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Dear Sidwell Friends School Parents,


Two years ago, the Sidwell Friends School Board of Trustees initiated an
important initiative to chart a path for the future of our school, a
path aimed at safeguarding our mission while defining a vision for
Sidwell Friends School's healthy and vibrant future. It has been a full
decade since the last Board Strategic Plan and we have spent much of the
last ten years, working closely with the faculty, administration and
school community to bring the priorities called for in that plan to
reality. By many measures, the school has never been in healthier shape.
But we must not be complacent.


We were guided in our planning by a central question: what must Sidwell
Friends School do to ensure that our youngest entering students will be
properly prepared for the dramatically changing world into which they
will graduate in 2025? What intellectual know-how, academic knowledge,
social awareness, character values and moral intelligence will be
critical to meet the challenges of the year 2025 and beyond?


We crafted a set of queries to provide the framework for our planning.
These broad, thought-provoking questions served as the basis for
conversations with faculty, parents, staff, alumni, students and others
in the educational community. The result is the "The 2025 Challenge: The
Long Range Priorities." It is a blueprint for the future. It charts a
bold direction, building on the overriding importance of preserving,
renewing and extending Sidwell Friends School's identity as a Quaker
School. It is based on what we believe is most critical for our students
and recognizes the central role of our talented faculty and staff as the
backbone of the School.


"The 2025 Challenge: The Long Range Priorities" is a statement of
direction. It fulfills one of the Board's most important
responsibilities. The next phase, under the leadership of the
administration and faculty, is to develop concrete plans that will turn
these priorities into decisive actions that will lead to concrete
results. The Board looks forward to the creative and thoughtful
discussions that will take place in the months ahead.


The discussions held, decisions made and activities embarked upon in the
next few years will create a momentum for achieving the kind of results
described in The 2025 Challenge. As students graduate over the next
decade and more, they will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this vision.


We invite all SFS Parents to join us for a conversation about these
priorities and next steps on Monday, January 30 at 7 pm in the Robert L.
Smith Quaker Meeting Room on the Wisconsin Ave campus. You may RSVP to
Adrianne Isaacs at Isaacsa@sidwell.edu.


We look forward to the opportunity for continued dialogue to see the
vision for this extraordinary school unfold in the years ahead.


Warm regards,


Katie Smith Sloan, Clerk
Tom Farquhar

Sidwell Friend School Board of Trustees Head
of School