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Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" (English: Let the light shine out from all), alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light.[1]
The school's admissions process is merit-based. As documented on the school's website, it gives preference in admissions decisions to members of the Religious Society of Friends but otherwise does not discriminate on the basis of religion. Sidwell "accepts only 7 percent of its applicants."[2] The school accepts vouchers under the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Thomas Sidwell started a "Friends' Select School" in 1883 on I Street in downtown Washington, four blocks from the White House.[4][5] It opened with just eleven students.[6]
20th century
In 1911, Sidwell began buying property between Wisconsin Avenue and 37th St. Initially, the new property was used for athletic fields—and, with the central campus's downtown location—meant students had to shuttle between the two sites by streetcar. However, in 1923, Sidwell built a building for school dances and other social gatherings on what came to be known as the Wisconsin Avenue campus.[6]
In 1925, the school added a kindergarten, making it the first K–12 school in Washington, D.C.[6] In 1934, the name of the school was changed to "Sidwell and Friends School," and began its gradual re-location to the Wisconsin Avenue building.[6][7] By 1938, the transition to the new building had been completed, and the I Street property was sold.[citation needed]
In 1957, the school adopted a formal dress code policy, with requirements and recommendations for boys and girls in Kindergarten, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School.[8] The dress code continued to evolve to include further restrictions on hair length, skirt length, and types of shoes in the 1960s, but began to relax by 1969.[8] Following student proposals and negotiations, the dress code was modified in the early 1970s and by 1975 permitted jeans to be worn by students.[8] The dress code continued to evolve in the 1980s and by 2000 included restrictions on exposed midriffs and visible underwear.[8] In 2016, students led a change to the dress code to ban clothing with the Washington Redskins (currently the Commanders) football team name and logo.[9]
Previously, all grade levels were in Washington, D.C. In 1963, the elementary school moved to the former Longfellow School for Boys, purchased by Sidwell Friends.[10]
Sidwell became racially integrated in 1964.[4][11] In the decades following integration, problems faced by black students lead to the creation of two parent groups outside the school, which sought to alleviate covert prejudice.[12]
21st century
In 2009, Thomas B. Farquhar became the Head of School after the retirement of Bruce Stewart. Following the 2013-2014 school year, Farquhar was removed from his position as the Head of School.[13]
In 2018, Sidwell, along with seven other Washington metropolitan area private schools, announced that they would be eliminating AP courses, citing the declining impact on one's college acceptance chances that AP courses were having, and a want to diversify their class offerings.[3] This sparked the Department of Justice to launch an antitrust investigation into the schools, which concluded in 2021 after the DOJ stated that "in light of the burden on the Schools associated with the ongoing pandemic, the division will not bring an enforcement action against the Schools".[5]
In April 2020, the school received $5.2 million in federally backed small business loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The school received scrutiny over this loan, which was meant to protect small and private businesses. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted that the schools should return the money, but the school stated they were keeping it, despite having a $53 million endowment.[14][15]
As of 2020[update], the school plans to move elementary grades back to Washington, D.C. following its purchase of the former Washington, D.C. school in 2017 for campus expansion purposes.[10]
Academics
In 2005, Sidwell's AP English Exam scores were the highest in the nation for all medium-sized schools (300–799 students in grades 10–12) offering the AP English exam.[16]
All students must acquire at least 20 credits before graduating. Students are required to take four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of history, two years of one foreign language, two years of science, and two years of art. In addition to this, all freshmen must take a full year Ninth Grade Studies course that involves a service project. Tenth and eleventh graders must also take courses corresponding to their grade level.[17]
In 2016, the school revised its policy on sexual misconduct after reports that a teen had been raped by her ex-boyfriend on the school's campus. No charges were filed against the teen, and the school installed more security cameras to deter future assaults.[19] Despite the measures, a year later another teenage female student reported being raped on the campus grounds by a fellow student.[20]
Former Sidwell psychologist and sex ed teacher James Huntington was the target of a 2013 lawsuit for his affair with the parent of a student he was counseling.[21] The case exposed teachers that had made advances towards students.[22][21]
In 2017, the school fired a middle school music teacher, Michael Henderson, who had been accused of having inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old girl at a previous school. In 1996, the parents of Sara Lawson, a student at the Fountain Valley High School, filed a police report that detailed multiple incidences[spelling?] of "unwanted touching and kissing" between her and Henderson while she was 14. She later stated that Henderson once invited her over to his house and made her a drink that caused her to be incapacitated for the rest of the night. In a letter Sidwell's Head of School Bryan Garman sent to parents, he stated that "A former administrator ... was aware that Michael’s departure from his previous employer had been precipitated by his inappropriate conduct, but had no knowledge of the severity of the allegations as they now stand."[23]
Athletics
Sidwell's athletic teams are known as the Quakers; their colors are maroon and gray. The Quakers compete in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) for boys' sports (after previously competing in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) until 1999) and the Independent School League (ISL) for girls' sports. Sidwell offers teams in volleyball, golf, boys and girls cross country, football, field hockey, girls and boys soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls swimming and diving, wrestling, boys and girls tennis, baseball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls track, ultimate frisbee, crew, movement performance and choreography, and softball.[citation needed]
Basketball
The women's basketball is consistently a top program in the DMV area. The Quakers completed an undefeated season from 2021 to 2022 and were ranked the #1 best girls' basketball team in the nation by recruiting website MaxPreps as well as by ESPN.[24] In the 2022–2023 season, the team won their second straight DCSAA state championship in a 68–49 win against St. Johns. Led by Coach Tamika Dudley and Duke commit Jadyn Donovan, the consensus #3 recruit in the class of 2023, the team was once again ranked as the top team in the nation by various recruiting websites and sports journalism pages after compiling a 28–3 record.[25]
The men's team is another program in the DMV area, finishing the 2022–2023 season with a state championship, two conference championships (regular season and tournament) and 27–4 record.[26]
Current profile
For the 2022–2023 school year, 1,142 students are enrolled.[27]
Tuition for the 2022–2023 school year ranges from $47,200 for grades PK-2, to $51,650 for Upper School.[28]
The school does not compute GPAs or assign rankings to its students,[29] nor does it release score averages for the SAT and ACT.[30] However, it does publish a list of institutions at which recently graduated students have matriculated.[29]
As of 2023, Sidwell Friends School is rated the 14th Best Private K-12 School in the US by Niche.[31]
The Middle and Upper School campus is located at 3825 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20016-2907
15-acre (6.1 ha) Wisconsin Avenue campus in the North Cleveland Park section of Northwest Washington
Earl G. Harrison Jr. Upper School Building
Middle School building with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification,[32] designed by architect KieranTimberlake Associates and landscape design by Andropogon Associates. The wood-clad building was designed around a sustainable use of water and energy, exemplified by a constructed wetland in the center of the campus, with many species of plants, as well as turtles and fish, part of a wastewater recycling system designed by Biohabitats. On the interior, the building uses thermal chimneys and louvers that admit diffuse light to limit the need for artificial light and thermal control. Lastly, the building contains a centralized mechanical plant that uses less energy than normal, much of which is produced by photovoltaic banks on the roof. The materials used and the environmental technology are referenced architecturally and made accessible to students, either physically, or by explanatory signs, as an educational feature.
Kogod Center for the Arts
Richard Walter Goldman Memorial Library
Zartman House (administration building)
Sensner Building (Fox Den Cafe and school store)
Wannan and Kenworthy Gymnasiums
Three athletic fields, five tennis courts, and two tracks (one 2-lane indoor track indoor for bad weather and an outdoor 6-lane track for competitions).
Parking facility with faculty, student, guest and alumni parking (2 floors, 200+ parking spaces), as well as offices for security, IT and maintenance
5-acre (2.0 ha) Edgemoor Lane campus in Bethesda (formerly Longfellow School for Boys; opened for the 1963–64 school year)
Manor House (classrooms, administration, and Clark Library)
Groome Building (classrooms and multi-purpose room)
Science, Art, and Music (SAM) Building
The Bethesda Friends Meeting House
Athletic fields, a gymnasium, and two playgrounds
Both campuses underwent major renovations throughout the 2005–2006 school year, and construction for the Wisconsin Avenue campus Athletic Center (which includes the Kenworthy Courts) was completed in 2011.
Sidwell Friends plans to move the Lower School to the site of the current site of The Washington Home and Community Hospices, which is adjacent to the Wisconsin Avenue campus. Until funding is secured, there is currently no timeline for when this move will take place.[33]
^ abSmith. Thomas G. (2011). Showdown: JFK and the Integration of the Washington Redskins. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. p. 6. ISBN978-0-8070-0082-3.
^ ab"History". Sidwell Friends School. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
^Zug, James (2008). "The Color of Our Skin". The Long Conversation – 125 Years of Sidwell Friends School – 1883–2008. Washington, DC: Sidwell Friends School. p. 177. ISBN978-0-615-17854-7.
^Protess, Ben; McCabe, David (May 2020). "Think Twice, Mnuchin Tells Prep Schools Seeking Virus Loans". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2020. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a post on Twitter, instructed wealthy schools that had accepted the loans to give them back. "It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments" have taken the loans, he said. "They should return them."
