EMAIL DETAILS

Wednesday, October 5, 2016


Dear Friends:I write to share news of two significant changes in our senior administrative leadership team that will take effect on July 1, 2017. Anne Renninger has notified me that she will be stepping down as director of athletics, and Lower School Principal Shereen Beydoun has informed me that at the close of this academic year, she will need to return to New York full time to be with her family.Director of Physical Education and Athletics Anne Renninger has served Sidwell Friends with dedication and distinction since her arrival in fall 1981 as head coach for our varsity girls tennis, basketball, and track teams. She has continued coaching and teaching PE throughout her career at SFS. As assistant athletic director, Anne helped found the Independent School League for girls in 1985, co-authoring its bylaws. Following her appointment as athletic director in 2000, Poff continued to coach our girls varsity basketball team, celebrating her 500th basketball win in December 2014. She also served for over five years as our head golf coach. During Anne’s tenure as athletic director, SFS won 11 Director’s Cups for overall athletic excellence. Anne is a two-time recipient of the Goldberg Award for excellence in teaching.While Anne is stepping down as AD, I am pleased to announce that she will remain at SFS to help pioneer a new structure that we will be implementing for our physical education program. Starting in the 2017/18 school year, physical education will become a department in both the Middle and Upper Schools, with Anne serving as chair and jointly reporting to the principals of those divisions. Our Athletics program will be led by an athletic director who will report directly to me and serve on the Administrative Council. Anne will remain involved in the Athletics program as one of our varsity coaches.Shereen Beydoun has led our Lower School since fall 2012 with distinction. Some of Shereen’s accomplishments during her tenure as principal include affirming our commitment to interdisciplinary curricula, supporting better integration of service learning with the academic program, approving the development of a health and wellness curriculum, and increasing collaboration between the LS Parents Association committees and their faculty committee counterparts. While we will miss Shereen immensely, she will remain fully invested in her role as principal through the end of the year.Within a short period of time I will appoint two separate committees to search for Anne’s and Shereen’s replacements. We are fortunate to be able to commence this process early in the academic year, and I am confident that we will be able to assemble an extremely strong pool of candidates for both openings. If the searches proceed according to a normal schedule, appointments could be announced by winter break.The search committees will be tasked with seeking leaders who are committed to the School’s Quaker values and traditions, have a depth of experience and an understanding of the School’s mission, will be strong and articulate advocates for students and coaches, and will work effectively with parents and alumni. Additionally, the committees will seek colleagues who can collaborate with the senior administration, Middle and Upper Schools, and trustees. Finally, SFS will want professionals committed to working in a diverse environment who possess genuine warmth and a healthy sense of humor.The search committees will review resumes, conduct preliminary interviews with 8–12 candidates, and invite 2–4 finalists to campus for extended visits. The visits will include opportunities for the Parent and Alumni Association leadership and SFS trustees to meet and evaluate the candidates. Their views will be shared directly with me for use in the appointment of the successful candidates. As per the School’s bylaws, I will confer with the Board before making the appointments.Please join me in thanking Anne and Shereen for their tremendous service to the School. They have been outstanding friends, colleagues, teachers, and leaders from whom we have learned a great deal. And they will leave us with a legacy that will inform our collective work for years to come.Sincerely,Bryan GarmanHead of School


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