Sandy Spring Friends School
SSFS is a progressive, coed, college preparatory Quaker school serving students from Preschool (age 3) through 12th Grade, with optional 5- and 7-day boarding programs in the Upper School.
Sandy Spring Friends School
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.
Inquiry-Based and Hands-On Approach to Learning
Our approach to learning challenges students to question, to reflect, and to act on knowledge.
Quaker Values
A values-based education emphasizes universal Quaker values of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.
The Future is Bright at SSFS
SSFS is “Lighting the Way” for the future with the opening of our new, environmentally-sustainable Upper School building.
Uniquely Sandy Spring
Quaker Values
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
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
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
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
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
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
685
Students in Preschool-12th Grade
map
140+
Pastoral acres in the heart of Montgomery County
teacher
8:1
Student-teacher ratio
diversity
59%
Students identify as Students of Color
globe
17
Countries represented in our Boarding Program
Discover SSFS
pre- school
lower school
middle school
upper school
Upcoming Events
SSFS News
![SSFS Alumni Win National Call for Kindness Competition]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1630619492/sandyspring/tolf0bpi1sbmchaegpsj/Untitleddesign53.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1630619492/sandyspring/tolf0bpi1sbmchaegpsj/Untitleddesign53.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1630619492/sandyspring/tolf0bpi1sbmchaegpsj/Untitleddesign53.png","width":800}])
![Photos: First Week of School (2021-2022)]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1630635036/sandyspring/ehhmsqbuz2vmbsy3xc9e/Untitleddesign_9.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1630635036/sandyspring/ehhmsqbuz2vmbsy3xc9e/Untitleddesign_9.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1630635036/sandyspring/ehhmsqbuz2vmbsy3xc9e/Untitleddesign_9.jpg","width":600}])
Take a look at our back-to-school photos to see how we kicked off the week!
![Photos: New Families Orientation Day]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1630635035/sandyspring/s8c12vt3nthcgcz7hbq2/Untitleddesign_19.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1630635035/sandyspring/s8c12vt3nthcgcz7hbq2/Untitleddesign_19.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1630635035/sandyspring/s8c12vt3nthcgcz7hbq2/Untitleddesign_19.png","width":600}])
See photos from the New Family Orientation Day, which took place on 8/30.
![Meeting House Thumbnail]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1630676047/sandyspring/l8l5h6ztrfbkhzmabzzf/MeetingHouse-300px.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1630676047/sandyspring/l8l5h6ztrfbkhzmabzzf/MeetingHouse-300px.jpg","width":300}])
Gnu Stories Blog: Demystifying Quaker Education
Answers to the Top 5 Questions About Friends Schools. Read the Blog
![GnuStories Podcast Episode 11: Self-Advocacy]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1612110905/sandyspring/rtdc43hff7v1wmmmyh2m/01312021-GnuStories-Episode11-Self-Advocacy.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1612110905/sandyspring/rtdc43hff7v1wmmmyh2m/01312021-GnuStories-Episode11-Self-Advocacy.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1612110905/sandyspring/rtdc43hff7v1wmmmyh2m/01312021-GnuStories-Episode11-Self-Advocacy.png","width":600}])
The SSFS Gnu Stories Podcast offers a closer look at our diverse, innovative, and close-knit community, as well as best practices in the world of progressive education. Hear the podcasts here...
![Gnu Stories Podcast | Ep. 7 Civic Engagement From A Student Perspective]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1605796407/sandyspring/dvjfgjouuagfcla6q1z1/Untitleddesign9.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1605796407/sandyspring/dvjfgjouuagfcla6q1z1/Untitleddesign9.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1605796407/sandyspring/dvjfgjouuagfcla6q1z1/Untitleddesign9.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1605796407/sandyspring/dvjfgjouuagfcla6q1z1/Untitleddesign9.jpg","width":1080}])
LISTEN: Join Rodney as he invites our SSFS students to reflect on the 2020 election, what it has meant to them and their classmates, and the role of social media in civic engagement.
![Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1583507298/sandyspring/ulf3wj58oundvoccg2ei/coronavirus-600.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1583507298/sandyspring/ulf3wj58oundvoccg2ei/coronavirus-600.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1583507298/sandyspring/ulf3wj58oundvoccg2ei/coronavirus-600.jpg","width":600}])
Recognizing the fast-moving events surrounding Coronavirus updates in our area, we have created a web page to help consolidate communications from SSFS and provide resources to our families.
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