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Dear Members of the Sidwell Friends School Community:

With deep appreciation for his long and distinguished service to Sidwell
Friends School, I write to inform you that our Lower School Principal,
Richard Lodish, has informed the Lower School faculty that he plans to
retire at the end of June, 2012.

Rich arrived at Sidwell Friends School in 1976 with a freshly minted
doctorate from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a record of
success and service as a public school teacher and program developer in
one of Cleveland, Ohio's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. In the
Boston area, Rich trained teachers and teacher trainers, and he
developed and directed a model program for community child-support.

In more than three decades at Sidwell Friends, Rich Lodish has built our
Lower School into a nationally-recognized program blending challenging
academics, a nurturing social/emotional context, a deep commitment to
service and diversity, and an abiding belief that the essential
ingredients for building an outstanding educational program are the
selection and support of great teachers.

Even with all his responsibilities at Sidwell Friends, Rich has found
time to contribute to the broader education community. He has written
over 60 articles on education which have appeared in leading educational
journals as well as in the New York Times and Washington Post. His book
"A Child in the Principal's Office" was recently translated into
Chinese. While on sabbatical several years ago, Rich returned to his
roots in inner-city teaching, establishing and leading a new charter
school in Oakland, California. The school program was based on service
learning.

Rich Lodish has served on many boards, including the Walt Disney
American Teacher Awards, the National Park Trust, and was recently
appointed the President of the Board of the Interdisciplinary Council on
Developmental and Learning Disorders. He continues to teach a course on
teacher evaluation at Johns Hopkins University.

The search for his successor will begin soon with the formation of a
search committee. In the fall, faculty and parents will be invited to
meet with a slate of highly qualified candidates drawn from a national
pool of talented and experienced educators.

In the meantime, we enjoy the benefits of Rich Lodish's devoted service
to our Sidwell Friends School Lower School students. I know that in the
coming months we will find moments to share with Rich, in our own ways,
words of appreciation and affection inspired by his decades of
leadership as our Lower School Principal. And as June, 2012 approaches,
we will gather for a community celebration of the Lodish years, a time
of exceptional creativity, growth, and success for our Lower School and
for the generations of students that have grown and thrived under the
guidance of Richard Lodish.

Sincerely yours,

Tom Farquhar

Head of School