Germantown Friends School
40.03278°N 75.17167°W Germantown Friends School (GFS) is a coeducational independent PreK–12 school in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States under the supervision of Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It is governed by a School Committee whose members are drawn from the membership of the Meeting, the school's alumni and parents of current students and alumni. The head of school is Dana Weeks.
Germantown Friends School | |
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Location | |
31 West Coulter Street Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
Information | |
Type | Private |
Motto | Behold, I have set before thee an open door. |
Established | 1845 |
Head of school | Dana Weeks |
Faculty | 87 Full Time 24 Part Time |
Grades | K–12 |
Enrollment | 1021 |
Color(s) | White, blue |
Athletics conference | Friends School League |
Mascot | Tiger |
Affiliation | Religious Society of Friends |
Website | www |
History
Germantown Friends School was founded in 1845 by Germantown Monthly Meeting. The school was founded in response to a request from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Until the early 20th century, Germantown Friends was a "select" school, meaning that only the children of Quaker parents were admitted. Germantown Monthly Meeting was an Orthodox meeting and valued classical education. Athletics and the arts were considered a diversion from the essentials needed by young people.
Notable alumni
- John "Skip" Barber, 1954: Racing Instructor.
- Emily Bazelon, 1989: Journalist (Slate, New York Times), Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School.
- Eric Bazilian, 1971: Musician and songwriter of the band The Hooters.
- Henry Bean, 1963: Film director, scriptwriter.
- Jesse Biddle, 2010: Left-Handed Pitcher selected by the Philadelphia Phillies 27th overall in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
- Sandra Boynton, 1970: Cartoonist, songwriter, and best-selling author.
- Sarah Chang, attended but did not graduate: Violinist.
- Owen Chamberlain, 1937: Discoverer of the antiproton and Nobel Laureate in Physics for 1959.
- C. West Churchman: Philosopher, System Theorist, and a founding father of Management Science.
- Walter Cope: Architect known for academic buildings.
- Kathryn Davis, 1964: Novelist.
- Erica Armstrong Dunbar, 1990: Historian and author, National Book Award Finalist.
- Garrett Dutton III, aka G. Love, 1991: Musician and front man of the band G. Love & Special Sauce.
- Michael Friedman, 1993: Composer.
- William Newport Goodell, 1926: Artist, craftsman, and educator
- Janet Brown Guernsey, 1931: physicist
- Nathaniel Kahn, 1981: Filmmaker. Writer and director of My Architect, a film about his father, Louis Kahn.
- Christopher P. Long, 1987: American academic and Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and Honors College at Michigan State University.
- Stacy Levy: Sculptor.
- Ted Mann (journalist), 1998: Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, credited with breaking the Bridgegate controversy involving New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
- Rob Monster: Dutch-American technology executive
- Tom Myers, 1976: Nominated for two Academy Awards.[1]
- Scott Pagano, 1996: Video artist.
- Saul Perlmutter, 1977: Astrophysicist; winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the accelerating universe.
- Edmund R. Purves, 1914: architect and executive director of the American Institute of Architects
- Beatrice Simcox Reiner, 1923: psychiatric social worker
- Esther Biddle Rhoads, American educator, relief worker[2]
- Mortimer Sellers: American philosopher
- Sam Smith: Author, editor, journalist.
- Merrie Spaeth: Political public relations consultant; appeared in the film The World of Henry Orient while a sophomore at GFS.[3]
- Dan Sterling, 1989: Television producer
- Makiko Tanaka: Japanese Foreign Minister, 2001–2002.
- Michael Grant Terry, 2001: Actor (Bones).
- Rebecca Traister, 1993: Journalist (New York Magazine, Elle)
- Daniel Spielman, 1988: Sterling Professor of Computer Science at Yale, Macarthur Fellow
- Ira Wolf Tuton, 1997: Fretless Bass Player Yeasayer
- Elizabeth Gray Vining: Newbery Medal winner and English tutor to Emperor Akihito of Japan during his early adolescence.
- PJ Vogt, 2004: Journalist, Host of Reply All podcast
- Kristen Welker, NBC News journalist
- Santi White, aka Santigold, 1993: Musician.
- Risë Wilson, activist
- Dan Wolf, 1976: Massachusetts state senator, founder of Cape Air
- William Wright: Author
Entertainment
- The main character from the TV series Twin Peaks, FBI Agent Dale Cooper, supposedly grew up in Germantown and attended Germantown Friends School (as created by director David Lynch, who spent many years in Philadelphia).[4] They were also referenced in The Goldbergs' spinoff show, Schooled, in the fifth episode of the first season, "Money for RENT".
References
- "Tom Myers". IMDb.
- Rombeau, John L.; Muldoon, Donna (1997). Jonathan E. Rhoads, M.D. : Quaker sense and sensibility in the world of surgery. Internet Archive. Philadelphia : Hanley & Belfus. pp. 16–21. ISBN 978-1-56053-252-1.
- "The Girls of Henry Orient", Time, May 15, 1964
- Frost, Scott: The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes, page 1, Pocket Books, 1991.