Building Understanding Through Community: A Week of Socioeconomic Reflection at Friends

 

At Friends, the work of building a more inclusive and empathetic community is never confined to a single moment. It is sustained by ongoing dialogue, critical inquiry, and the courage to engage with complex truths. This work is also guided by Kirsti Peters, Director of Diversity, Equity & Belonging, and Sanika Shah, Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Specialist for the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice (CPEJ), whose leadership helps shape and support these vital conversations. This month, the Diversity, Equity and Belonging (DEB) Committee partnered with the Socioeconomic Diversity Club to lead a weeklong initiative in the Upper School focused on raising awareness and deepening understanding around socioeconomic identity, class, and financial aid—topics often left unspoken in school settings, yet deeply felt.

The initiative began with student leaders from both groups addressing the community during Upper School Meeting for Announcements. Their message set the tone: an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider how socioeconomic diversity shapes our lives and our learning spaces. The DEB Committee and Socioeconomic Diversity Club emphasized that the week was not about shaming anyone for what they did or didn’t have, but rather about cultivating empathy, awareness, and understanding in a school community where students come from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. From there, students across all four grades were thoughtfully reorganized into mixed advisory groups, where they engaged in a text rendering activity and query-based discussion. Using excerpts from The Complementary Benefits of Racial and Socioeconomic Diversity in Schools, students read, highlighted, and shared words, phrases, and sentences that stood out—without pressure to explain why. The exercise encouraged both introspection and mutual respect, aligning with the Quaker practice of listening without judgment.

To ground the experience in shared spiritual reflection, the DEB Committee also led a Meeting for Worship centered on the theme of socioeconomic diversity. Queries explored how we talk about money and class outside of school, how intersecting identities shape our access to resources, and how to respond when peers casually reference luxury items or expensive experiences. These moments of guided silence invited students and faculty to consider how Friends can continue to be a space where dignity is upheld for all, regardless of financial background.

The week concluded with a student-led discussion hosted by the Socioeconomic Diversity Club, featuring special guest Sam Margles, Director of Financial Aid. Sam offered a transparent look at Friends’ financial aid program—debunking common myths, breaking down budget allocations, and answering candid questions from students. Her visit not only demystified the financial aid process but also underscored the School’s commitment to equity and access.

Throughout the week, students demonstrated vulnerability, curiosity, and respect as they engaged with one another and the material. By centering student voice and faculty partnership, the DEB Committee and Socioeconomic Diversity Club modeled how meaningful change at Friends is driven by community—and how even the most personal aspects of identity can be explored with both care and courage.

Reflecting on the week, Finn ’27 shared, “Overall it was a successful week that created a lot of productive conversation. The idea of someone as young as 10 or 11 years old having to learn the nuances of socioeconomic diversity just to fit in has been stuck in my mind since then; it shows just how prevalent socioeconomic status is in all of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. I have grown to be more appreciative of the opportunity that I have in attending Friends, and I am excited to continue discussing socioeconomic diversity at our School.”