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Friends Meeting School

FMS is a thriving, growing educational community. Starting with only a dream to offer youth an outstanding educational program in the context of important values to live by, today we are a thriving wholesome school community serving families in Frederick, Howard, Washington, Montgomery, and Carroll Counties.

In the mid 1990’s Annette Breiling, having already started Friends Elementary School, which merged into Sandy Spring Friends School, was determined to start a new Friends school. She and a group of committed supporters spent a year and a half looking for appropriate land until they found a beautiful site near Frederick, Maryland.

The dream that was to become Friend Meeting School couldn’t wait for them to build a school building, so FMS was born in a rented church space with 13 students, grades Pre-K to 6, in 1997. In 1998, they added 7th grade and moved onto the land in their first four-classroom building, Founders Hall.

The building expanded to add new classrooms and accommodate 8th grade in 1999. By 2000, an adjoining 3 acre parcel was purchased as a residence for the head of school. And in 2001, a new building, Chelsea Hall, was completed to accommodate 5 new classrooms including a computer lab and science lab. The dust hardly settled on Chelsea’s construction when additional needs for the growing school were identified.

The next project was to flatten a new section of land in preparation for an athletic field to be followed by a major building. In 2009 Breiling Hall opened, providing an additional 21,000 square feet of space, including a full-size gym, cafeteria, performing arts room, additional classrooms, and offices. It also allowed the school to add high school beginning with 9th grade.

June 2013 marked a new historic year for Friends Meeting School as the first senior class graduated. As a mark of distinction, all our seniors were accepted into colleges of their choice. Our proud graduates are starting their careers in some of America’s finest college and universities: American University, Elon, Guilford, Sarah Lawrence, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Wesleyan.

The growth of Friends Meeting School is attributable to a number of factors, but a common theme often emerges – excellent academics in the context of the school’s Quaker values, combined with a warm caring community atmosphere among teachers, staff, students, and parents. FMS is growing, but is not so large that anyone is lost or left behind.

Contact Information
Mailing address: 3232 Green Valley Road Ijamsville, Maryland 21754
Grades Taught: Pre-Kindergarten to 12th
Head of School: Mara Nicastro
Telephone: 301-798-0288
Fax: 301-798-0299
E-mail: info@quakereducation.com
Website: www.friendsmeetingschool.org

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