About

History & Campus

Rooted in Nature, Built with Purpose

Our Campus

FCS is situated on 17 acres of wetlands and woodlands adjacent to Greenbelt National Park. It’s not unusual for students to look up from their books and see birds, deer, and other wildlife exploring their natural habitat.

Environmental stewardship is cultivated through FCS’s outdoor learning projects, nature-filled play spaces, and opportunities to explore and care for the local ecosystems.

Teachers integrate the natural surroundings into daily learning, inviting students to extend classroom concepts through outdoor lessons, projects, and exploration. Students can be found measuring the circumference of tree trunks in the woods, collecting scientific samples, or learning about parabolas by tossing a ball. 

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Our LEED-Certified Building

FCS is proud of its commitment to environmental stewardship, a Quaker value expressed in the architecture of our LEED-certified (Silver) building, which includes:

 

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  • A Living Green Roof

  • Solar Tubes and Low-Energy Lighting

  • Radiant Floor Tube Heating

  • Straw-Bale Insulation

  • Environmental Recognition from the State of Maryland

  • Natural Ventilation

  • Bio-Retention Ponds

  • Recycled and Recyclable Pressed-Board Woodwork

FCS History: Founded and Grown in Community

  • 1986

    FCS was founded in 1986 by Adelphi Friends Meeting as an expression of Quaker faith and practice. Since its founding, Friends Community School has remained committed to providing a learning experience that celebrates and affirms the light in every child and member of the community.

  • 1986 - 2007

    Jane Manring, a Quaker and noted progressive educator, served as the first Head of School. In the early days, the school met in Adelphi Friends Meetinghouse and served students in grades K-6. As the school grew, it relocated to the old Regina High School campus on Riggs Road, and then to Calvert Road in College Park.

  • 2007

    Nearly 20 years after its founding, FCS expanded. In anticipation of continued growth and the addition of the middle school, FCS built its current campus adjacent to Greenbelt National Park in 2007. The LEED-certified building's many sustainable features reflects the community's commitment to the stewardship testimony. They include radiant-floor heat, passive solar lighting, straw-bale insulation, and a green roof.

  • 2008

    Larry Clements became Head of School in 2008. He oversaw the addition to the building.

    As FCS has grown in size and student enrollment, it has also grown in its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In 2008, the board adopted a diversity statement that focused on celebrating the light in all people, and on being a community that celebrates difference.

  • 2013

    In 2013, FCS completed its first addition to its new building, enhancing spaces for the performing arts, visual arts, Lower and Middle School science, tutorial and small group spaces, and administration.

  • 2019

    In 2019, FCS welcomed Angela Garcia as the next Head of School.

    The school continued to update and revitalize campus and outdoor spaces, successfully incorporated a virtual learning program during a pandemic, and set forth on a path towards continuing to strengthen our progressive curriculum.

  • 2022

    In 2022, during Angela Garcia's tenure as Head of School, the board updated the diversity statement, charging the school to emphasize the expression of our values in practice.

  • 2023

    In July 2023, FCS welcomed Neal Brown as Interim Head of School for a two-year term.

    The school continued to flourish under the care of its dedicated leadership, its dynamic and engaging faculty, and its devotion to progressive and Quaker principles in educating and guiding the whole child.

  • 2025

    Currently, FCS is beginning a new chapter. In 2025, the Board appointed Rachel Kane as Head of School.
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5901 Westchester Park Drive College Park, MD, 20740
Phone: (301) 441-2100
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