Princeton Friends School Completes 25th Anniversary Campaign

The Princeton Friends School has raised $5.5 million as part of the school’s 25th anniversary celebration. The funding will be used to grow the school’s endowment and carry out two capital projects.

Two buildings on the Quaker Meeting property will be renovated — the historic schoolmaster’s
house and its adjacent barn — and a new playground will be built.

Jane Fremon (l)and Betty Wold Johnson (r).
Jane Fremon (l)and Betty Wold Johnson (r).

Philanthropist Betty Wold Johnson donated $1 million to the school’s endowment, ensuring the success of the campaign.

Head of School Jane Fremon announced at a recent celebration at the Pretty Brook Tennis Club that the campaign had exceeded its goals , and thanked current and past parents, faculty and staff, trustees, friends of the school, and campaign chair Jean Mikita Sashihara for their efforts.

The gathering, attended by more than 150 people, not only marked the conclusion of the campaign, but also celebrated the success of Princeton Friends School alumni. A highlight of the evening was a performance by the Princeton University Wildcats, an all-female a cappella group featuring Princeton Friends School alumna Helena Ord.  Four other alumni who currently serve on the Princeton Friends

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Sussman at the Princeton Friends School celebration. Photo: Richard Trenner.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Sussman at the Princeton Friends School celebration. Photo: Richard Trenner.

School’s board of trustees spoke at the event: Josh Goldston Peek, an astronomer at the
Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; Mike Ambrogi Primo, founder
and art director of video game company Final Form Games; Hilary Sims, copy
editor at Wine Spectator magazine; and Scott Sussman, hotel and marketing director
at the Peacock Inn.

Quaker education on the grounds of the Princeton Friends Meeting reaches back to the eighteenth century. In 1781, the Quakers who settled Princeton during the American Revolution built a schoolmaster’s house on
what is now Quaker Road. In 1800, a one-room schoolhouse was erected on the
property. The schoolhouse and meetinghouse were abandoned in  the late eighteenth century, and the schoolhouse was torn down in 1901. In the 1940s, the meetinghouse was restored as part of the revival of the Princeton Friends Meeting, and in 1987 the Princeton Friends School was established to carry forward the legacy of Quaker education in Princeton. Now serving 125 children in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, Princeton Friends maintains a commitment to its historical roots and values.

“The success of our campaign, is a testament to the remarkable program that Princeton Friends has delivered for the past quarter century, touching the lives of so many in unimagined ways,” Fremon said. “The boost to the school’s endowment that this campaign produced ensures that the school will continue to thrive for the next quarter century and beyond.”

For more information about the Princeton Friends School, visit www.princetonfriendsschool.org.