In 1955 a group of Quaker educators found a shared concern, envisioning a school that would educate the whole person, where Quakerism could be a way of life, and where students could become inner directed rather than outer directed. Consulting with other Quaker groups throughout 1956 and ’57, and traveling through Europe and the United States to become familiar with innovative schools and colleges, three families came together in Rindge, and began their experiment. George Bliss, with his wife Helen, had taught at the Westtown Quaker boarding school, and was then executive secretary of the New England office of the American Friends Service Committee. Joel Hayden, with his wife Ruth, had been a professor at Antioch College in Ohio, while Robert Hindmarsh, with his wife Thera, was an agronomist who advised farmers in Deerfield, Massachusetts. They settled on two converted farmsteads, land that had been farmed since 1771, and opened their doors to students in the fall of 1957.
At The Meeting School, 30-40 boarding and day students in grades 9-12 live, work and learn together.Students and faculty share the work and the joy of life in community, small classes (typically 5-7 students), and raising food on our organic farm.Boarding students live together in our five faculty houses. We cook together, clean together, eat together, reflect together, play together and grow together. Learning is hands-on, authentic, vital and experiential. Students learn important skills for every area of life.The community takes the time to make important decisions collectively, in the manner of Quakers. Young people with initiative and vision can make a real difference at The Meeting School!
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