New Garden Friends School

Our son started at NGFS for kindergarten and is getting ready to enter sixth grade. We have found NGFS to be a wonderfully supportive, kind, thoughtful community where every student is seen and known well by teachers and staff. Our son''s education has developed not only in the classroom, but on walks in the woods, in the art studio, on overnight trips, in violin class, on the playground, and out in the community doing service learning which starts at a very young age. The summer camps are truly inspired and fun and beloved by our son and even his friends who attend other schools.There are many things we love about the education here-the experiential learning through themed units, the social education, the room for curiosity and exploration, the joyful approach his teachers bring to the classroom every day, just to name a few. Students are challenged here academically, but have lots of support from teachers and specialists when they need it. We have found the multi-grade classrooms to be very beneficial in creating a lovely social fabric throughout the school. One year the students are new to the classroom and learning from the older students in the class above them and the following year they are the leaders themselves. They are taught to treat everyone with respect, to advocate for themselves and build independence, and also to care for each other. We feel very lucky to be a part of this community of interesting, caring, and unpretentious families and staff. Attending school events, volunteering, and even chaperoning overnight trips are all fun at NGFS because there is is such a sense of joy and camaraderie here. We can''t say enough about this wonderful school and it''s beautiful setting.

NGFS fosters a love of learning and community like no other school! The dedicated teachers; a curriculum grounded in reading, writing, and critical thinking; strong arts and athletic program; Dual - enrollment opportunities with Guilford College and the inclusive social curriculum are just some advantages it offers its students. My son, who graduated in 2018 and now attends a highly selective liberal arts college in Ohio, gained not only a strong foundation in academics but also a mastery of a violin, and he now plays in his community orchestra. My daughter also discovered her passion for the arts at NGFS by performing in the school's outstanding musical theater program and taking a dance class in middle school. She is now applying to study dance at the college level and has already been accepted at several schools with academic and artistic scholarships. But even more important, NGFS has taught my kids how to lead by example, to give back to their communities, and to be successful in life.

New Garden Friends School has been such a blessing to my daughter and our family. Everything about the school embodies the word "community." The faculty and staff treat the students like their own kids. The students genuinely care about one another and look out for each other. They respect property, each other, themselves and the earth. The homework is manageable so she can spend time outside of school in her personal interests. They leave room for time during school to engage with the larger Greensboro community, the other divisions of the school, and even travel the world exploring and enriching their lives. Our daughter has been given room to grow into herself during a time of lots of changes (middle school).

We chose NGFS because we wanted a school that provides a meaningful school experience and fosters excitement for learning; that is intentionally a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming community; and that cares about the well-being of its students and what kind of people they are becoming. After 5 years at NGFS, we can’t imagine our son being at any other school. At NGFS we feel he is being prepared for authentic success. That is, we want him to thrive not just in school, but in life. NGFS cares about the world its students are in now and in the future. At NGFS our son is influenced by the values that characterize Friends schools and that are embedded in the fabric of NGFS: respect, simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, stewardship, and service. He is growing up surrounded by a faculty that exemplifies and models these values. He is encouraged to be himself while at the same time experiencing what it means to be a member of an interdependent community. We believe that, having integrated these influences, he will take them with him out into the world. An NGFS education truly is like no other.

We love NGFS preschool! The teachers are excellent.

My daughter graduated from NGFS last year. I cannot thank the school enough for the great preparation for life that she gained at this school. We were worried that going from a small graduating class to a large university of 40,000 students would be overwhelming, but it turns out that she is thriving and doing well socially and academically in all of her classes. She says that learning to effectively communicate with teachers, to advocate for herself and to have had the opportunity to take classes at Guilford really prepared her for the challenges of college. My husband and I were very grateful for all of the college counseling. The staff worked with her through the whole process and we never had to read an essay- she was accepted to all the schools to which she applied. Thank you NGFS! Parent of Alumna- class of 2018

It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of the positive experience our family has had with this school. The teachers are highly experienced and do a stellar job in developing a thorough knowledge of each child allowing for an individualized approach to learning and development. In addition to an exemplary academic curriculum the school places a high priority on social/emotional learning with emphasis on such concepts as kindness, equality, self-advocacy, mutual respect, and stewardship. Having chaperoned some of the field trips, we can say that they are truly exceptional in providing the students with outstanding opportunities for experiential learning to augment the classroom lessons. One of the standout aspects of this school for our family has been the overall sense of community with an atmosphere of inclusion and a warm welcome for all. We wholeheartedly give NGFS our highest recommendation.

New Garden Friends School is an extraordinary school. The programs are giving my daughter a wonderful cross section of art, music, language, learning about other cultures, fitness (yoga!), along with so many opportunities to help others. Both campuses are beautiful, and the faculty and parents are a wonderful community.