School Philosophy
Sidwell Friends School is an educational community inspired by the values of the Religious Society of Friends and guided by the Quaker belief in "That of God" in each person.  We seek academically talented students of diverse cultural, racial, religious and economic backgrounds. We offer these students a rich and rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum designed to stimulate creative inquiry, intellectual achievement and independent thinking in a world increasingly without borders.  We encourage these students to test themselves in athletic competition and to give expression to their artistic abilities.  We draw strength from silence—and from the power of individual and collective reflection. We cultivate in all members of our community high personal expectations and integrity, respect for consensus, and an understanding of how diversity enriches us, why stewardship of the natural world matters and why service to others enhances life. Above all, we seek to be a school that nurtures a genuine love of learning and teaches students "to let their lives speak." 

Board of Trustees
Sidwell Friends School
Approved September 15, 2005

Diversity Statement
Guided by the values and beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends, Sidwell Friends School is committed to creating a diverse co-educational community and actively seeks students, faculty, staff, administrators and trustees from different racial, cultural, religious and economic backgrounds. The School nurtures and values a rich intellectual environment which embraces genuine respect for individual talents, perspectives and opinions. Above all, Sidwell Friends believes profoundly that the nature of its diverse community inherently enriches and informs moral growth while teaching important and lasting lessons about the Quaker belief that "there is that of God in everyone."


Board of Trustees
Sidwell Friends School
Approved October 25, 2005