Sandy Spring Friends School

 

Breadcrumb

Sandy Spring Friends School

SSFS Campus Overview

Sandy Spring Friends School

SSFS is a progressive, coed, college preparatory Quaker school that equips and empowers students from Preschool (age 3) through 12th Grade to Let Their Lives Speak.

LEARN MORE

Preschool Teacher with Students

Let Your Lives Speak

Recognizing the unique worth of each person, SSFS teachers cultivate the individual talents of every student and foster caring and effective citizens of the world.

LEARN MORE

The stream on our campus provides opportunities for inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-Based and Hands-On Approach to Learning

Our approach to learning challenges students to question, to reflect, and to act on knowledge.

LEARN MORE

Meeting House with LS students

Quaker Values

A values-based education emphasizes universal Quaker values of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.

LEARN MORE

Uniquely Sandy Spring

Quaker Values

Students entering the SSFS Meeting House

At Sandy Spring Friends School, we have a profound sense of hope in the individual's ability to create positive change within the world, and we foster the values that create change: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. These values are sometimes referred to by their acronym, the Quaker SPICES.

Inquiry-Based Approach

4th Grade Seed Study

We take an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning, challenging students to strive for academic excellence and to realize their highest potential.

Experiential Learning

Stream Study with Students

We believe that learning is significantly enriched by experience-based projects and programs. They help develop capable, responsible, and globally-aware students who can apply their learning in useful, practical, and meaningful ways.

Teachers as Mentors

SSFS Teachers are Life Mentors

Because our teachers see each student as a unique individual, they strive to cultivate each student’s inner Light and talents. The resulting dynamic of frequent communication and trust facilitates confidence and growth, as well as an optimistic outlook, a lifelong love of learning, and the desire to accomplish positive change in the world.

Campus as a Classroom

Middle School Stream Study - Campus as Classroom

Our 140-acre campus near urban centers features an old-growth forest and stream, making it a natural environment for study and contemplation and enabling access to a wealth of resources, including six miles of cross-country trails, a pond/swimming hole used seasonally by students and our summer camp, and an aerial adventure park.

Diverse, Caring Community

Seniors with Their Lower School Buddies - Community

We believe in a diverse, collaborative, nonhierarchical community, strengthened by all-school and all-division meetings, an active Parents Association, an engaged alumni body, and an emphasis on affirming and empowering the individual and examining all points of view.

At A Glance

coed

map

140+

Pastoral acres in the heart of Montgomery County

teacher

8:1

Student-teacher ratio

diversity

53%

Students identify as Students of Color

globe

6

Countries represented 

SSFS News

Empty Bowl Community Event

Join us on Sun., May 18, from 1:00–4:00 PM for an Empty Bowl gathering. It will be a celebration of the SSFS community and SPICES! This 20+ year tradition, born from the creative heart of our very own Lower School art teacher Kate S., brings us together around the values of creativity, compassion, and community. Admission is free with a canned food donation for the Sharp Street Food Pantry, and every handmade bowl you choose helps support Feeding America in its mission to end hunger. Bowls are available by suggested donation ($15, cash/check preferred), with a special curated selection also available. No need to register—just come! We also need volunteers to help bring this day to life—sign up if you can lend a hand! 

2025 Friends Celebration - Auction

On Sat., May 3, our vibrant SSFS community—faculty and staff, current families, alums, alum parents, trustees, and friends—came together in person and online for our Friends Celebration event to demonstrate resilience, hope, and an unwavering belief in the mission of Sandy Spring Friends School. It was a record-breaking night! Thanks to the incredible generosity and spirited participation of our community, we raised an astounding $419,000 in net revenue to support Financial Aid at SSFS: a 113% increase from last year's event! 

Sheep to Shawl 2025

SSFS community members packed the bleachers at the 2025 Sheep and Wool Festival on May 4 to cheer on the five students in Heidi Brown's Weaving and Fibers class who participated in the "Sheep to Shawl" competition. The three competing teams managed to shear a sheep, card and spin the wool into yarn, and then weave it into a shawl in less than three hours—and our team's shawl was the first off the loom! Read more about student and staff participation in the Sheep and Wool Festival, including the Skein and Garment Competition.

PAC Re-Opening

The SSFS Performing Arts Center (PAC) re-opened this spring after HVAC work was completed, just in time to host the Upper School Spring Arts Night on May 1 & 2! Incoming Head of School Sean Hamer joined Head of School, Interim Sue Groesbeck to give remarks at the Thursday event performance, and seniors hosted a special Senior Music Showcase on Friday evening. Middle and Upper School visual arts are also featured throughout the PAC lobby, including ceramics, drawing and painting, multimedia, digital art, and weaving. 

Junior Class Plant Sale 2025

When: May 19–23 | 3:30 PM–5:15 PM
Where: The Gazebo at the first intersection on campus. If driving, please pull onto the field to keep traffic moving.
What: Perennials (Columbine and Butterfly Weed), Annuals (Portulacas, Marigolds, Coleus), and Garden Veggies (Kale, Mustard Greens, Swiss Chard, Lettuce)
COST: Prices vary - $3 for a one-pint pot with one flowering annual or vegetable; $6 for a half-gallon pot with one flowering perennial; $20 for a porch-ready planter with 3-4 flowering annuals or vegetables
Why: 11th-grade students have been growing plants since February with the help of Michael Tornabene. Proceeds from the Plant Sale go to support senior year activities as well as the Senior Class Gift.

Senior Passion Projects 2025

Save the date of May 28, 6:30–8:45 PM, to watch students culminate their Senior Passion Project experience with a presentation about their chosen topics, sharing reflections about the process and what they learned with the SSFS community. In advance of the May 28 presentations, the SSFS community is also invited to the premiere of the film, Gifts from the Lived: A Documentary About the Music We Inherit, the Grief We Carry, and the Healing We Face, by two of the Senior Passion Project participants, Jalynn Smith and Jiya Taylor. The film premiere will take place on Saturday, May 17, in the PAC, with doors opening at 6:30 PM.

5th Grade Play 2025

SSFS 5th graders made us laugh and sing while also providing excellent tips for "How to Interact with Human Beings" in their class play on Tue., May 6! Their performance highlighted not only the students' acting and singing talents, but also SSFS's character education and values, as their play demonstrated how to be active listeners, respectful community members, and good friends.

Upcoming Events

Discover SSFS

pre- school

Research shows that play is a powerful tool for learning. That's why at Sandy Spring Friends School, play-based learning is woven into the preschool curriculum through fun hands-on activities both in the classroom and outside on our beautiful campus and natural playground.

Learn More

lower school

We believe students learn best when creative thinking, active listening, and positive interactions are reinforced in the classroom. Our students learn to shape questions about concepts and ideas, reflect upon their learning, and put their learning into action - developing initiative and self-advocacy skills in the process.

Learn More

middle school

Our Middle School offers a strong academic program that is taught by dynamic teachers and emphasizes critical thinking, global-mindedness, and problem solving. Through a combination of challenging academics and a welcoming environment for students to explore, our students are able to fully experience and take advantage of their Middle School years.

Learn More

upper school

Our Upper School develops confident, responsible, thoughtful people who understand the wider world and seek to make a difference in it. In partnership with an extraordinary faculty, our students gain intellectual and interpersonal skills that help them thrive in college and beyond.

Learn More

Get Connected