From Reluctant Student to Devoted Teacher: Lisa Penkowsky ’83's Nearly 40-Year Journey at SSFS

For Lisa Penkowsky '83, P ’19, ’21, ’24, Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) has been far more than just a school—it's been a professional home, a place of growth and transformation for not only herself but her three children, and a place where the Quaker principle and School motto Let Your Lives Speak has become deeply personal. Lisa's connections to SSFS span nearly every role imaginable over three and a half decades. Prior to her retirement from teaching Middle School English and Humanities at the end of last school year, we sat down with Lisa to talk about her journey from reluctant student to devoted educator, her favorite SSFS memories, the enduring power of Quaker education, and the incredible community spirit that recently saved the School. Read on for the edited excerpts from that conversation.

As an alum, a longtime teacher, and a parent of alums, you've participated in just about every aspect of the SSFS experience! What first drew you to the School, and what has kept you here for so many years?

To start, I came to Sandy Spring as a student, and it was a surprise to me. I had just finished 9th Grade at Einstein High School, and I don't think I was doing very well. I remember coming home from a camp my mother sent me to, and she said, “You're going to go for an interview at this place called Sandy Spring School.” I wasn't very excited about it, but I started in 10th Grade.

I think what got me excited about school again was that I almost immediately felt like I was recognized as an individual. I wasn't just some kid in a classroom. I discovered what I was good at. I was challenged academically, and it was just a really wonderful, vibrant place to be as a high school student. 

I went to the University of Maryland for my BA in English and never planned to be a teacher. I was a bit bored at one of my first jobs and started tutoring, which I found I really loved. I was lucky enough to start thinking about going back to school to be a teacher, and got into this really great program at GW [George Washington University], where I completed my certification and Master’s in Teaching.

The timing was right years later when I was visiting SSFS during an Alumni Day and ran into Stephen Gessner, who was Head of School at the time. He mentioned they needed a Middle School English teacher. I came for an interview, and they offered me the job. The timing was right, and, as the Quakers say, “Way Opened.” 

For the 32 years I’ve taught at the School, what kept me coming back is the amazing creative freedom that we’re given as teachers, the empowerment to develop curriculum, and the collaboration with other teachers and with students, all grounded in Quaker values. What inspired me in my teaching was how I learned at the School—to think critically, question the status quo, to see the world in new ways—and the great teachers I had here, who always appreciated and worked to inspire their students and connected classwork to world issues, which prepared us for life. 

Then, of course, my own kids: Ben [Davis ’19], Elena [Davis ‘21], and Henry [Davis ’24], were all able to go through and graduate from the School. Having some of my teachers then become coaches or teachers for my children—that's an incredible, unique experience. Ben even got to take Bob Hoch's “History of the ’60s” class as a senior, a class I took as a senior! Quaker education helped me so much as an adolescent and continued to be a guiding influence as I went out into the world. I've tried to keep that inspiration central to my teaching here.

As you think back on your time at SSFS, what are some of the highlights or favorite memories that come to mind, both as a student and as a faculty member?

As a student, Meeting for Worship was a very important part of my experience, but also a mystery to me initially. I remember sitting in my first Meeting for Worship in Clifton and thinking, “What is happening? I don't know what's going on [laughing].” But to have that ability as a teenager to stand up and speak is pretty amazing when I think about it. I was here when the Meeting House was brought over on a big truck—we all got to miss class! That was exciting. Also, the Intersession trips and the idea that we should go see and experience the world at a young age are an important part of our culture.

As a teacher, it’s the focus on experiential learning and on getting kids outside. Toni Evans [former Middle School science teacher and trustee] and I came up with the idea of having kids write a research paper on different aspects of the ocean, as well as learn how the ocean inspired artists and writers. We then went on a two-day beach camping trip where students did labs and wrote poetry on the beach, and built community in lots of sand! The 8th-grade Assateague trip was part of the curriculum for 20 years, and is just one example of how SSFS has always created ways for kids to get outside of the classroom and combine all the best aspects of Quaker education.

In which ways has SSFS changed over the years? What remains the same?

I think SSFS has always been a place where people have felt recognized and safe. We've worked really hard over the years to make sure people feel a sense of belonging. The academics have also always drawn people—our teachers have the chance to create and plan curricula that’s inspiring and rigorous. Students learn to be good writers because of our writing program. 

Also, arts and sports. Our arts program has always been essential to our mission as a school—from remembering the School’s early operettas, our Community Play tradition, and now, our innovative arts nights where we can see all of the many talents of the students in the spotlight. And when it comes to athletics, at Sandy Spring Friends, you can be an athlete, you can be in the play, and you can also be a really good student—multiple identities have always been celebrated.

Our increase in size over the years affected some of our traditions and community activities. Technology, of course, has changed us. But I’m happy about the continuation of Intersession and the evolution of OPOP Day [Our People, Our Planet day, a community-wide celebration of environmental and human stewardship] and Community Day [when all students, faculty, and staff set aside a day to work, play, and reflect together in cross-divisional "Family Groups”].

Describe your approach to teaching and how it has evolved over the years.

No matter what the grade I was teaching, I’ve always focused on choosing books that have recognizable characters—ones that kids can connect with and that they're interested in. An important thing for me has always been choice: in assignments and books. I’m a big lover of the library, because students can browse and discover on their own, building confidence in their critical thinking and opinions. Regular trips to our wonderful library are also a great way to build community. I try to help my students figure out what kind of readers they are, which helps with lifelong learning. And middle school is a key time to help them develop their writer's voice.

The MBE professional development [Mind, Brain, and Education, also known as the Science of Learning, which integrates knowledge from biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and education to provide evidence-based strategies to enhance student success] we did really lines up well with how I think and how kids learn. We have to help students navigate using tools like AI without letting those tools passively give them all the answers. You’ve got to keep thinking. You’ve got to keep questioning and seeing how you want to make a difference in the world, rather than passively letting things be done for you.

What were some of the feelings that went through your mind when you first heard in April that the School was planning to close at the end of this school year, and how did you feel when you learned that it was going to stay open after all?

I was completely shocked. I mean, I never thought we would close. I was devastated. I was angry. I remember talking to my son Ben, who said, “How can I be an alum of a school that doesn't exist anymore?” I could completely relate to his question.

And then, this amazing thing happened. This coalition of alums came together—I knew them as students! I’m going to start to cry. To witness this moment when people I had known and taught as middle schoolers had become successful adults and put together all their skills with their passion and love for the School...I mean, that's just an amazing thing. It's like all the parts of the School came together to Let Their Lives Speak and save it. 

What an incredible honor and thrill it is to acknowledge that we are a school that was going to close but was saved by the very people who were educated here and knew best what an amazing place it is, and now will continue to be. They had the financial wherewithal, the executive functioning, the business skills, and the drive to make it happen. Our community is far more powerful than we ever thought it was. And we have got to hold on to that and make it part of our ethos moving forward, even as we continue to evolve.

What would you want someone who is just starting out at SSFS to know about the history of the school?

One of the original principles of SSFS that has differentiated us from other college prep schools is recognizing the inherent value of each student, learning what makes them tick, and, as Brook Moore [founder of SSFS] emphasized, educating the whole person—“the trained mind, the skilled hand, and the healthy body within a nurturing community centered in the Life of the Spirit.” We have a rigorous curriculum, but we equally emphasize connecting with students’ interests and fostering their love of learning. 

I think it’s also important to remember our history of experiential learning, keep the arts as part of our center, and continue getting outside in the world, whether it's locally or internationally. These are all things that continue to this day at SSFS, and we need all of it right now in our world.

It’s so important that kids can feel grounded here. The land of SSFS started as a farm—there were still horses on campus when I was here as a student! It’s also important that we’ve now acknowledged our land came from the Piscataway [SSFS’s campus exists on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway tribe, a Native American people indigenous to the region now encompassing Southern Maryland and the wider Chesapeake Bay area]. Brook Moore talked about the spirit of the place, and it’s unmistakable—you have to experience it! Our 140 acres are a place where you will be inspired to make the world a better place.

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Stay tuned for more community spotlights throughout the year!