At Princeton Friends School, students are expected to contribute in an ongoing way to the community as a whole, and older students are encouraged to act as role models for younger children. Students perform daily and weekly maintenance jobs in their classrooms and around the school, while older students volunteer for tasks and organize traditional school events. Fourth through eighth graders are invited to be partners to younger students for weekly Settling In, singing, and other all–school activities.

The program and curriculum at Princeton Friends fosters a strong sense of community that draws entire families into the life of the school. Parents are encouraged to take part in a variety of ways. They may participate in monthly community outreach activities and on class trips, share their interests and expertise through class presentations, volunteer on school committees, organize and assist with fundraising events and other Parent Association activities, play live music for folk dancing, or join in our weekly Settling In and all–school singing and dancing. Annual events such as the Family Folk Dance, Math & Science Day, and the Family Sing also provide opportunities for the whole community to come together in a spirit of celebration. The communal life of the school culminates with a three–day camping trip to the Princeton-Blairstown Center at the end of May for first through eighth graders and their parents and siblings, and a campout on the school property for Beginning School families.

"When Rick and I regard James and rejoice in how together he is at age 20 (kind, at ease with himself, grounded in an admirable value system), we give Princeton Friends School an enormous hunk of credit. We’re so grateful that PFS, school and community, was there for us when we needed it most."

Carroll C., parent

"Unlike most schools where a teacher knows a child for only one year before he passes to new hands, one of the greatest strengths of the Princeton Friends School is the continuing relationship of children and teachers over time. Their familiarity and sensitivity to children’s strengths and weaknesses helps teachers to meet the children where they are and rejoice in their developmental leaps, while children can feel secure in being known and understood.

...Arriving in front of the school each day to be greeted with a handshake and greeting from Pete and departing with a handshake from the advisor frames the experience of the Friends School child. This is a school where teachers truly connect with children and know them not only through their minds and the skills they must learn but also through their hearts."

Susan D., parent