With a revised cumulative goal of $220 million, “Together We Shine” will support reunification of the campus in Washington, DC.

With hundreds of alumni, parents, and other community members gathered in the Lubar Courtyard Wednesday evening, Sidwell Friends School launched the culminating phase of Together We Shine with a new, overall campaign goal of $220 million. The School already has raised more than $189 million—86 percent—of its goal thanks to the commitment of early leadership contributors, including an anonymous alumnus who generously pledged a $10 million matching gift to accelerate the fundraising efforts. The campaign supports financial aid, the endowment, faculty salaries and professional development, and the reunification of the School’s two campuses in Washington. The final fundraising phase will conclude in June 2027. 

“It is your groundswell of support that has made the dream of reunification come true,” Head of School Bryan Garman told the crowd. “Nearly 30,000 individual gifts have been made to this campaign. We are fortunate to have you as friends and partners in this work. We could not do it without you.”

The campaign’s final phase will make possible the renovation of the Earl J. Harrison Jr. building—the current Upper School—into an extraordinary and engaging new Lower School. Contingent upon additional funds raised, the School plans to break ground on the project in the summer of 2026 and open the new building in September 2028. The School has educated its youngest students, in PK through 4th grade, on its campus in Bethesda, Maryland since 1963.

The Sidwell Friends community has been working toward a return to one campus for nearly a decade. Bringing Sidwell Friends together again will create opportunities for students and teachers from all divisions, strengthening our programs and community. On a practical level, operating one campus will be more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective, saving approximately $1.3 million each year. Unification will also ease the lives of our many families with students on both campuses.

The first step in that transformation is already underway. A new Upper School has been under construction since June 2024 on contiguous property purchased in 2017. It will open in September 2026.

Board of Trustees members Josh Miller P ’27, ’30 and Belinda Nixon P ’17, ’23 are serving as campaign co-clerks for the culminating phase.

To learn more about the culminating phase of the Together We Shine campaign, please contact Tara Arras, assistant head of school for advancement, at arrast@sidwell.edu.