Brooklyn Friends School operates under a leadership philosophy that deliberately centers joy and love as foundational elements of education. Head of School Crissy Cáceres, who joined the institution in 2019 as the first head of color and first woman to lead in 33 years, describes her approach not as a fixed philosophy but as a "leadership walk."
"I would describe my leadership walk, not my leadership philosophy," Cáceres explains. "I think a philosophy is the thing that you keep in mind all the time that drives the way that you engage, and for me, that's not what happens. I am somebody who is malleable to the human energy that's in front of me."
This responsive method reflects the Quaker principles that have guided Brooklyn Friends School since its founding in 1867. The downtown Brooklyn institution serves students from all five boroughs across four learning communities, spanning Early Childhood through Upper School.
Responsive Leadership as Core Practice
Cáceres characterizes her leadership style as "responsive" rather than prescriptive. Her approach focuses on "truly know[ing] the heart breath of every human being that I engage with, to make space for the light that they bring in their own life's walk, to build points of alignment and connection between the ways in which they seek to engage with me and the ways in which I see possibility in them."
Cáceres describes herself as a "way maker" whose role involves distilling challenges and considering "what is it that my agency and my insight and my experience, and frankly also my power and positionality, allows for me to do in service to those needs that are present?"
Such service-oriented leadership prioritizes meeting others' needs while acknowledging the personal growth required for effective leadership. Cáceres notes that her "life's walk has always been largely focused on the needs of others, almost exclusively, rather than how am I, in the context of that, in the process of meeting every need in front of me, am I also mining those that are showing up within myself?"
Intentional Design for Love and Joy
The leadership philosophy at Brooklyn Friends School explicitly incorporates what Cáceres calls "intentional design for love and joy as a core construct and anchor to anything that I am a part of." This approach stems from her belief that social justice and belonging serve as "critical uncompromisable agents of change and of growth and of expansion."
Cáceres connects this joy-centered leadership to practical outcomes: "I believe that you cannot do that unless you experience, knowing that you are fully seen and appreciated and loved in any given context, that there's a limitation to that."
This framework influences daily operations across Brooklyn Friends School's campus at 375 Pearl Street in downtown Brooklyn, where the Early Childhood, Lower School, and Middle School programs operate alongside the Upper School facility at 116 Lawrence Street.
Her nearly three-decade career in education includes starting as a camp counselor at age 14. "I've been officially in this landscape now going into my 30th year, but I've been a camp counselor since I was 14, or I've been involved in directing student programs when I was in college, so I was the person who would bring in all the kids from the neighborhood and act like I was the teacher."
Learning from Student Teachers
Central to Cáceres' leadership philosophy is her recognition of students as primary educators. "They are the best teachers, they're the primary teachers," she states, describing children as "unfiltered in the most beautiful of ways" who "are able to sense energy and body language uniquely so."
Such recognition shapes how Brooklyn Friends School handles student voice and agency. Cáceres explains that "children have taught me that their voices should never ever be less than those of the adults. Children have taught me that they are the greatest creative agents of change, that they speak to the raw realities and truths that are in front of them at any given time."
The school's commitment to student voice aligns with research indicating students who believe they have a voice in school demonstrate seven times greater academic motivation than those who do not, according to the Quaglia Institute for School Voice and Aspirations.
Students at Brooklyn Friends School regularly engage in what Cáceres describes as activism and protest as part of their learning. Rather than viewing this as disruptive, she celebrates it: "When I first got here, people talked to me about that as a warning, 'Crissy, the kids might come and ask you for protests, the three-year-olds, the five-year-olds, the 12-year-olds, the 18-year-olds.' And I said, 'That's amazing.'"
Dream Partnership and Action Orientation
Cáceres positions herself as a "dream partner" with students, viewing their aspirations as catalysts for institutional change. "I view children as dream partners, because if a child brings dreams to me, and they do all the time, including protesting, because they're learning about activism."
The head describes students as "always more curious than certain," noting they "don't bring forth demands. What they bring forth are wishes and hopes and dreams in the context of what they believe is going to be for the betterment of something."
This approach translates into concrete action. When students present ideas for improvement, Cáceres considers whether their proposals warrant "the good fight, this is worth the boundary, this is worth the solicitation of a donor, this is worth the reconstruction of a policy."
Student feedback often centers around making things "gooder," as one child told Cáceres. "Why? Because they've already explained to me how this will lead to, as one child says, 'Just it will be gooder. It will be gooder if you do this, Crissy.' I was like, 'Yes, it will be gooder.'"
Legacy of Uncompromising Love
Cáceres articulates her hoped-for legacy at Brooklyn Friends School in terms that center on love and integrity. "I hope that when I'm described in the annals of Brooklyn Friends School, everybody is able to say that no matter what, she led with an uncompromising commitment to love."
Her leadership vision extends beyond individual relationships to institutional culture: "She led with an understanding that the idea of belonging had to be inclusive in every possible way. And she led with an insistence that she would not be a fraudulent voice in support of the values of the school."
The daily implementation of this philosophy requires constant attention to values alignment. "That every single day, she asked herself, in how many ways can we act upon who we say we are?"
This commitment to authentic leadership reflects the broader Quaker principle that guides Brooklyn Friends School's approach to education. The school's mission states: "Guided by the Quaker belief that there is a Divine Light in everyone, Brooklyn Friends School cultivates an intellectually ambitious and diverse community that celebrates each individual's gifts."
Cáceres emphasizes that effective leadership requires recognizing collective responsibility: "No one person could ever want more for Brooklyn Friends School than it wants for itself as a collective. That without our action as a community, central to the Quaker ethos of who we are, we are diminishing the power and capacity of our optimal best."
Through this love-centered, joy-focused leadership approach, Brooklyn Friends School continues its 157-year mission of educating students who become "compassionate, curious, and confident global citizens who let their lives speak in the spirit of leadership and service."
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