SSFS HOS leaving

[Anonymous]

CL followed RG from St Andrew’s and was always a big admirer of his. RG rid SSFS of the “old guard” (many of whom were excellent teachers/leaders/community members) and replaced them with his sycophants. I’m happy to see all these RG followers being shown the exit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

And as always what people have to remind. Some people have good experiences and you are one of them. Some people have bad experiences and they are not going to be giving glowing endorsements.

But all the admin and financial problems are a more objective metric that the school right now isn’t exactly doing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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 😵

Because this forum always is able to raise awareness of the problems brewing? I am yet to see something here that wasn’t true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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

“The new Interim Head's resume is outstanding. This is a very positive move.” - I remember reading that about RG, along with every head of US and LS that has come and gone, and certainly read that about CL just a couple months ago. So… Yeah.

“I'd like to see this thread retired and a new one, focused on the future, established” - is that just a way of saying “let’s start a new thread where no criticism is allowed and people who happen upon on wont realize how much baggage comes with the school?

Btw - I wasn’t sure who said you or anyone couldn’t start a new thread? Not who said you or anyone else needed to continue reading this one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CL followed RG from St Andrew’s and was always a big admirer of his. RG rid SSFS of the “old guard” (many of whom were excellent teachers/leaders/community members) and replaced them with his sycophants. I’m happy to see all these RG followers being shown the exit!

I wonder if this post gets deleted

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand the announcement makes it seem like you had an interim hos but now we have found a better one!

That’s great and all, but aren’t forgetting a key component here? CL was assistant hos and initially was tapped to aid in admin of LS until a new head was found (albeit that job was shoved onto DB after RG exit mess).

But what’s happening to the position of assistant hos? Why isn’t CL returning to that? Isn’t the school now down hos and assistant hos? Isn’t that a problem? No one cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the announcement makes it seem like you had an interim hos but now we have found a better one!

That’s great and all, but aren’t forgetting a key component here? CL was assistant hos and initially was tapped to aid in admin of LS until a new head was found (albeit that job was shoved onto DB after RG exit mess).

But what’s happening to the position of assistant hos? Why isn’t CL returning to that? Isn’t the school now down hos and assistant hos? Isn’t that a problem? No one cares?

Oh there are plenty of us who care and wonder the same thing.

[Anonymous]

I agree that everything on here has been accurate and not gossip. The lack of transparency and lack of communication from the school is a huge problem. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on a forum to get important information. Having a new interim HOS leave a few weeks into the school year was definitely not the plan. If this is such a great move, why wasn’t this done over the summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that everything on here has been accurate and not gossip. The lack of transparency and lack of communication from the school is a huge problem. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on a forum to get important information. Having a new interim HOS leave a few weeks into the school year was definitely not the plan. If this is such a great move, why wasn’t this done over the summer?

What exactly is the transparency you are looking for? What exactly do you want communicated to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that everything on here has been accurate and not gossip. The lack of transparency and lack of communication from the school is a huge problem. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on a forum to get important information. Having a new interim HOS leave a few weeks into the school year was definitely not the plan. If this is such a great move, why wasn’t this done over the summer?

What exactly is the transparency you are looking for? What exactly do you want communicated to you?

Hey, gaslighter-not that pp but stop acting like it’s abnormal to want know what is going on at your children’s (costly) school. Yes, of course there are privacy constraints but I could do with a little more than “oh good luck we have a new interim aren’t we lucky yay!” tone. Even if they aren’t able to give any more info a solid “while this was unexpected and may be concerning to some of you…” would be welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that everything on here has been accurate and not gossip. The lack of transparency and lack of communication from the school is a huge problem. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on a forum to get important information. Having a new interim HOS leave a few weeks into the school year was definitely not the plan. If this is such a great move, why wasn’t this done over the summer?

What exactly is the transparency you are looking for? What exactly do you want communicated to you?

For example why has every new admin person get announced as a “wonderful” addition and is gone less than a year later and no one explains what was not so great about them after all?

If CL was a bad pick from the start that was known would never work why not say that right from the beginning.

Since the new interim didn’t spontaneously spawn today, I would assume the search for her has been going on for some time. Why was it never announced that this was in the works?

Why was this announced right after a big admission open house? So prospective parents (and existing parent volunteers) didn’t have to tell them more turmoil to come?

Is this like announcing the head of US was leaving AFTER ppl signed re enrollment contracts?

Why was the CFO departure never announced?

Why does a CFO who was here 25+ years leave without any explanation right after the school appears to be in financial troubles?

That’s just a few questions that come to mind, but hardly the only.

What makes you say the school IS transparent?

[Anonymous]

If every new admin has been presented as the “best” thing till they suddenly “decide to move on”, who’s to say this interim isn’t just the best thing till something calls to her to move on next month?

Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? This is getting ridiculous.

I have no idea why I would believe this latest message has any truth to it. I think I’ll wait for someone on this blog to tell the truth of whether she’s any good or not. Definitely a way more trusted source than any school messaging.

[Anonymous]

SSFS is going to have a rocky ride for several years. The departure of the new interim just 2 months since school opened is not a good look. I initially imagined (around 3-5 years) for SSFS to return to stability, I now feel it would take longer; hope I’m wrong. My guess is the board wanted to take SSFS in a different direction, thus the RG hire, I don’t think the old heads of SSFS were onboard. RG hire and subsequent departure is symptomatic of a bigger issue.

[Anonymous]

If anyone at the school is reading, i suggest you invest a little money in pr/crisis communication because you’re doing a *genuinely* terrible job so far and I don’t want you to wreck the school with your (I assume well-intentioned) but subpar efforts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that everything on here has been accurate and not gossip. The lack of transparency and lack of communication from the school is a huge problem. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on a forum to get important information. Having a new interim HOS leave a few weeks into the school year was definitely not the plan. If this is such a great move, why wasn’t this done over the summer?

What exactly is the transparency you are looking for? What exactly do you want communicated to you?

For example why has every new admin person get announced as a “wonderful” addition and is gone less than a year later and no one explains what was not so great about them after all?

If CL was a bad pick from the start that was known would never work why not say that right from the beginning.

Since the new interim didn’t spontaneously spawn today, I would assume the search for her has been going on for some time. Why was it never announced that this was in the works?

Why was this announced right after a big admission open house? So prospective parents (and existing parent volunteers) didn’t have to tell them more turmoil to come?

Is this like announcing the head of US was leaving AFTER ppl signed re enrollment contracts?

Why was the CFO departure never announced?

Why does a CFO who was here 25+ years leave without any explanation right after the school appears to be in financial troubles?

That’s just a few questions that come to mind, but hardly the only.

What makes you say the school IS transparent?

Good luck finding any school public or private that is going to give you the details that you are wanting especially if you're wanting them while in motion. But instead of asking the questions here, send an email to the board with your questions.