Cambridge Friends School to close after 65 years

Cambridge Friends School, a Quaker pre-K-8 day school founded in 1961, will close at the end of the next academic year. Enrollment has fallen to 43 students, a 76% decline over the past decade. The school expressed gratitude to its community, including students, and stated that its Quaker-based educational philosophy will continue beyond the school. The mission is rooted in Quaker values such as simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship, with an emphasis on social justice and educating the whole child. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported the enrollment decline, and school officials did not provide immediate details on the closure reasons. The closure follows other regional private and religious school shutdowns tied to financial pressures and declining enrollment.

"Cambridge Friends School, a Quaker pre-K-8 day school with a 65-year history, will close at the end of the next academic year after its enrollment fell to just 43 students, a 76% drop over the past decade, according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education."

""We are grateful to all the members of our community over the years - friends, teachers, parents, alums, administrators, and most of all, our students - and know that the light of Cambridge Friends is carried in each of you out into the world," the school announced on its website."

"The school wrote in the statement that it will continue to support the Quaker-based educational philosophy beyond the school. Founded in 1961, the school describes its mission as rooted in Quaker values such as "simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship," emphasizing social justice and educating "the whole child.""

"The school is joining an ever-growing list of private and religious schools across the region that have shut down in recent years. St. Joseph School in Medford and the K-8 MetroWest Jewish Day School in Framingham both announced they would close at the end of this year. The Academy at Penguin Hall in Wenham closed after filing for bankruptcy in 2025."

Read at Boston.com