2005  Friends School of Portland began as a leading by teacher and Quaker Mary Tracy.  Mary felt clear that Greater Portland would benefit from a Friends school for younger children.  Her vision quickly motivated others to get involved, and around the Tracy’s kitchen table, decisions about governance, personnel, and curriculum were made.  

A teacher in the public school system for nearly two decades, Mary was convinced students were capable of a great deal more than adults gave them credit for.  And these tenets shaped Friends School of Portland:  

• There is that of God in everyone

• Truth is available to everyone

• Truth is continually revealed

• Love is a transforming power

2006 FSP attained non-profit status.  In September, a hearty band of twenty families, preschool through 6th grades had signed on, and FSP opened its doors on Mackworth Island, using a wing of the former Baxter School for the Deaf. Mary Tracy and Darlene Ivy served as co-Heads of School in this first year welcoming 31 students.

2007 James Grumbach, a former math and art teacher and administrator at George School, a Quaker high school in Pennsylvania, was hired as Head of School.

2008  FSP added a 7-8 classroom

2009  First 8th grade class graduated

The island greatly shaped the students’ education.  Preschoolers knew the rocky shores and sandy beaches by heart, and Billy Maley’s physical education classes often took place in the woods and fields.  A deep sense of appreciation for the natural environment was immediately present, and children and faculty spent each and every recess outdoors.

Graduating classes planted a fruit tree near the school garden each year.

2012  The school became accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, who acknowledged its “culture of joyful learning.”  That same year, Jenny Rowe was hired to succeed James Grumbach as Head of School.

At the end of 8 years on Mackworth, the school’s lease with the state could no longer be extended. An exhaustive search of former schools, urban and more rural properties took place. When a 21-acre wooded parcel in Cumberland came into view, the school moved quickly to design a 15,000 square-foot school.  Under the committed leadership of board clerk Naomi Beal, FSP worked with architects and builders to design a Passive-House certified building that uses 85% less energy than a standard one. A speedy and successful capital campaign and much shoveling of snow in the unroofed space in January allowed the beautiful and unique structure to be ready for students in September 2015, just nine years after its inception.

2015  One hundred students and 25 faculty and staff filled the new Passive House school.  With a successful history behind it and confidence in its future, FSP began keeping more of its kindergartners when it came time for first grade.  Steadily, enrollment has advanced to create two of every double-grade classroom.

2017 A second section of grade 1-2 was added

2019  A second section of grade 3-4 was added

2020 Our new middle school wing was completed allowing us the additional space to add a second section of grade 5-6 and open five school days a week with newly implemented Covid-19 precautions.

2021 Sara Primo was hired as Head of School.

2022 We added a second section of grade 7-8 reaching our early vision of a learning community of 150 students.