Founding head of Quaker school in Decatur, Georgia, to retire in July 2023

Waman French, founding head of The Friends School of Atlanta (FSA) in Decatur, has announced that he will retire effective July 1, 2023, according to a February 14, 2022 staff report.

French was hired in 1991 by members of the Atlanta Friends Meeting. He and founding teacher Pam Upchurch met with people from the Decatur community and beyond to present a vision for a school that would bring together children of different races, ethnicities, religions, family structures and socioeconomic backgrounds. The school’s aim, as a press release stated, was for students to learn from one another and develop the conscience, conviction and compassion to be peacemakers and change agents in the world.

More than 30 years later, FSA remains an independent school serving students from PreK3 through eighth grade. Officials said the program is steeped in Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship.

In a statement, French described the school’s guiding belief: “This vision of humanity is grounded in the belief that there is a divine light–a potential for goodness in everyone and that each of us is of infinite worth.” He said it had been “deeply gratifying to work with trustees, faculty, staff and families to nurture what I believe is a transformational education for the children of metro Atlanta.”

French oversaw the school’s move from the Atlanta Friends Meetinghouse to temporary quarters at First Christian Church of Decatur. The school then relocated to a renovated warehouse on Sams Street, where it stayed for more than 10 years. French also led a successful capital campaign in 2008 that funded the move to the school’s current 5.85-acre campus on Columbia Drive. Officials said the school there has deepened its focus on innovation, environmentalism, artistic expression, community service, social justice and other disciplines.

Sara Patenaude, clerk of the FSA Board of Trustees, said: “It’s a big moment when a founding head of school as well loved as Waman steps aside.” She said the board had been engaged in succession planning through its Committee on Trustees for the past two years, and that French’s legacy “will provide a strong foundation for FSA’s future achievements.” Honoring those who led a community before its next stage is a lesson found in the faith’s call to remember leaders and their example (Hebrews 13:7).

The Friends School of Atlanta opened in 1991 as one of 78 Friends schools in the country. It remains the only Quaker school in Georgia. The school enrolls students from throughout metro Atlanta in small, diverse classes on Columbia Drive in Decatur. More information is available at www.friendsschoolatlanta.org.

Source: Read the original report