FA in the 1950s

From 1946 to 1955, Merrill L. Hiatt served as Headmaster, and he was followed by Victor M. Haughton from 1955 to 1959. W. Byron Forbush served as Acting Headmaster from 1959 to 1960 until Alexander T. McNutt began as Headmaster (1960-1965). Merrill L. Hiatt was a member of the Matinecock Meeting. Enrollment grew dramatically under his leadership. Enrollment was around 275 when he began in 1946. By 1947, it was 320, and when he left the school in 1955, enrollment was around 375. Hiatt also led several building improvements and land acqusitions, purchasing land from the Craft farm to the West and South of the campus in what is now Friends Academy's athletic fields. Victor M. Haughton was responsible for leading a number of building projects including building the school's main gym which remains in use today.

Haughton also led an intiative for increased student involvement in directing the school. To accomplish this initiative, he replaced the Student Council with Community Government. Similar to today's Teachers and Students for Quaker Education (TASQUE) and Student Faculty Board (SFB), this system encouraged students and faculty to serve together on the same committee and work together to arrive at solving community issues. One of Haughton's biggest changes was leading the transition from a boarding school with day students to a day school entirely. This change went into effect in 1957.

A description of Friends Academy during the 1950s would be remiss without mentioning William H. Seaman who served as President of the Board of Trustees from 1932 to 1953. He was granted the title of President Emeritus after he was succeeded by Fred E. Willits in 1953 and continued to serve as Treasurer until his death in 1954. Twice-mayor of Glen Cove, founder of the Glen Cove Fire Deparment, and Nassau County Engineer, Seaman was one of the most influential figures in the development of Long Island's North Shore. His portrait, commissioned by the Class of 1954, still hangs in the Lower Level of the Learning Commons.