Tandem Enters its 50th Year!

What we are striving to build is a school where children truly learn - about themselves and the world, about the relationships between past, present and future. - John Howard & Duncan Alling in the original prospectus of the Tandem School

This fall marks the beginning of Tandem’s 50th year as a well-loved and respected independent school in our community, and the celebration will be building as we head further into this year and next. There is much brainstorming underway, and committees are being formed to ensure that we look at this year through the lens of our 50th anniversary, that we partner with community events and outside organizations in our celebration, that we plan fun and appropriate events and reunions, that we uncover and showcase Tandem history, and that we publicize our 50th-anniversary activities to celebrate our presence in the community. The main celebratory event will be held in fall of 2020. A 50th anniversary logo will soon be revealed, one that honors our past while pointing to Tandem’s future. It’s an exciting time to be at Tandem Friends School, and we hope to engage many alumni, past parents, past faculty/staff/trustees, and friends in our recollections, reflections, and celebrations.

It’s remarkable to reflect back on the beginnings of this life-changing school, which opened its doors in 1970 and graduated its first class of seniors in 1973. In a 1993 In Tandem newsletter, John Howard recalled how Tandem came to be. 

In the spring of 1968, Duncan Alling, who was then Director of Admissions at Blair Academy in New Jersey, stopped by Lawrenceville School where I was an Assistant Dean of Students. “Why don’t we start a school in Charlottesville?” said Duncan. “Sure,” I thought, “and why don’t we learn to fly helicopters.” But as the months went by, I began to give the idea serious thought….The next thing I knew it was September 1970, and Tandem was opening with twenty two students in grades 9 and 10. We had a Board of Trustees...we had a lab and two playing fields and a library and a curriculum and very little money. But as Duncan said, we were pioneers.
 
Watch for exciting 50th anniversary updates and invitations!
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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