Finding Middle Ground

Eighty years ago, Sidwell Friends hired its first Middle School principal. This year, the School welcomes its 10th. 

For its first two decades, Thomas Sidwell advertised his new endeavor as “An Elementary and High School for Both Sexes.” The School offered classes for the three or four Intermediate School years, but there was no separate administrative oversight. Thomas Sidwell was the principal of the entire school, and his wife, Frances Haldeman-Sidwell, served alongside him as co-principal. In 1933, the School reorganized into the Elementary School for kindergarten through 6th grade and an Upper School for 7th through 12th grade. It remained that way for a decade. 

It wasn’t until 1944 that the 7th and 8th grades were pulled out of Upper School and reorganized as the Middle School. “The results have been so satisfactory,” the School announced in 1945, “that it has been decided to enlarge the Middle School by including in it the Fifth and Sixth grades, formerly a part of the Lower School.” Sidwell Friends was, in some ways, ahead of its time, with the concept of “middle school” not widely adopted in the United States until well into the 1960s. The success of this experiment is due in large part to Sidwell Friends’ first Middle School principal, Frank Barger. He had come two years earlier to fill an opening for Upper School principal before the rapidly expanding junior-high grades were separated out. All who experienced the Middle School during those decades remember Barger’s boundless energy and larger-than-life personality. By 1950, the concept of “middle school” was so solidified that, when space issues arose, a building was constructed specifically for 5th through 8th grade. 

The second Middle School principal was cut from a different cloth. John Arnold arrived at Sidwell Friends in 1963 as a 4th grade teacher. He was just 32 years old when he was appointed Middle School principal, and he was full of ideas, regularly attending conferences on Friends education and learning about the latest educational practices, such as the “open classroom.” One aspect of Arnold’s legacy that has endured is the concept of “teams” in 7th and 8th grade. He launched Teams I, II, III, and IV, which later became North, South, East, and West. When the Middle School’s green renovation took place in 2006, Teams Land, Sea, and Sky were born and remain today. As a teacher wrote upon his departure: “Mr. Arnold came into a Middle School that served as a transitional way station between the Lower and Upper Schools, with a heavy emphasis on academic preparation for Upper School. He leaves the Middle School headed in the direction of standing in its own right.” 

After Arnold left, Kit Barger ’58, son of Frank Barger, took over as principal for the next five years. As principal and as an alum, he deftly managed the tension between his father’s “old school” approach and the open, mixed-age classrooms his predecessor had implemented. After completing five years as principal, he became the first (and only) principal to go back to the classroom full-time. Barger returned as a 7th and 8th grade math teacher. 

With a background in the Peace Corps and public schools, Harry Finks focused on balancing Quaker values with academics. Finks believed, “Middle School is a time in the school life when you are given some of the luxury of letting youngsters experiment.” To that end, he launched the Minimester program, which is still going strong decades later, and he created a mixed 7th and 8th grade advisory program that endures to this day. 

Finks was followed by Jay Roudebush, who had served as dean of students and as an art teacher in the Upper School. He enjoyed the switch to the Middle School, observing, “Whereas education in an upper school is often aimed at the finished product, a middle school should serve more to open doors and nurture development.” During his time in the Middle School, Roudebush doubled the science department’s staff, and created two new science labs, ensuring that 7th and 8th grade students received year-round science instruction. 

Whereas education in an upper school is often aimed at the finished product, a middle school should serve more to open doors and nurture development.

When Roudebush became head of the Congressional School, his assistant principal, Bob Williams, stepped up from his position as a 6th grade teacher to become Sidwell Friends’ sixth Middle School principal. In his seven years in the job, he reduced class sizes in 5th and 6th grades to enhance the educational experience for students. As Sidwell Friends’ first Black senior administrator, Williams is remembered for his leadership during a critical period in the School’s history. His principalship coincided with a landmark diversity study issued by the board of trustees, and he worked tirelessly on implementing the School’s response. Williams also helped establish the first aftercare program, recognizing it is essential to support working families. 

Andy Berry succeeded Williams to become the seventh principal, and stayed for nine years. Berry improved student leadership, expanded the science program in 5th and 6th grade, and extended access to Spanish and Chinese classes. During the transition to the internet age, he also established policies around online computer use. Berry left to become a head of a school in Massachusetts. 

The Middle School welcomed back Berry’s onetime assistant principal, Sally Selby, who initially joined the School as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher in 1982. The first female Middle School principal, Selby’s 12-year tenure ranks second only to Frank Barger’s. Often working late into the evening, she put systems in place to make the Middle School run smoothly. Selby also oversaw the 2006 renovation of the Middle School as it became the first LEED Platinum school building in the world. With characteristic openness, she welcomed thousands of visitors from around the world to see the building firsthand. 

This year, Sidwell Friends said goodbye to Selby’s successor, Rachel Kane. Having attended and worked at Quaker schools throughout her life, Kane prioritized nurturing every student’s light. She recognized the importance of creating a sense of belonging for young adolescents and cared deeply about student wellness. In 2020, she faced the enormous challenge of COVID-19. In her nine years at the helm, Kane saw the Middle School through dizzying testing and masking protocols, and she supported teachers and families through the transition back to “normal” school life. This year, Kane became head of school at the Friends Community School in Maryland. 

On July 1, Allen Vandegrift joined Sidwell Friends as the 10th Middle School principal. Each past principal has made contributions to shape the Middle School and the unique needs of 10-to-14- year-olds. No doubt Vandegrift will do the same.