Oakwood Head of School Chad Cianfrani with the newly installed solar array providing power to the campus

Nestled on a 66-acre campus off Spackenkill Road in Poughkeepsie, Oakwood Friends School has roots that can be traced back more than two centuries. New York’s oldest coeducational boarding and day school, Oakwood remains true to its founding principles that students learn best within a diverse community dedicated to collaboration, social responsibility and high academic standards.

Early students included Danial Anthony, father of Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott, the noted abolitionist, woman’s rights activist and social reformer. Oakwood’s first international students arrived in 1860 and in 1934 Oakwood admitted its first black students. Today, Oakwood continues its strong commitment to diversity with students from nine countries, multiple states and surrounding New York towns. Head of school, Chad Cianfrani notes, “a culturally, socio-economically, and religiously diverse program enriches the learning for all members of the community. When students discuss material in course such as globalization or ethics, they gain a deeper understanding from classmates who bring their own perspectives from Rwanda, China, Afghanistan, New York City, Poughkeepsie and all places in between.”

Unique aspects of the sixth through 12th program include a curriculum that stresses depth over breadth, multiple sustainability initiatives and a commitment to community engagement and service learning. Oakwood features a four-season greenhouse, beehives, and a 2,000-panel ground-based solar array, which offsets 100 percent of the campus electrical usage. The middle school has a sustainable agriculture program which takes them from the classroom to the fields and back again.

“The students work with a local beekeeper who has a number of hives both on campus and throughout the Hudson Valley. Our first jars of honey were bottled this year,” Cianfrani said. “It is quite a sight to see multiple sixth graders, wearing their sixthgrade- size beekeeper suits, roaming the campus.”

Oakwood focuses on a curriculum that extends beyond the classroom walls. Students work in conjunction with surrounding institutes and businesses, applying classroom instruction to real-life challenges. Places such as the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (in Millbrook), the Beacon Institute of Rivers and Estuaries (in Beacon), and the Poughkeepsie Farm Project at Vassar College provide valuable connections to the local environment. Cianfrani adds “As citizen scientists, students are waist deep in the Hudson and its tributaries tracking eel migrations, they are performing trail maintenance, conducting bird counts and volunteering for community supported agricultural programs.”

Shifting from the science to the arts, students take a Community Service Through the Arts course led my music director, Ted Messerschmitt. After spending a portion of the week learning music theory and rehearsing, students reach out into the community playing at senior centers and for children’s groups. Last year the school also started an Arts Exchange pen-pal program with the Highland Juvenile Detention Center. Through this program Oakwood students make meaningful connections by share art, poetry and recordings with boys who, although close in age and proximity, have experienced very different sets of challenges and opportunities in their lives.

During the weekends and after sports students engage in multiple additional forms of service learning and educational outreach. Local early-educational centers, food banks, woman’s shelters, and SPCA all have standing relationships with the Oakwood community. Through a Human Rights Intern program, students are also actively involved with the Mid-Hudson Chapter of the United Nations. Each December, the group organizes a community-wide workshop at the FDR Library in Hyde Park to coincide with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Oakwood’s educational philosophy focuses on inquiry, reflection, and action, says Cianfrani, including the Quaker values of peace, integrity, equality and community. As is a common Quaker practice, students also have a block in their weekly schedule dedicated to silent reflection. During a busy week, students point to this time as one in which they can “unplug,” reflect inwardly, and listen to their internal voice.

“The diversity of our classrooms and educational approach reflect a multi-cultural world and evolving workspace,” Cianfrani. “Students are encouraged to collaborate academically and step outside their comfort zone. Actively engaging students in a shared ‘search for truth’ we attempt to model deep listening, respect for competing viewpoints and active participation in society.”

To learn more about Oakwood Friends School, visit www.oakwoodfriends.org