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Thursday, January 28, 2016


Dear Friends:I am delighted to announce that Rachel Kane, Middle School director at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, will be appointed Middle School principal at Sidwell Friends effective July 1, 2016. Rachel is a respected educator who possesses the expertise and vision to lead our middle division in its ongoing commitment to academic excellence, diversity, and our Quaker mission.Rachel has extensive experience with Friends education. She began her teaching career at Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica, where she taught math, science, and music. After leaving Monteverde, she taught math at Friends School of Baltimore and later moved to Abington Friends as assistant director of the Middle School. After five years in that post, Rachel was promoted to Middle School director, a position that required her to work effectively with faculty, parents, and students as the school added 5th grade to a division that had previously served grades 6 through 8. Members of the Abington Friends community praised her for her leadership throughout this process, lauded her for her ability to form meaningful relationships with students, faculty, and parents, and remarked on her genuine and enthusiastic commitment to working with Middle School students.Rachel received her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Loyola University of Baltimore. In addition, she holds a master’s degree in education from the highly regarded School Leadership program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She continues her involvement with that program by serving as a university-appointed mentor to graduate students. Dedicated to ongoing professional growth and development, she has recently been chosen, along with Upper School Principal Mamadou Guèye, to participate in the Leadership Institute sponsored by the Friends Council on Education.I also want to take this opportunity to praise the work of the Principal Search Committee, which was clerked by Middle School teacher Dan Robison. Dan invested remarkable time and energy into leading this process and worked effectively with all committee members—Denise Coffin, Mary Dufour, Shannon Fooks, Becky Iseman, Min Kim, Julia Porter, Michael Salmon, Ellis Turner, and Addie Wang—to produce a compelling pool of candidates. Parents, students, teachers, alumni, and trustees participated in a process that was exceptionally well managed, fair, and inclusive. My thanks go out to all of them for contributing their insights into the process.I look forward to working with Rachel in the years ahead. She is enthusiastic about joining our community and looks forward to meeting you upon her arrival in the summer.In friendship,Bryan K. GarmanHead of School


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