Brooklyn Friends School operates under a mission that extends far beyond college preparation. The 158-year-old Quaker institution in downtown Brooklyn has developed a framework for producing what it calls “compassionate, curious, and confident global citizens who let their lives speak in the spirit of leadership and service.” This vision shapes every aspect of student experience, from early childhood through twelfth grade.
The school’s strategic vision follows a scaffolded structure: “For BFS, For Brooklyn, For the World.” This nested structure acknowledges that meaningful global impact begins with institutional integrity and local engagement. Head of School Crissy Cáceres, who joined Brooklyn Friends School in 2019, emphasizes that the institution must embody its values internally before extending influence outward.
“Our school seeks to boldly push itself towards being an educational cornerstone of social justice and impact within local, national, and global spheres in an effective manner that embodies and punctuates our Quaker identity,” states the school’s strategic vision.
Brooklyn Friends School draws students from all five boroughs of New York City. The institution divides into four learning communities: Early Childhood (ages 2-4), Lower School (K-4), Middle School (5-8), and Upper School (9-12). Each division contributes to the larger goal of developing students who engage actively with the world rather than observing passively.
Three Pillars Supporting Global Citizenship
Brooklyn Friends School organizes its educational philosophy around three interconnected pillars that guide curriculum, professional development, and institutional decision-making. These pillars provide structure for how the school prepares students to participate meaningfully in an interconnected world.
The first pillar, Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, recognizes that understanding multiple perspectives forms the foundation of global citizenship. The institution works to ensure that values of equity, community, wholeness, imagination, learning, and justice manifest in authentic ways throughout the school.
“This is work that is the heart of the Brooklyn Friends School mission and takes us from where we have always been in ways that are grounded in the ‘now’ of our world for learning that is timely and enduring,” states the school’s description of this pillar.
The second pillar, Global Social Impact, translates understanding into action. Under the direction of Kevin Murungi, Brooklyn Friends School students engage with projects directly aligned with the strategic vision. The program emphasizes working with communities rather than for them, embodying Quaker ideals of equality and mutual respect.
Upper school students participate in the Social Justice Incubator, a program supporting them as they design and lead projects addressing issues they identify as important. Past initiatives have tackled food insecurity, anti-hate-speech campaigns, and healthcare access for migrants. The school provides mentorship and seed funding for these student-led social impact projects.
The third pillar, Wholeness and Well-being, acknowledges that effective global citizens must first understand and care for themselves. Brooklyn Friends School integrates a robust resilience and wellness curriculum within each learning community. The institution invests in resources and professional learning for colleagues to support students’ social-emotional, mental health, and learning needs.
These three pillars work in concert rather than isolation. A student exploring food insecurity through the Global Social Impact program simultaneously engages with issues of equity and must maintain their own well-being throughout the project. The framework reflects Quaker understanding that all aspects of human experience connect.
Quaker Values as Framework for Global Engagement
Brooklyn Friends School roots its methodology for global citizenship in Quaker testimonies known by the acronym SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. These principles, distilled from centuries of Quaker practice, provide students with ethical frameworks for engaging with complex global issues.
The testimony of Equality guides how Brooklyn Friends School students learn to recognize inherent worth in all people. This extends beyond tolerance to active appreciation of diverse perspectives and experiences. Students practice equality through daily interactions, circular classroom arrangements where all voices hold equal weight, and Meeting for Worship where anyone may speak if moved to do so.
Peace as a testimony shapes how students address conflict at every level—from playground disagreements to international disputes studied in history classes. Brooklyn Friends School teaches peaceful resolution not as passive acceptance but as active engagement with difficulty. Students learn to identify injustice and pursue change through methods that honor the humanity of all parties involved.
Stewardship prepares students to consider their responsibilities toward resources, communities, and the planet. Brooklyn Friends School incorporates environmental education throughout its curriculum. Students examine how their choices affect others locally and globally, developing habits of mindful consumption and care for shared spaces.
The Quaker practice of Meeting for Worship introduces students to contemplative practice that supports global citizenship. Each week, the Brooklyn Friends School community gathers in silence, creating space for reflection. This regular pause from activity allows students to develop internal resources—clarity, patience, empathy—essential for engaging thoughtfully with the world’s complexity.
“Each week, a Friends school community gathers for Meeting for Worship,” describes the school’s explanation of this practice. “With an unstructured nature and its focus on the power of the gathered group, Meeting for Worship gives everyone, regardless of a particular faith, a powerful tool for spiritual growth.”
International Baccalaureate: Global Framework
Brooklyn Friends School distinguishes itself as one of two Brooklyn institutions offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for eleventh and twelfth grade students. This curriculum explicitly prepares students for participation in global communities through its learner profile and assessment structure.
The IB program emphasizes developing students as “inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers.” Students complete coursework in six subject areas while also fulfilling three core requirements: Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, and Creativity-Activity-Service.
Theory of Knowledge challenges students to examine how they know what they claim to know. This epistemological inquiry proves essential for global citizenship, helping students recognize the cultural and contextual nature of knowledge production. Students learn to question assumptions, evaluate evidence from multiple sources, and understand that different communities may interpret the same information through distinct frameworks.
The Extended Essay requires students to conduct independent research on a topic of their choosing, producing a 4,000-word academic paper. This process develops skills in formulating research questions, gathering and analyzing information, and presenting findings—all capacities needed for addressing complex global challenges.
Head of School Crissy Cáceres articulates this perspective clearly: “The measure of our success is who they are as 30, 40, 50, 60-year-olds in the world, it’s who they are and continue to be in relation to the privileges that they hold.”
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