Since 1976, Stratford Friends School (SFS), located in Newtown Square, PA has been a pioneer in education and the first Quaker school for students with learning differences such as ADHD, dyslexia, receptive and expressive language delays, auditory processing issues, and working memory deficits. Forty-five years later, SFS continues to be a leader, offering students in grades K-9 a researched based curriculum with STEM and service-based learning, with physical education and visual and performing arts curriculum that encourages students’ creativity, builds a joy for learning, and bolsters self-esteem. Stratford Friends’ mission it to empower all students with the skills they need to be successful learners.  

Stratford Friends’ students come from across Delaware, Chester, and Philadelphia counties. They are bright and motivated students who often fall behind in a traditional classroom setting yet excel at Stratford Friends due to the small class size model (6:1 student to teacher ratio) which enables the teachers the opportunity to truly focus on each and every student.

An exciting new program at SFS is their Food for Life initiative.  The Food for Life program builds upon the school’s beloved tradition of gardening.  At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, SFS, with support from their donors, purchased a Charlie Cart (https://charliecart.org/) and installed a Hoop Greenhouse onto school grounds.  Along with their current garden space, all students will participate in hands-on lessons on caring for, cooking with, and enjoy healthy foods through an integrated STEM approach. 

At SFS, they educate the whole child!  Stratford Friends’ Shine Bright Initiative integrates Speech and Language, Occupational Therapist, Behavioral Specialist, and a School Counseling into the everyday classroom experience and provides individual and/or small group work as needed. SFS’ specialists work hand and hand with classroom teachers and parents to help students celebrate and build on their strengths, increase their self-esteem, and develop self-advocacy as they become strong, independent learners. 

Language instruction is taught using the Orton-Gillingham reading program, a researched-based curriculum, to provide explicit phonics instruction using multi-sensory techniques. Visual, auditory, and tactile-kinesthetic learning modalities are reinforced through systematic, explicit, diagnostic, and prescriptive instruction. This method develops the language abilities of each child by teaching foundational reading skills (decoding), spelling skills (encoding), and concepts through the involvement of all the student’s senses. In the hands of the highly trained and experienced teachers at Stratford Friends School, it is a powerful tool of exceptional breadth, depth, and flexibility.

Built on core Quaker values, this Independent school has quiet worship reflection time at the start of every day, and explicitly teaches the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. Stratford Friends is a school committed to diversity, peacemaking, social justice, and the recognition of the spiritual dimension of life.

To schedule an individual tour or learn more about Stratford Friends School contact Patty Plousis, Director of Enrollment, at admissions@stratfordfriends.org or visit the school’s website at www.stratfordfriends.org.