This September, Friends Select’s 10th grade chose class representatives through consensus decision making, instead of the typical voting format. This switch, made by Jillian Waldman, 10th grade advisor, gave students the opportunity to lean into Quaker decision making processes. Jillian requested that Miriam Rock, faculty leader of Quake, run the consensus event. “I think it’s been a shift that has been coming for a few years,” Miriam said. “There’s a lot of wisdom in Quaker practices that is worth looking to.”

This year’s 10th grade student government decision process was a two-part discussion in which students were able to speak about which candidates they thought were best fit for the roles. “A positive to this style is that you can’t say anything negative about the candidates,” Gavin Ewing ‘25 said. “When each candidate leaves after their speech, they will know that only positives are being said about them.” This was highlighted in the norms for consensus as well, to make sure that the 10th graders were lifting people up, not putting people down.

Student reviews of the process were mixed. “It created some issues and conflict within groups,” Sophia Le ‘25 said. Along with this, students were able to recognize the positives. “[It] got rid of the feeling like it was voting out of popularity,” Sofia Le ‘25 also said. Similarly, “It [is] better than voting because the decision is thought about more,” Nora Colgan ‘25 (Class Representative) said. Overall students were able to see the value in what they did, while also recognizing issues that came up.

Some 10th grade students believe in expanding the consensus programming at Friends Select. “I do feel that other grades should try this,” Gavin Ewing ‘25 said. “It gives everyone in the grade a voice in the decision.” Miriam Rock alluded to a larger plan that would include experts running consensus workshops with Upper School students. She also saw that there was progress to be made. “[We can] work as a school community to know what the right norms are for us,” Miriam Rock said. Although exact plans for what these norms would be and for how the school would carry consensus into the future have yet to be set, it is certain that this will not be the end of consensus work at Friends Select.