04/23 - Update
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bonnie Imlay
301-980-9996; bonnie@friendsofssfs.com
Sandy Spring Friends School Announces Reversal of Closure After The Friends of SSFS Coalition Raises $15M
April 23, 2025; SANDY SPRING, MD — Today, Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) announced the reversal of the closure decision and will remain open through at least June 2028. The announcement came in an email from the SSFS Board of Trustees to the school community and said, “The Sandy Spring Friends School Board of Trustees is thrilled to announce that based on substantial and meaningful funding guarantees and support of the Coalition of Friends of the Sandy Spring Friends School, among others, a path forward for the school had been secured. The School will remain open for the 2025-2026, 2026-2027, and 2027-2028 school year.”
In response, The Friends of SSFS Coalition said, “We are thrilled that the rapid fundraising efforts and true dedication to the School and community will enable our treasured School to remain a safe place for students to learn, grow, and let their lives speak,” said Heather Jackson, Coalition Co-Founder and ‘00 alumna. She added, “we are powerful when we move together with clarity and purpose.”
On Monday April 14, the Sandy Spring Friends School Board of Trustees announced that the school would close following the end of the current school year. Less than four business days later, the Friends of SSFS Coalition, including current families, alumni, current and former staff, board members, and the greater community, raised $15 million in backed pledged funding. The mission of the coalition is to keep the school operating near term and thriving in the long term. This monumental achievement is a testament to the strength, commitment, and passion of the school’s alumni, families, and community supporters. Fundraising efforts to secure the future of SSFS remain active and are progressing with incredible momentum.
“When the story is told about how this was accomplished, it will be about the power of community, relationship, and connection,” said Jackson. Coalition co-founder Nick Shank, ‘00 alumnus, added “The heroes of this story are all of us. We came together and solved a problem in Quaker love and light.”
In an effort to preserve the legacy and future of Sandy Spring Friends School for generations to come, the Coalition in partnership with 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. Supporters are invited to visit www.friendsofssfs.com.