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SSFS HOS leaving
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Anonymous
| Second that call to archive this thread! It was started to discuss RG’s departure and of course unpack (or debate) his tenure. Now it just feels like a dumping ground for institutional gossip and it’s so unhealthy for the community esp the teachers and for those who care about the place. There will always be more news tomorrow, and if it’s so important start a new thread for goodness sake 😵 |
Anonymous
There are definitely dedicated teachers but the prices created by RG in the last few years will take a while to clean up. Definitely do your research before making a decision. |
Anonymous
| *problems created by RG |
Anonymous
Didn’t see who was forcing you to read this. |
Anonymous
| You’re missing the whole subtext (and text) of my message. I sense we’re gonna need a new thread is all. |
Anonymous
Most don't have a problem with the school particularly now that the former HOS left. Governance issues are part of the ebbs and tides of all schools and rarely impact the actual student experience particularly when you have dedicated teachers like those at SSFS. There are obviously parents at SSFS who are not happy and that too can be found at all schools. Unfortunately this forum now exists to amplify concerns as simply a place to vent since no problems can actually be solved here. Everything should be read with a grain of salt and the understanding that context is almost always lost. That doesn't mean of course that SSFS has work to do. Again, part of the ebbs and tides of maintaining a productive school. |
Anonymous
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Email just came - Interim head is being replaced by Interim head. Our kid is happy and we like the teachers a lot but goodness does this seem like an unbelievable amount of flux.
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Anonymous
| I got the same email. Great school but what's going on? |
Anonymous
| SSFS is a great school with talented and dedicated faculty, stunning grounds, and an amazing community of kids and families. This is our daughter's 4th year at the school. A faculty parent with experience and connections to other schools (public and private) told me there's no where else they'd send their kid. That's a powerful endorsement. |
Anonymous
| I thought it yesterday when posts were removed, but now I'm sure that someone from the board is reading this thread and reporting posts (not sure how long this one will stay up). PP who posted the news initially, thank you for alerting us. Like others have said, my children have had good experiences at SSFS, and the teachers have been so terrific. But this much churn is really awful, and maybe the defender of the board can come on here and tell us why this change was necessary and will be a good thing. Because assuming that they do hire a new head of school, these students will have gone through 4 heads of school in just over a year, and that's crazy. |
Anonymous
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The new Interim Head's resume is outstanding. This is a very positive move. I'd like to see this thread retired and a new one, focused on the future, established.
"The Board of Trustees has been working with our search partners at RG175 (https://rg175.com/) to secure an Interim Head of School to lead us through the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year. We are delighted to share that Dr. Sue Groesbeck, a lifelong educator and independent school administrator, will be joining us as Sandy Spring Friends School’s Interim Head of School beginning November 4. "Sue brings to SSFS more than four decades of teaching and leadership experience in independent schools. She is the former Head of School at Havergal College (Canada), Hilton Head Preparatory School (SC), and Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (GA). After retiring, Sue was called back into head’s service for schools seeking interim leadership, and she’s served in seven interim appointments since 2013, most recently leading The Lang School in New York City. Our Board was struck by the richness of Sue’s leadership experience, coupled with her enthusiasm for community, students, and creating a joyful learning environment. See more about Sue's educational and leadership credentials: "https://www.ssfs.org/uploaded/PDFs/HoS_Search_-_Interim_HoS_Appointment_Oct._2024.pdf |
Anonymous
1000% agree! |
Anonymous
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I care about the school very much and my child is happy there (this year and prior to that) but i think it’s strange for posters to take a “oh terrific a new interim head 6 weeks into school after the abrupt departure of our previous head a few months ago- what excellent news!” stance.
It’s weird, folks, and no amount of positive chat makes it not weird. |
Anonymous
People always complain that this thread just posts rumors and hearsay, I’m yet to find a “rumor” that didn’t pan out. This thread spreads more truth than any message that’s come out of that school admin that’s for sure. |
Anonymous
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As with RG, we may never know what really happened here and perhaps we aren't entitled to know. Maybe CL is truly leaving for personal reasons - family? Health?
However, if she is leaving because the interim position was more than she realized or if the board has ousted her then the mistake the board made here was in rushing to appoint an interim in the first place. Whether RG resigned abruptly and it took the board by surprise or the board fired him at the last minute, the board may have felt rushed to appoint an interim to contain the crisis and offer stability. Rushing to appoint was the mistake. An interim HOS is more than just a space filler and in many cases this position is even more stressful and challenging than a permanent HOS. My opinion on this entire debacle is this: I think SSFS has rarely experienced turmoil until now. The school and the board are clearly inexperienced in containing crisis. This actually gives me hope because until RG, while things were unlikely perfect, they were stable. Therefore, the school will become stable again. And as far as the RG debacle itself, I'm not taking sides. What I believe is that the hiring of RG was a shake-up and shaking things up can be a good thing but only if you take the time to build consensus with the community about what it is you want to shake up. Either Rodney and the board didn't do what's required to build consensus, or the pandemic disrupted that, or they didn't care to build consensus and were just going to shake up whatever they wanted to shake up regardless. This is the part I will never know and is why I cannot take sides even if I wanted to. I'm certainly keeping a watchful eye on leadership and the decisions made going forward. However, the experiences my children are having at SSFS remain positive. They have been unaffected by the turmoil of the last few months. And as I said, because SSFS has experienced long periods of stability, I believe the school will regain its footing. We remain happy to have our children at SSFS. I'm far more concerned about the upcoming presidential election than I am about the current leadership challenges at SSFS. |