Announcing Our Next Head of School

Dear FCS Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Rachel Kane as the next Head of Friends Community School. Rachel will succeed Interim Head of School Neal Brown on July 1, 2025. We thank Neal for his ongoing dedication and stewardship of the school as we invite Rachel to write the next chapter in the school’s history.    

Throughout the interview process and during her visit to FCS, the board was impressed by Rachel’s lifelong dedication to Quaker education, her leadership in DEI, her communication skills, her commitment to progressive education, and her excitement about the mission and identity of the school. Rachel immersed herself in the classroom and communicated with precision and vision in the parent session, connecting her observations with Quaker values. Rachel earned passionate support from parents moved by her deep listening and caring for the school community. A rising star in Quaker education, Rachel received glowing recommendations from current heads of school who praised her unimpeachable integrity, her professionalism, her empathy, and her steadfast commitment to mission and community. The Board welcomes Rachel, her wife Barbara, and their daughter Zuri into the FCS community with great enthusiasm.

Please read on to hear from Rachel herself, to read her bio, and to learn about our selection process.

A Letter to the Community from Rachel Kane
Dear FCS Community:

It is hard to fully capture the joy and gratitude I feel at joining Friends Community School as the next Head of School. I had the privilege of meeting with faculty and staff, students, parents and caregivers during my visit in September, and each conversation further deepened my understanding of how special FCS is. The authentic love of and appreciation for each other, the community, and the School shone forth in your voices, faces and words as you shared your reflections. Your commitment to children, to learning, to justice, and to ongoing self-examination and growth resonated deeply with me as an educator and a person. Thank you for making the decision to join the FCS community so easy.

During my visit, a particular moment that stood out was when I asked a group of Middle School student leaders what they would never change about the School, and one of the first answers was, “Meeting Partners!” It is telling in the most wonderful way that, to an older student, sharing Meeting for Worship with a younger student has been one of the most important experiences at FCS. Reflecting on my own experience at a Quaker school as a student, I see that the most important part was knowing that I was valued and that others saw and reflected back the Light in me. As I move through my 23rd year as a Quaker educator, my priority remains that all students feel the same sense of self worth that my education instilled in me. This is one of the reasons that work around diversity, equity and inclusion is so important: as students develop and grow into their full identities, it is critical that they see themselves honored and celebrated in curriculum, in program, in policy, and in those around them. In my time on campus at FCS, the support of students as their full selves was evident, as was the commitment to ongoing DEI work. 

Everything I saw in my visit supported my belief that Friends Community School is uniquely positioned to serve young people in important and meaningful ways. I am excited to be in a K-8 setting, where the center of gravity is not high school, but closer to childhood. I am grateful to remain in a Quaker setting, because I believe at this point in history, perhaps more than any, learning how to communicate with respect, to question while also listening, to understand how to create silence and peace even in a chaotic, fast-paced world is vitally important to the health, wellness, and eventual success of our future citizens. To be a lifelong learner, you must move through the world with curiosity and an inquiry-based mind. To be a courageous risk-taker, you must feel confident in who you are and the support you have behind you. And to be a joyous peace-maker, you must value and feel connection to others, even as you put your voice and your beliefs into the world. These skills, combined with the collaboration and experiential learning that are hallmarks of progressive education, can empower students to tackle so much of what will come their way in high school and beyond. Thank you for entrusting me with stewarding this very special school. I look forward to meeting and engaging with each of you in our shared work of cultivating a community grounded in learning, courage, and joy. 

Warmly,
Rachel

 

 

Having attended a Quaker school for most of her childhood, Rachel has dedicated her career to working in Friends schools. She holds tightly to the idea that there is the Light of God, or deep goodness, in all people. As she joins Friends Community School, Rachel is honored to have the opportunity to work alongside dedicated educators who are committed to helping students honor and cherish their Inner Light so that they can realize the promise they carry within and “let their lives speak.”

Currently Middle School Principal at Sidwell Friends School, Rachel started her career teaching music in all grades and high school math and science at Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica, before focusing on middle school when she returned to the US to teach math at Friends School of Baltimore. At Friends School of Baltimore, she earned an M.S. in Counseling Psychology. Rachel brought this perspective to her first administrative position as Assistant Director of the Middle School at Abington Friends School, a position she held for five years while continuing to teach math and life skills courses. She earned her M.Ed. in School Leadership and for her next four years at Abington Friends School, Rachel served as Director of the Middle School before moving to Washington, D.C., for her current role at Sidwell Friends School. 

At both Abington and Sidwell, Rachel helped to support and found identity-based student affinity groups and served as a faculty advisor to multiple groups. At Sidwell, she also clerked the committee that revamped the faculty evaluation tool and cycle to include intentionally building equity work into the evaluation process. As an equity-minded educator, Rachel helped to establish methods to address bias in hiring and examined internal data related to student support and discipline to mitigate potential bias. Whether through programming, professional development, or policy examination, Rachel believes that all schools must continue to grow in supporting the broad diversity of students and families our schools have the privilege of serving, and appreciates that Friends Community School shares that belief and goal.

Rachel earned a B.A. in Psychology from Swarthmore College, an M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Loyola University Maryland, and an M.Ed. in Independent School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 

About the Selection Process
The selection of the Head of School is one of the greatest responsibilities of an independent school’s board of trustees. Rachel’s appointment is the result of a thoughtful search that began in the spring of 2023. 

 

Gratitude
I offer my deepest thanks to all members of the Friends Community School community who participated in this important process. Thanks especially to Search Committee clerk Patience Peabody and committee members Alex Jadin, Dave Ahl, Martine-Pascale Gaujean May, and Nitish Sinha (through August) for their tireless dedication to this process and to our school. I would also like to express my gratitude to our search consultants, André Withers and Doug Jennings of Educators’ Collaborative, who have supported us for the past eight months and who will continue to support the Board during the transition to Rachel’s first year as Head. Thank you to the many FCS staff who supported the Board during the search process. Lastly, many thanks to our Interim Head of School, Neal Brown, for his continued leadership and commitment to FCS. 

As we look ahead to the transition process, please join the Board in welcoming Rachel and her family to the FCS community.

With Care,

Brooke Carroll
Interim Clerk, FCS Board of Trustees