SSFS Will Stay Open

[Anonymous]

From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, never mind. I'm so done with all of this crap. We will NOT be re-enrolling. I sincerely wish the school well and what the coalition accomplished was amazing - I commend them. But the whole thing is weird and the way families (and teachers) have been treated (other than the coalition leadership who I guess are "in the know") has been unconscionable. We were accepted at another school and the fact that I held out until the day before should have been seen as a sign that we wanted to feel better about SSFS. We do not. The above post, the meeting on Monday, the fear of saying anything questioning or negative on slack, having to resort to this god-awful DCUM board - it's just been too much. IF "magical" was code for cult like then yeah - it's been "magical" this past month.

No one said not to ask questions or be negative. We're saying if you're mad at the Baord, be mad at all 24 of them who made the final call. And the many Board members over the years who have since left; their choices also got us here.

I think I have figured out who you are by comparing these posts to the Slack. How would you feel if someone started posting about you and saying the school's failure was all your fault because you pulled your kids out? Ignoring the hundreds of parents who have done the same over the past couple years? No one would do that, because this isn't a witch hunt on individuals. I imagine I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with trying to turn it into one.

I agree this is not a great place to get concrete info (I joined mostly to call out misinfo when I see it) but there are Coalition 1-on-1 sessions today. Anything they can't answer, it's for legal/confidentiality reasons. People here love to make it look like there is no plan. Don't let them discourage you. But if you do ultimately leave, I wish you and your child the best. Her happiness is what's most important, wherever that is 🙂

OP here. I'm here to tell you that whomever you think I am by your detective skills of comparing my post to slack posts, you are 100% wrong. And I only tell you this because I'm concerned for whomever the parent is that you think I am. I agree with other posters who have since called out your intimidation tactics. I hope you aren't actually an SSFS parent but if you are, your attempt to intimidate another parent who wishes to remain anonymous is not only vile as one person said but it is most certainly NOT Quakerly. You're also in general a hypocrite to anonymously intimidate a fellow anonymous poster by covertly threatening to reveal their identity while you yourself remain anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Truly all people need to know about parents like you is right here. I am an admin at another school and following. Good luck at your next school; hope they arent reading!

So either
1) there is a local school admin on DCUM during the workday posting childish threats that private schools can figure out what you post on an anonymous message board and will hold it against you and your child…
OR
2) someone is pretending to be a school admin and posting childish threats on a thread about a school they have no connection to.

This reminds me of the poster in the SSFS Closing thread who first pretended to be a parent, then some kind of community member, then admitted to being neither, and ended up calling kids “rejects,” and even when asked to stop with the insults *by an actual student* still couldn’t help themselves.

DCUM can be useful place to vent and to glean some info that hasn’t yet been released, but there are clearly people using this forum for their own entertainment or to work through some deep-rooted personal issues.

I didn't read that thread, but just want to point out that you're stirring up s**t too. Why bring up old drama?

In any case, I'm working right now and am taking a break on DCUM. Maybe this unnamed administrator did the same? You're just making SSFS community look bad. I agree with the poster who said we need to focus on the future. Which means right now giving space to undecided families to ask the last minute questions before making a decision.

I’m actually an undecided family (I have put off the offer on the other school until tomorrow) and my question is not so much about the 25-26 school year but the 26-27 year. What happens if more people leave. Is there a number where BOT decide to close? This is the uncertainty that has kept me up at night especially since I have a high schooler.

Unfortunately, I think next year’s enrollment will consist of a lot of families that only came back to give themselves time to look for a new school. I think the 20/6–27 school year will reflect that and the school will be in rough shape. It won’t have had time to build up trust from the larger community in terms of brand new families enrolling.

Without a doubt, I would be very afraid to enroll my high schooler at SSFS.

I disagree. High school parent here. At first I too was worried that a lot of families would only return for one year. I'm not worried about that anymore. This is not the sense I get from those that are returning. We got accepted to 4 other schools in the last few weeks. First of all, it actually wasn't that hard to do the looking. It was a rush for sure but the other schools were really easy to work with and welcoming. In fact, I wonder if they would have the time to be so attentive during the regular admission cycle. I think in many ways it actually worked to our advantage doing things outside of the cycle. My point is, it wasn't all that hard to look. It's not like a college search. There's only X amount of schools to look at in the DMV. I get the overwhelming sense that those staying are committed to staying. They either didn't choose to look once the school reopened because they want to be here. Or, they did look just as we did and even after admissions from other schools, we chose to come back. I'm not saying things won't be hard over the next few years to turn it all around but I am not at all worried anymore about another big enrollment hit after this upcoming year. I think the worst case scenario is that the enrollment stays flat for another year or to. I

High school parent here as well and not sure what schools you looked at or applied to but I called 12 schools and ultimately applied to 4 because the rest were at capacity. We ended up with one acceptance and it was not an easy process at all. And most schools said they will not take rising seniors. So for current sophomores, this is their last chance to leave for another private school if things don’t turn out well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to leave, this is great news! I hope SSFS will get its footing back next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Truly all people need to know about parents like you is right here. I am an admin at another school and following. Good luck at your next school; hope they arent reading!

So either
1) there is a local school admin on DCUM during the workday posting childish threats that private schools can figure out what you post on an anonymous message board and will hold it against you and your child…
OR
2) someone is pretending to be a school admin and posting childish threats on a thread about a school they have no connection to.

This reminds me of the poster in the SSFS Closing thread who first pretended to be a parent, then some kind of community member, then admitted to being neither, and ended up calling kids “rejects,” and even when asked to stop with the insults *by an actual student* still couldn’t help themselves.

DCUM can be useful place to vent and to glean some info that hasn’t yet been released, but there are clearly people using this forum for their own entertainment or to work through some deep-rooted personal issues.

I didn't read that thread, but just want to point out that you're stirring up s**t too. Why bring up old drama?

In any case, I'm working right now and am taking a break on DCUM. Maybe this unnamed administrator did the same? You're just making SSFS community look bad. I agree with the poster who said we need to focus on the future. Which means right now giving space to undecided families to ask the last minute questions before making a decision.

I’m actually an undecided family (I have put off the offer on the other school until tomorrow) and my question is not so much about the 25-26 school year but the 26-27 year. What happens if more people leave. Is there a number where BOT decide to close? This is the uncertainty that has kept me up at night especially since I have a high schooler.

Unfortunately, I think next year’s enrollment will consist of a lot of families that only came back to give themselves time to look for a new school. I think the 20/6–27 school year will reflect that and the school will be in rough shape. It won’t have had time to build up trust from the larger community in terms of brand new families enrolling.

Without a doubt, I would be very afraid to enroll my high schooler at SSFS.

I disagree. High school parent here. At first I too was worried that a lot of families would only return for one year. I'm not worried about that anymore. This is not the sense I get from those that are returning. We got accepted to 4 other schools in the last few weeks. First of all, it actually wasn't that hard to do the looking. It was a rush for sure but the other schools were really easy to work with and welcoming. In fact, I wonder if they would have the time to be so attentive during the regular admission cycle. I think in many ways it actually worked to our advantage doing things outside of the cycle. My point is, it wasn't all that hard to look. It's not like a college search. There's only X amount of schools to look at in the DMV. I get the overwhelming sense that those staying are committed to staying. They either didn't choose to look once the school reopened because they want to be here. Or, they did look just as we did and even after admissions from other schools, we chose to come back. I'm not saying things won't be hard over the next few years to turn it all around but I am not at all worried anymore about another big enrollment hit after this upcoming year. I think the worst case scenario is that the enrollment stays flat for another year or to. I

High school parent here as well and not sure what schools you looked at or applied to but I called 12 schools and ultimately applied to 4 because the rest were at capacity. We ended up with one acceptance and it was not an easy process at all. And most schools said they will not take rising seniors. So for current sophomores, this is their last chance to leave for another private school if things don’t turn out well.

We are not a rising senior so thank you for that info - that is helpful. We are in upper school and applied to 4 and got into 4 - two of the four were as close in "style" to SSFS as we could find. The other two would have been great as well but different from what we're used to at SSFS. All 4 are well known in the immediate region and have come up many times on here. My point or rather I should say my opinion still stands. While I once worried that many families were only sticking around to buy themselves another year, I no longer think that. I think that those who felt strongly about leaving have done so. I think there are certainly some staying who already have the intent of leaving after one year, I don't think it's as many as I once worried about. I also think there will be new families who come on board during the next admission cycle. And I think that some who may be staying with the intent of leaving might have their minds changed as next year unfolds. All in all, I actually feel a lot more secure than I did even a week ago. No offense, but I hope I'm right and you're wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to leave, this is great news! I hope SSFS will get its footing back next year.

Enrolled for next year, maybe, but not 2026-2027. They're staying to buy a year for an intentional school search for their children, not one carried down during a crisis. Good luck to those who stay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to leave, this is great news! I hope SSFS will get its footing back next year.

Enrolled for next year, maybe, but not 2026-2027. They're staying to buy a year for an intentional school search for their children, not one carried down during a crisis. Good luck to those who stay!

And what are you basing this on? What leads you to make such an assertion about a broad population of people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to say, I'm happy with these numbers ..."and counting"! Any undecideds reading, turn off the noise of this board and slack and speak to other parents from the heart about your concerns because they are genuine and I think most parents care about you and your concerns and probably share them. Let's be in this together and do something amazing as an act of joy or perhaps as an act of resistance to all the crap going on in the world!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I’m actually an undecided family (I have put off the offer on the other school until tomorrow) and my question is not so much about the 25-26 school year but the 26-27 year. What happens if more people leave. Is there a number where BOT decide to close? This is the uncertainty that has kept me up at night especially since I have a high schooler.

Anonymous wrote: I dont think anyone can answer this for you.

The question the poster asked is whether the BOT has an enrollment threshold to stay open for 26-27. That can be answered. The BOT can say—only if enrollment dips below x/ not sure/ staying open no matter what. There’s no reason *not* to ask.

I do agree with your larger point that no one really knows what the future may hold and we should all only take on the level of risk we are comfortable with. That doesn’t just apply to SSFS though. 100+ days into a new admin and we have already had cuts and buyouts impacting more than 100K people. Schools with really big endowments will probably ride out the storm, unless they somehow draw the ire of the admin, like Harvard—a course that is considered too woke? an outspoken teacher? turning down the wrong kid? But what if you switch to a school that seems to be on more stable footing now but it has lots of staff who are fed spouses, or lots of fed families, and more cuts or closures happen a year from now? I know parents at Balto area schools worried how the massive layoff at Hopkins are going to impact them. So there’s a lot of uncertainty in general right now that it is hard to plan around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to stay, I'm happy with these numbers ..."and counting"! Any undecideds reading, turn off the noise of this board and slack and speak to other parents from the heart about your concerns because they are genuine and I think most parents care about you and your concerns and probably share them. Let's be in this together and do something amazing as an act of joy or perhaps as an act of resistance to all the crap going on in the world!!!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm here to tell you that whomever you think I am by your detective skills of comparing my post to slack posts, you are 100% wrong. And I only tell you this because I'm concerned for whomever the parent is that you think I am. I agree with other posters who have since called out your intimidation tactics. I hope you aren't actually an SSFS parent but if you are, your attempt to intimidate another parent who wishes to remain anonymous is not only vile as one person said but it is most certainly NOT Quakerly. You're also in general a hypocrite to anonymously intimidate a fellow anonymous poster by covertly threatening to reveal their identity while you yourself remain anonymous.

OK, so I was wrong who you are. It doesn't matter, because contrary to what everyone seemed to read, I am not looking to threaten or track down anyone (hence my wording "I think I figured out" rather than "I know" -- I don't claim to know everything). I was looking to make a plea for empathy by reaching out "across the aisle" so to speak, to you as a human being, and asking why you are so fixated on this one Board member. Think about what it would be like to have everybody blaming you for something, when the problem is too complex to be reduced like that. The person who spoke most on the Zoom is of course an easy target, but plenty of them have been involved for a long time. I too was hoping for an all new Board after everything that's happened. But since it seems like a handful will remain, we should be rooting for them to succeed.

Don't worry, I'm not a parent. I don't know you, nor do I know or have ever met the person I saw on Slack. I care about the kids first and foremost, and by extension care about the school surviving because of what it can do for kids. You clearly have valuable feedback for the Board and Coalition. If we want to move forward stronger, why not offer that feedback via emailing the clerk or whatever other options they've presented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm here to tell you that whomever you think I am by your detective skills of comparing my post to slack posts, you are 100% wrong. And I only tell you this because I'm concerned for whomever the parent is that you think I am. I agree with other posters who have since called out your intimidation tactics. I hope you aren't actually an SSFS parent but if you are, your attempt to intimidate another parent who wishes to remain anonymous is not only vile as one person said but it is most certainly NOT Quakerly. You're also in general a hypocrite to anonymously intimidate a fellow anonymous poster by covertly threatening to reveal their identity while you yourself remain anonymous.

OK, so I was wrong who you are. It doesn't matter, because contrary to what everyone seemed to read, I am not looking to threaten or track down anyone (hence my wording "I think I figured out" rather than "I know" -- I don't claim to know everything). I was looking to make a plea for empathy by reaching out "across the aisle" so to speak, to you as a human being, and asking why you are so fixated on this one Board member. Think about what it would be like to have everybody blaming you for something, when the problem is too complex to be reduced like that. The person who spoke most on the Zoom is of course an easy target, but plenty of them have been involved for a long time. I too was hoping for an all new Board after everything that's happened. But since it seems like a handful will remain, we should be rooting for them to succeed.

Don't worry, I'm not a parent. I don't know you, nor do I know or have ever met the person I saw on Slack. I care about the kids first and foremost, and by extension care about the school surviving because of what it can do for kids. You clearly have valuable feedback for the Board and Coalition. If we want to move forward stronger, why not offer that feedback via emailing the clerk or whatever other options they've presented.

I have made one post and one post only about my concerns about one particular board member. One post does not make me fixated on anything nor does it show a lack of empathy nor does it mean that I am not rooting for the board (whomever joins or remains) to succeed. You have made extraordinary assumptions about me from a single post while at the same time being passive aggressive in that post and clearly I'm not alone in that opinion. And even now, your somewhat conciliatory post is full of assumptions. I intend to move on now from your actions. I suggest you do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to say, I'm happy with these numbers ..."and counting"! Any undecideds reading, turn off the noise of this board and slack and speak to other parents from the heart about your concerns because they are genuine and I think most parents care about you and your concerns and probably share them. Let's be in this together and do something amazing as an act of joy or perhaps as an act of resistance to all the crap going on in the world!!!

I am glad ssfs is turning around, after all that would have been a waste of a great campus.

But calling coming back to a school that screwed everyone over thru mismanagement, on the brink of financial ruin, hiding facts to everyone, saved by a random philanthropist an act of resistance literally made me laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to say, I'm happy with these numbers ..."and counting"! Any undecideds reading, turn off the noise of this board and slack and speak to other parents from the heart about your concerns because they are genuine and I think most parents care about you and your concerns and probably share them. Let's be in this together and do something amazing as an act of joy or perhaps as an act of resistance to all the crap going on in the world!!!

I am glad ssfs is turning around, after all that would have been a waste of a great campus.

But calling coming back to a school that screwed everyone over thru mismanagement, on the brink of financial ruin, hiding facts to everyone, saved by a random philanthropist an act of resistance literally made me laugh.

Cynicism will always exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Admin Council email: Enrollment Numbers: We have reached 275 students committed–and counting! As of this morning, we have 77 students enrolled in the Lower School, 80 in the Middle School, and 118 in the Upper School.

As someone who has made the decision to say, I'm happy with these numbers ..."and counting"! Any undecideds reading, turn off the noise of this board and slack and speak to other parents from the heart about your concerns because they are genuine and I think most parents care about you and your concerns and probably share them. Let's be in this together and do something amazing as an act of joy or perhaps as an act of resistance to all the crap going on in the world!!!

I am glad ssfs is turning around, after all that would have been a waste of a great campus.

But calling coming back to a school that screwed everyone over thru mismanagement, on the brink of financial ruin, hiding facts to everyone, saved by a random philanthropist an act of resistance literally made me laugh.

This. Power to the people! I mean, power to the private school parents who get bailed out by rich donors!