Cambridge Friends School
Interim Head of School Search, September 2023
History and Mission of Cambridge Friends School
Founded in 1961 under the care of Friends Meeting at Cambridge, Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers), Cambridge Friends School is the only Friends school in Massachusetts, one of only five in New England. The School currently enrolls 130 students in grades PK–8.

The core of the School’s mission reads:
The mission of the Cambridge Friends School is to provide an outstanding
education. Guided by Quaker principles, we engage students in meaningful
academic learning within a caring community, strongly committed to social justice.
We expect all students to develop their intellectual, physical, creative and spiritual
potential, and through the example of their lives, to challenge oppression and to
contribute to justice and understanding in the world.Cambridge Friends lives this mission by educating the whole child through Quaker
testimonies of Equality, Peace, Integrity, Community, Simplicity and Stewardship.

The Community of the School
Cambridge Friends is located on more than four acres in the western section of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The neighborhood is largely residential, with a mix of single homes, multi-family houses, and apartment blocks. CFS families represent a range of communities of varying ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, race, and geography. An active Family Association (FA) works with the school administration to support the school and its mission, as well as advocate for concerns of families and support the wellbeing of the CFS community-at-large.

CFS students come from 30 cities and towns around greater Boston. There are students
with a wide variety of learning styles at the School and CFS works to ensure that it admits students with whom it can best succeed. Depending on enrollment, there are one or two sections of students in each grade with about thirteen students as the average section size.

Graduates attend a range of public and independent schools.

CFS is part of AISNE (Association of Independent Schools of New England), NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools), and FCE (Friends Council on Education) and uses educational resources from each of these organizations to further its mission and develop its faculty and staff.

Website: http://www.cambridgefriendsschool.org/

The Candidate
A successful leader of Cambridge Friends School needs to believe in, and model the
excitement of, teaching elementary school age children; understand Friends practice in the context of a Quaker school. The candidate need not be a practicing Quaker, but as Head of CFS the person needs to have experience in and be able to support a culture of decision making and accountability in which members of the community – students, faculty, staff, and families – feel engaged and responsible.

With that understanding, the School looks for the following qualities, abilities and
expectations in its Interim Head of School:

An engaged educator, the person will have:
- Empathy, humor and warmth;
- Positive energy and a strong work ethic;
- Experience as an independent school leader in a diverse school community,
with interim leadership experience preferred;
- Teaching experience at Grades Pre-K through Grade 8.
- An experienced administrator in independent elementary schools, the person will be:
- A person of integrity who inspires confidence and draws all members of the
larger community into the process of caring for the school;
- Adept at inclusive, restorative community-building, and conflict resolution;? A proactive communicator, who is both a fine listener and has the ability to
see differences of opinion or approach as a creative force to be harnessed
for the growth of all stakeholders;
- Experienced in managing a balanced budget, capital expenditures and a
focus on enrollment by setting priorities;
- Have a deep understanding of organizational and community factors that
influence diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as well as experience
positively affecting those factors;
- Experienced in collaboratively managing, developing, and evaluating a team
of educators and administrators;
- See leadership as service to the school community.

Application Procedure
Qualified candidates are asked to send a resumé, cover letter, a one- to two-page
educational philosophy statement, and a list of at least three professional references
(name, phone number, email address, and connection to you) to the Interim Head Search
Committee at InterimHeadSearch@cambridgefriendsschool.org no later than Sept. 30, 2023 (however, review of applications will begin immediately).
For additional information about the school and Interim Head Search, visit the CFS website:
https://cambridgefriendsschool.org/about-cfs/career-opportunities/

Cambridge Friends School does not discriminate in its policies based on race, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, or age.