SSFS HOS leaving

[Anonymous]

“The real issue people had with RG is he challenged entrenched and dysfunctional processes and people at SSFS.”

Ummm. NO. That was not the issue I heard from a single soul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former MS family here! We are a Black family and we left because of Rodney, point blank. Many families (of all ethnic backgrounds) left due to inflexibility (and contradictions) around high school contract signing and acceptances. It was a fiasco that resulted in a formal petition signed by 36% of the 8th grade families requesting an extension on the commitment and deposit date (which they moved up after telling us we had time to wait to hear back from other schools). The level of condescension that we were meant when we shared the results and made the formal ask were all I needed to make the decision for my family to leave at the EOY. Rodney was literally bullying me via email (I led the petition with two other moms), claiming petitions go against Quaker values (despite the Quakers being the first religious organization to form a petition against slavery in 1688, a point which I raised and just set him off even further). He continued responding defensively and I eventually just stopped engaging.

We miss the teachers everyday, and my child ended up getting into another amazing high school, but the experience many families had in those final weeks/months left us sad and feeling disposable. I only found out tonight from another former SSFS parent about Rodney's departure and the school is absolutely better for it. Many of our children of color would still be there if it weren't for him. How ironic given his "DEI" expertise. We ran for the hills. They lost a lot of good kids and families in 2023.

I don’t see how Rodney was in the wrong here. There is a school policy that he followed, this policy exists at most if not all private schools. Why didn’t you just pay the deposit and forfeit it if your kid got in someplace else? This is what other families in your situation do, it’s unfair for the school to wait until EOY to get your decision. Did you expect Rodney to do this for your family because you are black?

[Anonymous]

RG had a lot of problems, but I remember this petition as my kid was in 8th also. The issue was that any school (ssfs or otherwise) has to let them new students know admissions decision by mid March but to do so thr current families have to let the school know before. There really isn’t any other way the school can finalize contracts for new families unless they know which current families are returning and what fin aid obligation there was.

What happened that year is that the current family decision date was moved up and that was not advertised earlier (I recall that) and current families were given less time they they’d usually have (I think it dropped from 1 month to two weeks. School policy had never been a timeline where you heard back from a new school before your current contract was due. So that’s true here too.

I don’t know if RG had promised differently to some families - if so then it was a case by case basis. But the timeline was always - current family decisions come in, finalize the new families decisions after, which was similar to other schools.

That part seemed reasonable. If he promised some families differently and reneged on that or if he treated families with disrespect later - that’s wrong. Certainly RG had a reputation of being a bully to teachers and parents alike, behind closed doors. He is vile that way and good riddance for that.

But the admission policy itself I don’t think you can blame him directly for because that was an established timeline. The only things he made worse was the last minute change of shortening the timeline and pulling it up.

On the other hand, what he did during 2024 contracts was worse. He didn’t announce the US head was quitting till the day contracts were due and even then only because he knew the other school was going public with their new hire announcement. He withheld this information, on purpose, because he knew that with a 3rd US principal leaving in 3 years, many families would hesitate coming back. So, he hid that knowledge absolutely on purpose till most people had accepted their agreements. He would have waited even longer if Bullis hadn’t forced his hand.

[Anonymous]

Few weeks into new school year without RG and things seem to be going well in Upper School. Climate is much improved and new head of US is great! RG did a lot of damage with his narcissism and poor management that led to an exodus of families, teachers, and staff. I think the school will bounce back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Few weeks into new school year without RG and things seem to be going well in Upper School. Climate is much improved and new head of US is great! RG did a lot of damage with his narcissism and poor management that led to an exodus of families, teachers, and staff. I think the school will bounce back.

As a former SSFS parent, we are truly rooting for you! Heard similar positivity from remaining staff that there may be a light at the end of the rainbow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been reading through this thread for a while and finally need to set the record straight on a bunch of things. I am a current SSFS employee for several years with alot of accurate information.
1-when Rodney was hired the board knew and welcomed him and The Glasgow Group because they knew it would bring attention and money to the school, which he did
2-prior to Rodney, Tom Gibian put people in leadership positions in the school with no experience and this is why today, the school is in this dire financial position
3-both the middle school and PAC were built 10 years ago but the board did not set aside any money for repairs or maintenance and last year the roof of both buildings began to fail which will cost millions to replace
4-the previous COO spent money on patch repair jobs across campus which is why the school buildings are in such disrepair now (modulars for LS classes with caved in floors that Rodney finally made her get rid of, mold in the LS covered up this summer with cheap laminate flooring and a coat of paint, a MS building with HVAC that is currently failing)
5-the school launched a campaign over 8 years ago to build the upper school building but didn't collect on all the money pledged because the advancement team didn't know what they were doing so we have a new building that is already in debt and brings in water every time it rains
6-the board "pushed" Rodney to resign because they and many old Sandy Springers want the school to go back to being majority white and Quaker
7-you will already see a pullback of all DEI work and an exodus of students and employees of color
8-the board is using Christine to make changes that they want and then they will either fire her or she will quit
9-the board will be closing the boarding program because they believe it is losing the school money
10-the board has brought back Tom Gibian so that he can run the school
Its time for some truth to be shared on this forum instead of gossip and assumptions. You don't have to like Rodney but he is not the cause of the schools financial problems which began YEARS ago. Ultimately, all these changes and decisions are being made by a few loud voices on the board in an attempt to make Sandy Spring great again.

The explanations offered here are full of contradictions. If Rodney was hired to bring in money and attention (which should lead to money), where's the money? Left out of your post is any explanation of the mass exodus that took place before Rodney was pushed out. Why do you continue to work at SSFS if it is the sinking ship that you are describing? Maybe you should have followed Rodney.

My kiddos are happy so far at the start of this school year and I am cheering for SSFS!

It’s amazing that folks don’t want to hear the truth. It’s so easy to demonize RG. It makes for such a good story. But this is a tale as old as time story. My family personally tried to donate a substantial amount of money to the school but the BOD hand picked Advancement Director wouldn’t accept it! The real issue people had with RG is he challenged entrenched and dysfunctional processes and people at SSFS. The dysfunction has led to all the problems at the school. But for months the same few people have been coming on DCUM with outrageous claims. We stay because we have a vested interest in the school getting better.

Ok, Rodney ...

Nah this is MJ

[Anonymous]

We have had kids at a few independent schools over the years. Every school we were at (and that I have ever heard of) asked for commitments for the following year in Feb so they know how many slots they have for admissions. The parent who seemed to think they were victimized by the school seems off to me. I’d love for them to name the school or schools that allows them to stay uncommitted until March decisions come out from other schools. I’ve never heard that and it doesn’t make sense.

[Anonymous]

The year started off well for our US student but now the CFO is gone…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The year started off well for our US student but now the CFO is gone…

Just heard this. WHAT is going on?! He has a senior and a freshman at the school, too. How does his position get eliminated? Or maybe he was just terrible at his job? Likely the latter.

[Anonymous]

When will you people wake up and look at the common denominator here – the board of trustees!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When will you people wake up and look at the common denominator here – the board of trustees!

What did they do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The year started off well for our US student but now the CFO is gone…

Just heard this. WHAT is going on?! He has a senior and a freshman at the school, too. How does his position get eliminated? Or maybe he was just terrible at his job? Likely the latter.

Absolutely not the latter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will you people wake up and look at the common denominator here – the board of trustees!

What did they do?

You must be new to this thread if you need to ask that …

[Anonymous]

Good grief. I have an 8th grader that was considering this school. Maybe not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. I have an 8th grader that was considering this school. Maybe not.

Oh yes STAY AWAY. no reason to come now when things are this unstable. Sure ppl already here may choose not to leave but why bother if you’re searching for a new school?