful experiences, with the learning resources and attentive care each child needs to flourish. We see Friends as a catalyst for learning in dynamic spaces designed to foster curiosity, collaboration, and exploration and anchored by a vibrant community that is connected across generations. That sense of belonging, built over time and carried forward by those who came before, is one of our greatest strengths. Guided by Quaker values, a program that is rooted in experiential learning, deepened through authentic relationships, and extended beyond our walls through partnerships, service, and real-world experiences will prepare our students to apply their values in the wider world. Harnessing technology intentionally while cultivating a deep connection to the natural world will nurture learners who are grounded, curious, and guided by integrity, prepared to thrive as professionals, to live with purpose and compassion, and to contribute to a more just and hopeful future.
WFS Strategic Initiatives Our collective work has yielded eleven key initiatives that will focus our energy over the next five years, described on the following pages. To ensure maximum efficiency, we have formed dedicated task forces to launch some initiatives, while rolling several into our existing operational teams. This plan is firmly anchored in research, modern realities, and our enduring values. As our teams began their work, several foundational concepts guided our thinking: Science Supports Experiential and Outdoor Learning: Brain research confirms that hands-on learning ignites curiosity, creativity, and student agency—capacities that prepare children for a lifetime of learning. Furthermore, regular contact with the outdoors is vital for cognitive functioning, mental health, attention restoration, and environmental stewardship. Navigating a Changed World: Today’s students are digital natives, effortlessly navigating online communities. But do they have the same rich experiences in the physical world? As the needs of families and the landscapes of classrooms shift, our program must proactively provide a future-forward environment. Deep Roots, Innovative Mindsets: Backed by curriculum grants and professional development, our innovative faculty continues to evolve their classrooms. We match this internal talent with the rich resources of our alumni and families, who stand ready to open doors for real-world mentorship. Quaker Values as a Compass: In a complex digital age, Quaker education is more critical than ever. Rigorous academics, critical thinking, and ethical digital citizenship are rooted deeply in our Quaker values, providing a steady moral compass for navigating modern landscapes. A Commitment to Sustainability: To ensure these innovations endure for generations to come, financial sustainability remains a key pillar of every effort we undertake.
WFS STRATEGIC PLAN | 2026 - 2031
Real-World Experiential Learning and Engagement A cohesive progression of experiential learning opportunities across the PS-12 program will culminate in meaningful capstone experiences. Through reciprocal relationships with organizations across Wilmington, students will connect academic inquiry and service learning with real community needs while developing empathy, responsibility, and civic leadership. A career and life readiness initiative will coordinate existing and integrate new financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and professional skill development into the student experience. Through simulations, project-based learning, and mentorship opportunities, students will develop the practical skills, confidence, and ethical decision-making needed to navigate college, career, and life beyond Wilmington Friends School. The Community Learning Hub––an internal coordinating structure that manages partnerships, logistics, and opportunities for experiential and service learning as well as developing practical life skills––will help connect students, faculty, alumni, and community organizations while ensuring that projects are manageable, missionaligned, and sustainable across divisions.
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The Community Learning Hub Registry: A robust database connecting the school with local nonprofits, businesses, and alumni partners.
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The “Beyond the Classroom” Roadmap: Curricular map showing families the real-world experiences, off-campus trips, and service opportunities built into each grade level.
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Signature Capstone Projects: Defined, hands-on milestone projects completed by all students in the 5th, 8th, and 12th grades.
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Real-World Skills Workshops: Practical, studentcentered learning experiences covering financial literacy, public speaking, and mock interviews.
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Annual Real-World Projects: A standard element of
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the middle and upper school experience ensuring every student engages with a community need or professional field each year. Digital portfolios or student reflections collected annually documenting learning and community impact. Annual survey showing growth in students’ sense of purpose, ethical awareness, and understanding of community impact.
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Life Skills & Financial Literacy Sequence: A foundational, multi-grade financial curriculum focusing on personal finance, budgeting, and ethical entrepreneurship. Professional Mentor & Internship Network: A structured placement system connecting upper school students with local organizations and professional mentors. Formal Internship and Capstone Placement Program: A formal placement program for upper school students securing 10-12 off-campus opportunities annually.
Project Abundance We will strengthen Wilmington Friends School’s commitment to hands-on learning connected to food systems, cultivation, and environmental stewardship by integrating school gardens, hydroponics systems, and outdoor learning into the academic program across both campuses. While the program may take different forms in each division, students will engage in meaningful, place-based experiences that deepen their understanding of how food is grown, cared for, and shared within communities. By embedding these opportunities within the schedule and supporting collaboration among faculty, WFS will ensure that garden and cultivation learning becomes a consistent and sustainable part of the WFS experience. Productive Campus & Learning Facilities: Fully operational, hands-on growing spaces, ecological stations, an outdoor tool library with age-appropriate safety
guidelines, edible/productive landscapes, and a stateof-the-art greenhouse running on solar irrigation and hydroponics across both campuses. Integrated Stewardship Curriculum & Workshops: Scheduled, regular outdoor green-space learning for all grade levels, guided by a documented PS–12 environmental continuum and extended through student-led public workshops sharing agricultural and sustainability skills. “Grow-to-Give” Community Partnership: An active outreach program donating student-harvested produce directly to local communities facing food insecurity. Environmental Stewardship: Re-commitment to enforcing school-wide sustainability standards to minimize cafeteria food waste.
Innovation and Modern Literacies We will strengthen a lower through upper school framework that prepares students to navigate and shape a rapidly evolving digital world by integrating AI literacy, digital fluency, information literacy, and applied innovation across the curriculum. Through collaboration between faculty and technology specialists, students will learn to engage thoughtfully and responsibly with emerging technologies while developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed for future learning and work. Key areas of focus will include establishing a responsible AI policy, evaluating the evolving role of technology in academic settings, and strengthening the school’s cybersecurity awareness and readiness.
• Responsible AI Policy: The School’s position on and guidelines for safe, ethical, and thoughtful use of AI on campus are articulated, with annual review and updating in place to reflect evolving tools and community experience.
WFS STRATEGIC PLAN | 2026 - 2031
• Cybersecurity Program: Age-appropriate, practical digital-safety instruction integrated into existing instruction and staff protocols documented and in use.
• A Connected PS-12 Digital Journey: A complete roadmap tracing how technology skills and ethical citizenship grow from preschool through graduation.
• AI and Information Literacy and Citizenship: As the digital landscape evolves, regular enhancements of existing core instruction that teaches students how to research intelligently, analyze digital information critically, and use AI and other tools effectively and ethically. Continued emphasis on being a good digital citizen.
• Regular Evaluation of Device Guidelines: 1:1 device evaluation framework established with first annual review complete; age-appropriate norms updated and communicated to students and families with rationale statement of device use.
• The Creative Lab Continuum: A unified plan connecting our lower school design spaces, middle school Design Lab, and upper school Design & Robotics Lab.
Learning Support and Student Success At Wilmington Friends School, we will continually enhance and strengthen our student success framework to ensure our learning support meets the evolving needs of our students. In lower school, this means our learning support will remain embedded inside their own classrooms alongside dedicated specialists who also provide targeted one-on-one support and small group instruction. We will also explicitly teach everyday “superpowers” like organization, sticking with tough tasks, and managing time. This will build upon the exact habits and confidence young kids need to become independent, happy learners as they grow.
As students move into middle and upper school (grades 6 through 12), the workload naturally gets more complex. To help them stay on top of it all, we will shift our focus to personalized academic guidance and hands-on coaching for time management and study skills. Learning specialists, teachers, and advisors will work closely behind the scenes to keep accommodations consistent and, most importantly, teach students how to confidently advocate for themselves. Our ultimate goal will be to give them the enhanced real-world strategies and self-assurance they need to thrive in high school, college, and life beyond Wilmington Friends.
• Documented PS-12 Learning Support Model: Clear progression of learning resources articulated and embedded in teacher practice across all divisions— who delivers what, to whom, and how students and families access it.
• A Clear Support Guide for Families: A comprehensive blueprint detailing how personalized learning support is customized and accessed at every division level.
• Expanded Specialized Faculty: An additional learning specialist uniquely dedicated to our middle and upper school students.
• Dedicated Learning Resource Center: Welcoming, physical space on the middle/upper school campus designed for quiet focus, coaching, and student collaboration.
• Integrated Executive Function Coaching: A structured support network designed into daily school life to help older students master time management and organization.
• Self-Advocacy Skill-Building: Specialized guidance within the upper school experience that teaches students how to confidently voice their learning needs.
• Consistent Academic Accommodations: A unified campus standard ensuring that learning accommodations are delivered smoothly and seamlessly across all classrooms.
Evolution of the Plan Early 2024: Foundation & Inquiry Strategic Planning Team & Steering Committee formed with Shu Shu Costa (Leadership + Design). Grounding in school culture via internal interviews and team building, followed by extensive stakeholder interviews and think tanks with parents, faculty, and staff. Mid 2024: Research & Design Briefs Deep-dive inquiry into peer benchmarks, emerging educational practices, and WFS strengths. Creation of foundational “Design Briefs” framing actionable, innovative strategies. Fall 2024: Community Design & Draft Framework School-wide Community Design Day with faculty, staff, families, and alumni. Synthesis of community ideas into a draft framework with detailed goals and initiatives. Late 2024: Plan Iteration & Board Approval Steering Committee review and iteration of draft framework based on feedback. Presentation to Board of Trustees and formal approval. June 2025: Implementation Launch Official kickoff and Compass Teams established. Summer 2025: Research & Prototyping Compass Team leaders aligned on shared operational goals. Deep-dive research and early-stage prototyping for priority initiatives. Fall 2025: Priority Setting & Alignment Implementation Team priority alignment, culminating in a full-day November design day to share preliminary initiatives and gather cross-functional feedback. Winter 2026: Initiative Refinement Strategic initiatives refined and finalized by Compass Teams, locking in concrete action steps and measurable endpoints. Spring 2026: Board Approval & Task Forces Formal Board approval of final initiatives, followed by assignments to dedicated task forces/operational teams and identification of team leaders. June 2026: Faculty & Staff Roundtables Faculty and staff roundtables hosted to collaborate on implementation strategies and officially launch task forces into active campus work.
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WFS STRATEGIC PLAN | 2026 - 2031
Family Education and Partnership An established, structured parent/guardian learning and engagement framework will deepen understanding of today’s childhood, real-world learning, and diverse learning needs while strengthening partnership between families and the School in support of every student’s growth. Through a range of accessible formats—including talks, small-group conversations, coffees, visual communications, newsletters, and other outreach—Wilmington Friends School will create meaningful opportunities for families to engage with the ideas, practices, and experiences that shape student learning.
• Annual Family Education Calendar: A year-round series of workshops, coffees, and guest speakers exploring modern childhood and education.
• A Collaborative Topic Forum: A direct channel for parents/guardians and students to suggest future topics and shape the discussion.
• On-Demand Video Library: A curated digital archive of recorded sessions, giving families flexible access to helpful resources.
• Classroom-to-Home Workshops: Interactive sessions featuring division heads and teachers, designed to mirror what students are experiencing in the classroom.
PS-12 Vertical Community and Mentorship Launch a PS-12 vertical community and mentorship program that strengthens relationships across grade levels, fosters a deep sense of belonging, and supports students as they navigate key transitions throughout their school experience. By creating intentional opportunities for mentorship and leadership,
Wilmington Friends School will cultivate a culture of connection, care, and shared responsibility across the community.
• Lower School Buddy Classrooms: A classic, highvalue program pairing younger and older grades for collaborative projects and reading time.
• Divisional Peer Mentorship: Opportunities for older students within a division to receive training and mentor younger peers entering transition years.
• A Prominent WFS School Store: A central, welcoming campus storefront featuring updated inventory and expanded community hours.
• “Blue & White” Club: A dynamic family organization focused on cultivating school spirit and hosting events across athletics and the arts.
• Annual Alumni Game & Arts Traditions: Homecoming style athletic games and signature gallery nights celebrating current and past students.
• Cross-Divisional “Family Groups”: Multi-age student cohorts that stay together across grade levels, meeting for whole-school events and Meeting for Worship.
School Spirit and Community We will strengthen school spirit and community engagement by establishing a structured and equitable framework for family participation across athletics and the arts. By creating clear volunteer pathways, strengthening shared traditions, and enhancing opportunities for alumni and community involvement, Wilmington Friends School will foster a vibrant culture of connection, pride, and participation. Key areas of focus include expanding support and visibility for the WFS School Store, reinforcing the SPICES values within athletics and the arts, creating meaningful opportunities for alumni engagement through games and arts events, and evaluating elements of school identity as they relate to athletics, such as logo, mascot, and branding to ensure they reflect the spirit and traditions of the WFS community.
• A Refreshed and Consistent Athletics Visual Identity: A vibrant, unified athletics identity and mascot designed through an inclusive community process, along with consistent, high-quality visual style across all communication, gear, spirit wear, and uniforms.
Alumni Engagement and Lifelong Connection Activating the Wilmington Friends School alumni community as a structured and vibrant network will strengthen lifelong connections to the school while supporting mentorship, career exploration, and community engagement for current students. By expanding leadership opportunities and enriching alumni programming, we will cultivate meaningful relationships across generations of Friends.
• A Modernized Global Alumni Network: A connected community will function as a genuine network, utilizing a dedicated digital networking hub such as LinkedIn.
• Quaker Connections: A program that will bring together students, alumni, parents, parents of alumni, and friends of the school to explore careers, share experiences, and build meaningful relationships across generations. Students will benefit from mentorships and career advice, internship opportunities, and participating in formal student career networking events.
• Active Alumni Structures: Passionate alumni representatives will ignite involvement through the Alumni Board, Alumni Class Agents, and a new Alumni of Color Network. An event calendar will include a yearly slate of targeted reunions, networking breakfasts, and regional gatherings.
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WFSSTRATEGIC STRATEGICPLAN PLAN ||2026 2026--2031 2031 WFS
Quaker Education and Identity We will clarify and highlight the role of Quaker values in the life of Wilmington Friends School by making them more visible and understandable across campus and in school communications in a manner that resonates with our community. Through intentional efforts—such as storytelling, public recognition, and community gatherings—the school can help ensure that Quaker values remain a visible and meaningful part of everyday school life.
• Unified Story-Telling: High-quality visual displays across both campuses will bring the Quaker testimonies to life for students and visitors. A unifying theme will tie together stories highlighting community members living out the testimonies. A signature campus showcase event will highlight student-led stewardship and social justice projects.
Campus Flow and Wayfinding Arrival spaces, parking, and signage are often the first impression for visitors, students, and parents. Wilmington Friends will create a more welcoming environment that enhances navigation, strengthens our visual identity, and improves the overall visitor experience.
• A Welcoming Campus Directional System: An attractive, integrated, clear network of directional signs guiding visitors seamlessly through both campuses.
• Redesigned Reception Lobbies: Modernized, warm, and professional entrance hubs to greet prospective families and guests.
• Middle/Upper School Parking and Traffic Flow: Renovations to the main lot and additional parking will greatly improve the experience for the WFS community and visitors.
• Flagship Community Partnerships: Long-term, foundational relationships with local service organizations explicitly rooted in Quaker values in partnership with our new Community Learning Hub will enhance service learning. A comprehensive map of all non-profit and volunteer operations supported by WFS will show our community impact.
• A Restored QUEST Center: A revitalized physical campus hub dedicated entirely to service learning, spiritual reflection, and community action.
Thank you
to everyone who made our strategic plan possible. We couldn’t do it without the dedication and time of our faculty, staff, administrators, families, alumni and friends!
Campus As a Living Expression of Mission Guided by the School’s previous planning and overseen by the Board Property Committee, this initiative focuses on a phased, long-term reimagining of the physical environment to ensure the Wilmington Friends School campuses directly reflect institutional values. Future efforts will center on creating flexible outdoor learning spaces, addressing athletic facility updates with an eye toward equity, and enhancing communal gathering areas such as the middle school spaces and cafeteria. By prioritizing projects like the restoration of the QUEST center and improving the accessibility of the Meeting Room entrance, we aim to make our Quaker identity a highly visible, physical anchor at the heart of campus. Ultimately, these physical enhancements will transform the campus into a living lab—seamlessly weaving together learning spaces, productive landscapes, and gathering areas.
Happening Now! Planning, research, and discussion are key to a successful roadmaps, but it’s just as important to take the first steps! Here are highlights of work that is already underway.
Faculty sabbatical studying peer school best practices in experiential learning New community asset map for future learning hub resources Deepfake task force drafting proactive AI and digital safety guidelines
Renovated lower school informing entry and campuswide signage at middle/upper school
Middle school design lab phase 1 update underway
Updated middle school girls’ locker room Middle school pilot of scheduled academic support periods
Alumni database audit complete; alumni games have kicked off and will continue.
Themed parent coffees in middle school, modeling future rollout for lower school and upper school