Looking for current input on Sandy Spring Friends School

[Anonymous]

We're thinking of sending our child there next year. I've heard fantastic things from our neighbors who sent their kids there years ago. Unfortunately, I've heard more mixed things from parents at the local sports events. Apparently there has been a ton of turnover in the lower school this year. But is that bad? Isn't that true everywhere in education right now for a variety of reasons (covid, burnout, salary, etc...).

Either way, I'd be really grateful for any input people might want to share. It seems like a great place, but for the money I'd like to be a bit more sure. I live in MoCo so in general our public schools (Sequoyah is ours) seem to have decent ratings. Although a recent shooting at our middle school leaves me more concerned that maybe I should be. Similarly, some middle school kids cut through our yard regularly, which I've generally been fine with ... but I can't say they are the most mature and polite youngsters I've met tbh.

[Anonymous]

This thread was posted just a few days ago.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1204503.page#27473815

[Anonymous]

Are you looking at middle school? We loved the middle school - it is so well run! Our DC is now in upper school - which has probably been my favorite of the 3 divisions (have seen so much growth academically during upper school). Really great teachers who understand/support DC. A few that we didn’t love though. Overall, DC has had a really good academic, social and athletic experience there, and feels prepared for college.

[Anonymous]

I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you looking at middle school? We loved the middle school - it is so well run! Our DC is now in upper school - which has probably been my favorite of the 3 divisions (have seen so much growth academically during upper school). Really great teachers who understand/support DC. A few that we didn’t love though. Overall, DC has had a really good academic, social and athletic experience there, and feels prepared for college.

Sorry I should have specified. We’re looking at the lower school, 1st grade. As I understand it, both 1st grade teachers left just recently. So I’m particularly concerned.

[Anonymous]

Current Lower School family here. We absolutely love the community and the school. The families are down-to-earth and friendly, the teachers and staff are caring and attentive, and it has overall been a wonderful experience and a kind and gentle place for our DC. That said, there seems to be some trouble in paradise. The head of Lower School, who is very well-liked, is leaving at the end of this year, along with several teachers including both 1st grade teachers (one retired, one is leaving). Families are definitely concerned about the turnover. The administration has hosted several parent forums to update families and answer questions, which has been reassuring. They are saying turnover is a problem everywhere, not just at SSFS, and they have shared their short and long-term plans to address it, which seem reasonable. They have identified an interim head of Lower School who seems committed, and are actively recruiting for the open teacher positions. It's a rough patch, for sure. But I wouldn't let it scare you off - the school really is a special place and the staffing issues will get sorted out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Lower School family here. We absolutely love the community and the school. The families are down-to-earth and friendly, the teachers and staff are caring and attentive, and it has overall been a wonderful experience and a kind and gentle place for our DC. That said, there seems to be some trouble in paradise. The head of Lower School, who is very well-liked, is leaving at the end of this year, along with several teachers including both 1st grade teachers (one retired, one is leaving). Families are definitely concerned about the turnover. The administration has hosted several parent forums to update families and answer questions, which has been reassuring. They are saying turnover is a problem everywhere, not just at SSFS, and they have shared their short and long-term plans to address it, which seem reasonable. They have identified an interim head of Lower School who seems committed, and are actively recruiting for the open teacher positions. It's a rough patch, for sure. But I wouldn't let it scare you off - the school really is a special place and the staffing issues will get sorted out.

We've been in (multiple) private schools in DMV for 15 years. Turnover is a common occurrence at all private schools (and more so recently with COVID impacts). Teachers are a transitory bunch for many reasons. Youth has a big impact with relocations, marriages, babies. At all ages, opportunities to climb ladder are often elsewhere. Teaching is a transplantable skill/job, so even older teachers will leave to follow a spouse to another city for the spouse's work. They also move closer to family (older parents, own kids/grandkids). We have also seen teachers choose to retire when there is a change in administration - usually they were already thinking of it and decided it was a good time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the replies thus far.

It drives me crazy that I can find orders of magnitude more detailed information online about phones and cars than I can about school.

The point I’ve been trying to make to my SO is that I feel our child will have a better chance of getting into a good HS and/or college by sending him to SSFS vs our local public school here in MoCo (Sequoyah). The thing is, besides a few posts like this one and some data scraped from niche.com, I have very little “solid” data.

Ask me (or anyone) to compare an RAV to a CRV, however, and I could spit out gigabytes of data. Like I said, drives me nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for the replies thus far.

It drives me crazy that I can find orders of magnitude more detailed information online about phones and cars than I can about school.

The point I’ve been trying to make to my SO is that I feel our child will have a better chance of getting into a good HS and/or college by sending him to SSFS vs our local public school here in MoCo (Sequoyah). The thing is, besides a few posts like this one and some data scraped from niche.com, I have very little “solid” data.

Ask me (or anyone) to compare an RAV to a CRV, however, and I could spit out gigabytes of data. Like I said, drives me nuts.

One of the problems with finding info about schools is that even if every account you read online and every person you talk to has a great experience and thinks the school is awesome, it still might not be awesome for your kid. And that goes for public and private schools. Car ratings and experiences are much more objective.

If you're looking at college acceptances as a metric, good luck with that too. The better way to look at it is how well your child will be prepared for high school/college, and what sort of preparation for HS, college, and life you think is most important. Then look at your school choices through that lens.

I've only had kids in upper school at SSFS and have been happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

Thanks, I get that. But part of the question is also about whether or not it’s $35k worth of special vs. a free MoCo public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

Thanks, I get that. But part of the question is also about whether or not it’s $35k worth of special vs. a free MoCo public school.

If those are your options, then it’s definitely worth the money. Small classes, great teachers and community. A place that truly cares about your child. MoCo public school even the W schools are not what they used to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

Thanks, I get that. But part of the question is also about whether or not it’s $35k worth of special vs. a free MoCo public school.

If those are your options, then it’s definitely worth the money. Small classes, great teachers and community. A place that truly cares about your child. MoCo public school even the W schools are not what they used to be.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say “mixed things” is about right. There are great things about the school and community but like every other school, plenty of less great things too.

I can say this-I don’t think I would send ds to a different school if I could go back, yet there are real ongoing issues at ssfs. So I wouldn’t enroll thinking it’s all “magical” and “special place” but also realize no place is.

Thanks, I get that. But part of the question is also about whether or not it’s $35k worth of special vs. a free MoCo public school.

If those are your options, then it’s definitely worth the money. Small classes, great teachers and community. A place that truly cares about your child. MoCo public school even the W schools are not what they used to be.

What are the W schools?

[Anonymous]

I would consider a different private school than ssfs. Turnover while happens everywhere is happening here more because of upper admin issues. The LS is really in trouble. School is also facing financial trouble. The school isn’t the place it was under the previous hos. Also US curriculum is not competitive compared to schools in a similar price range. If your child is looking for a challenging curriculum, it won’t be in this US.