Leigh Gilman came to Sidwell right around when we did – literally half a lifetime ago by our measure.  When she first arrived, Leigh was young, childless, full of energy and ideas, and immersed in all things Sidwell.  Twenty-two years later when she departed, Leigh was young at heart, the mom of two great Sidwell grads, full of energy and ideas, and immersed in all things Sidwell.

Leigh started off as a full-time teacher of Latin – and added on from there.  One of the things that helped animate her time at Sidwell is that she reinvented herself on numerous occasions, tackling new roles and challenges.  At one point, when the English Department was short staffed, Leigh agreed to teach a section of 9th grade English.  Later, she took on administrative responsibilities.  In many years, she agreed to teaching overloads by working with five sections of Latin that needed coverage.

Leigh served as Language Department head, which is no small task.  As in our math department, placements are tricky.  Language also has the additional challenge of housing four sub-departments: Chinese, French, Latin, and Spanish.  Leigh managed and supported teachers in her own area of expertise (Latin) as well as others whose work was foreign (ha!) to her.  The loyalty of all members of the department to Leigh speaks to her professionalism, generosity, and general expertise in teaching.

Later in her tenure, Leigh was elected Faculty Clerk and served multiple terms, the first of which spanned 2020-2021, a year in which the demands on the Clerk to be an ambassador between faculty and administration were especially demanding.  Her ability to simultaneously maintain the respect of multiple constituencies during such a challenging school year is a testament to her equanimity and trustworthiness.  Capturing the attention of the faculty is a challenge; doing so over Zoom was a nearly impossible task – but Leigh managed it with careful planning and artful management of open conversations.

In addition to being an excellent teacher and a consummate professional, Leigh is a kind, generous, and fun-loving person with a terrific sense of humor.  Leigh used humor to capture attention during faculty meetings. Among other ploys, she frequently added photos of cute penguins and/or famous Quakers to PowerPoint slides. Leigh enjoys Karaoke with friends. She recently fulfilled a lifelong dream – taking a trip to Antarctica with her father to see the aforementioned penguins in person. She loves hiking and has explored hundreds of miles of trails in DC and the surrounding area.

We’ll miss Leigh at Sidwell, but we’ll try to hold down the fort without her.  We are thankful that Leigh is just across the park, serving as Director of Admission at Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School.  Leigh loves hiking, so either a short ride for us or an easy walk for her is all it will take to keep up with our great friend.