Meet Dr. Sean M. Hamer, SSFS’s New Head of School

Hours before the Super Bowl, we sat down with Dr. Sean Hamer, SSFS’s newly-appointed Head of School to chat. Read on to find out what drew him to education (and away from an engineering career), what off-campus hobbies he enjoys pursuing, and what he’s most looking forward to as he relocates from West Coast to East this summer to join the SSFS community.

Tell us about your early career and what drew you to work in schools. 

In college, I was an aspiring chemical engineer. I worked full-time to support myself so I started looking for jobs that college students could get. There were a number of opportunities in social services working with at-risk youth in the Boston area. As I started, I realized that I liked working with kids more than I liked my engineering internships. That experience shifted my entire mindset. I began to move further and further away from working as a chemical engineer. Several years later, when touring Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts with my son, I learned that they have a master’s degree teacher training program, in partnership with Lesley University. I met the director, enrolled, and that began my work with students in the classroom. 

You have held several leadership positions. What inspired you to step outside the classroom? 

Years ago, when I attended NAIS’s [National Association of Independent Schools] People of Color Conference in Philadelphia, I noticed that many of the leaders were from Philadelphia-area Friends schools. Many were also leaders in the field of equity and belonging, which I had been doing work in. Meeting them got me curious about the culture, the mission, and the climate of Quaker schools in the Philadelphia area. At the time, I was at Friends Academy in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, so I was already familiar with Quaker ideology. But I wanted to see what that experience would be like from a leadership perspective. That workshop experience inspired me to apply for an administrative role at Germantown Friends School. I served as Head of Middle School there for four years, but continued to aspire towards headship in general. Then I learned that Alta Vista School in San Francisco was looking for a head. I was drawn to how progressive it is, in one of the most inclusive cities in the country, as well as its focus on science and technology, which aligns with my STEM background. I served as its Head for five years. 

What led you to apply for the Head of School position at SSFS, and what aspects of SSFS were particularly compelling to you as you learned more about the community through the search process? 

When COVID hit, I was effectively estranged from my family on the East Coast for several years, so I started looking for opportunities that would allow me to return. When I saw the posting for Sandy Spring Friends School, I was excited by the chance to return to my Quaker education roots. At that point, I had spent seven years in Quaker schools so I was very comfortable in that type of community. Sandy Spring Friends shares all the same philosophical and cultural approaches. And seeing the outcomes from my children, both of whom graduated from Friends schools, had cemented for me the value of a Quaker education and the unique experience it affords. So, for many reasons, coming to SSFS feels like coming back home. 

In what ways do SSFS’s Quaker values align with your own professional and personal philosophy?

Serving as Head of School at SSFS is my third position at a Friends School. That said, I have served at several schools in my educational career—Quaker and non-Quaker—and to me, the most significant piece of a school's core is its mission. The world is rapidly changing, and schools must be clear as to what they stand for and what their goals are in educating students and producing impactful global citizens. Friends Schools, and Sandy Spring Friends in particular, have at their core a mission that will stand the test of time. The Quaker testimonies that are represented at SSFS—affectionately known as the SPICES—reflect the school's values and are key to its mission and to maintaining its longevity. 

What have you learned in your previous roles as head of school, division head, and teacher that you will apply as you start your headship at SSFS?

One of the key lessons I've learned is that you're representing all constituencies simultaneously. Everyone is coming to the school with their own unique lens of experience in the world. As a school leader, you want to take into account this broad variety of perspectives from faculty, students, parents, and alumni. And you try to support them all with a common thread. Numerous challenges over the past six years—whether financial difficulties that schools are facing, a global pandemic, shifts in society and politics around us—have taught me that you need to remain centered and be a place of stability for the school community. The most successful way to do that is in partnership with families, faculty, administrators, and the Board of Trustees. It’s through that partnership that you're able to support the entirety of a community. No single person can do it alone; it's a united, collaborative effort among all. At every school I’ve worked at, that collaboration of ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and experience have allowed them to thrive during tough times.

As a school leader with more than 20 years of experience, what are your thoughts on how best to unify communities and ensure leadership stability?

Ensuring community connectedness is a big part. The only way to truly have a finger on the pulse of what's happening within the student body, the faculty, the leadership, and among alumni is to have a sense of connectivity. That means experiencing the life of the school, being involved. As a head, you can’t live in an ivory tower. You must experience school life in the classrooms, interact with students; dialogue and connect with faculty and leadership; understand the lives of parents in the community; and visit with and maintain relationships with alumni. As an extrovert, I enjoy this interaction and engagement tremendously. 

What are you most excited about as you begin your tenure as Head of School on July 1?

There are a number of pieces that excite me, but the single most important thing for me is getting to know and learn about the community. Following that, the reopening of the Performing Arts Center is something that excites me. Building on the strength of SSFS’s athletics program is something that excites me, as well as its science programming. I’m also excited to learn the cycle of events in all three divisions, observing the lived experience of the students and teachers and connecting around that. Having spent a lot of time at school events over the course of my career, plus as a parent with children in middle and high school for the last eight years, I love watching and learning from that lived experience of students and their dynamic with teachers. Those interactions are truly what it's all about. I’m also excited by the positives of those experiences for students—the growth and the joy in the eyes of the faculty for the outcomes that they generate. Those are the elements that I always look forward to in schools, and what I’m looking forward to as I arrive at Sandy Spring Friends. 

How would you describe your leadership style, and how do you empower your colleagues in their own leadership?

My leadership is distributive. I really support my administrative team and faculty to be independent. My number one goal is to guide them, support them, and empower them in their roles. I think that any of my former administrative team members or faculty would say that I'm open, welcoming, and supportive. People can come to me with ideas and I will support them in figuring out a plan for execution or offer insights into other ways to consider those ideas. I would also say that my leadership style is clear. Folks know where I stand; there's not a lot of ambiguity. I think that’s essential to providing effective, genuine support.  

When you’re not on campus, what do you enjoy doing? What would you like our community to know about you? 

I’m a fun person. I enjoy the fun side of life and school, whether field days, plays and musicals, sports, or showcases of student academic work. I love the joy of it all. Outside of school, I have a lot of varied interests. I’m a movieholic. I love standup comedy. I practice Bikram Yoga and studied martial arts for 30-plus years. I play basketball and racquetball. I love poetry and professional development. I like to cook. Part of my history also is also connected to my college experience of being in a fraternity—Alpha Phi Alpha—the first African-American fraternity for men in the country. (I was a step master for my chapter.) These are all interests and passions that are behind the scenes for me. And, I’m a family man. I was a stay-at-home dad with my son for two years when he was born. 

What do you envision your top three goals for the coming school year will be?

My number one goal is to support stability and community. Because Sandy Spring Friends is coming out of a transition period, getting to know and support the community and bringing a sense of calm and stability, all of that is really number one for me. The second important thing for me is to truly get to know the structures and operations of the school. The third priority for me is to connect with the students, faculty, and parents in authentic ways.

Fun Facts

• Favorite school memory: My children's graduations
• Best piece of advice you've ever been given: "You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion."
• Favorite professional book: Good to Great, by James C. Collins
• Favorite food: Chicken parmesan and pineapple upside down cake.