SSFS HOS leaving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t tell how many people are actually weighing in on these concerns. It may be just one or two negative posters at this point, trying to make it seem like many people are leaving. We are still pleased. PAC repairs in full swing; LS renovation happening over break; a successful day of giving. New HOS candidates introduced next month.

This forum doesn’t exist because a couple of parents are disgruntled. The school has real problems caused by a variety of factors and the jury is still out on whether things will get fixed at some point.

Will everyone leave the school next year? Of course not. However the student count went from ~697 in 23-24 to ~615 in 24-25. That’s a huge drop. People weren’t imagining things. I doubt that many ppl will leave next year again cause too many have left already. So yeah I agree not “many ppl are leaving” cause they’re already gone.

But again maybe miraculously the school will attract god candidates and not just ppl desperate for a job and here is one. As an administrator I don’t see how coming into a mess wouldn’t be unappealing to really strong candidates. But yeah, I hope they hire someone decent. Clearly RG sets a really low bar so no doubt anyone will be better than what we had last 4 years. But then how long till things are actually good - not just not terrible, remains to be seen.

Assuming most of those 80 students are full tuition that would be around 3 million in lost tuition. That's a lot of lost revenue. I hope they are able to keep tuition at a reasonable level, it's one of the appeals of the school compared to others that are much higher.

Is it true anymore that others are “much higher”? We are one of the 80 that left last year precisely because we found multiple schools with comparative or better academic options that were cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A funny thing happens when you connect the dots between RG and the institutions that shamelessly profit off of independent schools…they find a way to silence you. Former teacher here who worked under RG and was subject to his threats and professional intimidation.

And I know you’re not the only one

[Anonymous]

Does the fact RG now works for friends council affect the schools ability to garner support from the wider friends community? Seems like some wild professional triangulation…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s too much for us. It may be a good move in the long run but the credibility and prestige of the school has taken such a hit over the past year that we are applying-out. We can’t gamble with our son’s education or future educational options.

Same. The new HOS would have to be exceptional for us to even consider staying.

Have they announced finalists? Curious to know if the former Admissions Director applied. He was very popular with families

[Anonymous]

We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

Wondering where you and other families who left ended up? Public? There aren’t many similar schools nearby…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

Wondering where you and other families who left ended up? Public? There aren’t many similar schools nearby…

Not sure what you mean by “similar”. There are private school options all over the place. None are the same and of course not all Quaker. But comparative programs, nice campuses, a mix of good and ok teachers. All schools have pros and cons. Closer to DC more expensive. Closer to Baltimore cheaper. To say there aren’t enough similar to compare perplexes me. What exactly is the main thing ssfs has you don’t believe others do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

We made the same choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

Wondering where you and other families who left ended up? Public? There aren’t many similar schools nearby…

Not sure what you mean by “similar”. There are private school options all over the place. None are the same and of course not all Quaker. But comparative programs, nice campuses, a mix of good and ok teachers. All schools have pros and cons. Closer to DC more expensive. Closer to Baltimore cheaper. To say there aren’t enough similar to compare perplexes me. What exactly is the main thing ssfs has you don’t believe others do?

There aren’t other HS closer to DC that have a progressive curriculum and great teachers at a lower price point…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that left after last year. $43k for high school is a lot especially with the chaos that is going on there. Our family had been at the school for 8 years and well before RG’s tenure. The teachers are fantastic and my child really misses them but it was just too much (money and change in the school) for us. I truly hope the school can get back to its roots.

Wondering where you and other families who left ended up? Public? There aren’t many similar schools nearby…

Not sure what you mean by “similar”. There are private school options all over the place. None are the same and of course not all Quaker. But comparative programs, nice campuses, a mix of good and ok teachers. All schools have pros and cons. Closer to DC more expensive. Closer to Baltimore cheaper. To say there aren’t enough similar to compare perplexes me. What exactly is the main thing ssfs has you don’t believe others do?

There aren’t other HS closer to DC that have a progressive curriculum and great teachers at a lower price point…

That is way too vague. SSFS does not own the market in good teachers. Yes there are good ones here, there are also okay ones, and some real duds. But any school will have some great teachers (and some not so good and some bad). No school is going to stay in business if all they had was poor teachers. And SSFS lost a good number of their best teachers under RG anyway.

And what do you refer to as a "progressive" curriculum? Are you saying SSFS is the only school with a challenging curriculum that will get your child ready for college and future life? Or that you're not interested in such mundane things as learning english math science and history - and are looking for something else entirely? So other schools generally focus on education, ssfs is the place you found that focuses on other things? I have no idea what those may be that you're looking for, but most people are looking for an education at $43K. And there are plenty of options in that category. You can prefer SSFS to other schools but "no other HS"? That seems a stretch.

i dont believe ssfs owned market share in kindness either. Under RG specially, kindness wasn't being reflected around campus.

[Anonymous]

I looked at Friends Council where it was said he went. A newsletter said he was interim Associate Director that will work closely with the board. And Glasgow Group (his personal business) consultant is on their Board of directors, executive committee, and membership committee. A very similar conflict of interest repeating there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at Friends Council where it was said he went. A newsletter said he was interim Associate Director that will work closely with the board. And Glasgow Group (his personal business) consultant is on their Board of directors, executive committee, and membership committee. A very similar conflict of interest repeating there.

The absolute corruption of any Quaker values. Mind boggling.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like we dodged a bullet and glad we didn’t accept!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like we dodged a bullet and glad we didn’t accept!

I hope the school returns to its former glory but will that be the 25-26 year? High highly unlikely.

[Anonymous]

Would love some recommendations, if Catholic school is out.