To the Friends Seminary Upper School Administration,

We are writing today to express our feelings of frustration and anxiety regarding the letter sent about the school’s updated plans for post-Thanksgiving learning. These past few months have undoubtedly been mentally exhausting for all of us, and while we can appreciate the change to a bi-weekly full day on campus, we worry that it fails to consider a few issues. 

To start, we want to acknowledge that we know how stressful and difficult making these decisions must be. We are incredibly grateful for and appreciate the amount of time, energy, dedication, and thought that the administration has put into making this year the best it can be. We were particularly impressed with the abundance of communication between the student body and the faculty that went into adjusting Wednesday programming and tutorials thus far: we voiced our concerns, and those concerns were addressed. 

That said, we are disappointed with both the abruptness and lack of communication with which this decision was made. We wish the voices of the Upper School were heard and consulted further before completely upending Wednesday programming, especially at a Quaker school that upholds the value of community. We fear that the student body’s desires may have been lost in translation when feedback on our first days of in-person classes was asked for. 

Since September, Wednesdays have mostly been a source of relaxation for us: a day off from classes, a time to socialize with peers, and most importantly, a break from the hustle and bustle of our weekly schoolwork. Frankly, having no academic obligations and still being able to come to campus on Wednesdays was the only part of the Upper School’s completely virtual schedule that was appealing to students. It gave us the rare opportunity to socialize outside the virtual classroom. We know that most members of the community expressed concerns that Wednesday programming has been somewhat of a waste of time; however, the proposed solution is not what most had in mind. It gets upper schoolers on campus less frequently, not more. And, while it may make Wednesdays more productive, we’re gaining nothing from the adjustment: having classes on Wednesdays will just increase work and stress levels. Perhaps adding more structured programming and meaningful grade- or cohort-wide activities could make Wednesdays more enjoyable. 

We would love to continue on-campus learning, but not at the expense of a previously allotted break that we have come to rely on. We imagined additional in-person classes to take place only on days that were already designated for academics.

Finally, the timing of this adjustment seems nonsensical, especially considering that in most classes, this is the busiest part of the semester. Additional class periods per week come with an additional workload, which is asking too much of Upper Schoolers. Rearranging our schedules while managing our existing workload should not have been such an unconsulted and apparently overnight change. 

Again, we truly thank you for all of your hard work and flexibility in guiding the Upper School through a pandemic. We appreciate your continued willingness to listen to the voices of the community.