Dana H. Harrison, Head of Newtown Friends School (NFS), will speak on “The History and Stories of Newtown Friends School”. at the historic Newtown Quaker Meetinghouse, 219 Court Street at 9:45 a.m. on First Day (Sunday), April 23, followed by traditional Quaker Meeting for Worship based on expectant silence at 11 a.m.
Harrison said, “In this 75th anniversary year of Newtown Friends School, I want to talk about the history of the school, how and why it was founded, and the relationships between George School, Newtown Friends Meeting, and Newtown Friends School.
Every year at the graduation ceremony at NFS, each member of the graduating class of eighth graders presents the “small moments” that characterize their NFS experience. Dana Harrison says that he has small moments of his own that he wants to share about “this remarkable little school and the people in it.”
Harrison is the sixth head of school in the 75-year history of the highly respected local Quaker independent school known for its outstanding academics, community service, and Quaker values. Newtown Friends School was founded in 1948 by Newtown Friends Meeting and remains under its care.
NFS is located adjacent to the George School campus in Newtown, has 325 students pre-K through grade 8, 35% students of color, and a student to faculty ratio of 8 to 1.
Harrison has been Head of School at NFS since August 2010.
Dana also serves as the Chair of the Commission for Accreditation under the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS). He is a member of the PAIS Board of Directors.
Prior to coming to Newtown Friends School, Dana Harrison served as Middle School Head of Sandy Spring Friends School, Sandy Spring, Maryland, where he also coached soccer. Earlier he served as a science teacher, Middle School Dean of Students, and tennis and soccer coach at the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. He holds degrees from Haverford College, Arizona State University, and Columbia University Teachers College, and completed the Interalp Program on the island of Kalymnos, Greece.
He has been a teacher and administrator in independent schools for 32 years.
Harrison and his wife, Stephanie, live in Bucks County
Newtown Friends Meeting co-founded by “Peaceable Kingdom” painter and Quaker minister, Edward Hicks, in 1815. Regular First Day Education classes (Sunday School) for all ages begin at 9:45 a.m. and Meeting for Worship begins at 11 a.m. Childcare is provided.
By Norval Reece, Community Contributor