Nine days after announcing its impending closure, the Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) said Wednesday it has received “substantial and meaningful funding guarantees” that will allow the private Quaker school to remain open through the 2027-2028 school year, according to a message from its Board of Trustees.
“These past weeks have been the most difficult in our school’s history. We recognize that the announcement deeply affected our beloved school community, and we profoundly regret the pain it caused,” the school’s board said in the Wednesday afternoon message. “We take full responsibility for the sense that there was no other path forward at the time.”
The school announced April 14 that it would close at the end of 2024-2025 school year due to what the board said was an “untenable financial position.” The school at 16923 Norwood Road did not immediately respond Wednesday afternoon to Bethesda Today’s phone call seeking comment on the plans to stay open.
According to the April 14 announcement, the school said it would need $14 million to $16 million in revenue over the next three years “in order to remain open in the long-term” while covering the cost of operating losses, debts, repayment of a loan and needed major maintenance projects.
Last week, the school announced it was pausing the announced closure after a coalition of parents, alumni, staff and community members said it had raised $15 million in pledges to keep the school running.
The newly formed coalition — Friends of Sandy Spring Friends School — is comprised of several of the school’s stakeholders who want to “capitalize on our community’s resources in a collective mission to rescue Sandy Spring from crisis and stabilize the school for the future,” according to its website.
More than 1,500 people signed an online petition as of Wednesday urging the trustees board to reconsider its decision to permanently close the school in May. The petition did not raise funds for the school.
“It is inconceivable to us that the school has reached this point without transparent communication regarding the severity of the situation,” said the change.org petition started by Susan Donnelly, a parent at the Sandy Spring school. “The abrupt announcement has left the community reeling, and many of us feel blindsided.”
The school, which operates under the “spiritual support” of the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, opened in September 1961 with an upper school program for 77 students, according to the school’s website. A middle school program was added in 1980, followed by an elementary school in the early 1990s.
The most recent developments were the completion of a new upper school building in 2021 and, in February, the school announced the hiring of new leadership for the entire school, including the lower school and middle schools.
The school serves 615 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 on a campus of more than 140 acres that include an educational farm, cross-country trails and a swimming pond, according to its website.
Annual tuition for the 2025-2026 school year ranged from $26,900 for preschool to $45,350 for high school. Thirty-three percent of students receive financial aid, according to the website.
Keeping the school open
On Wednesday, the school’s board said funding guarantees and support of the coalition of Friends of the Sandy Spring Friends School and others secured “a path forward for the school” to remain open through the 2027-2028 school year.
“More work will be needed to ensure the long-term financial stability of the school,” the message said.
The board said more details will be available “in the very near term” and the school leadership is “building a task force to answer as many questions as possible.” A first round of communication will be available to faculty, staff and parents on Monday.
“We are deeply heartened by the generous and passionate responses from across the SSFS community, which reflect the deep love and care for the school, its Quaker values and mission, and the lasting impact the school has had for many,” the message said. “We will work hard to regain our community’s trust.”
In a Wednesday statement to Bethesda Today, coalition co-founder and alumna Heather Jackson said the coalition were thrilled the fundraising efforts could keep the school open.
“We are powerful when we move together with clarity and purpose,” Jackson said in the statement.
The statement said the achievement of raising $15 million in pledged money was a “testament to the strength, commitment and passion of the school’s alumni, families, and community supporters.”
According to the statement, the coalition and school leadership will continue to fundraise and engage in ongoing philanthropy to create “an endowment that allows all students from all backgrounds to attend Sandy Spring Friends School going forward.”
