Campaign’s Success Opens the Way for New Upper School

Long-held dream of campus unification moves closer.

Thanks to the overwhelming support from the Sidwell Friends community, the Together We Shine campaign stands as the most significant and transformative campaign in the School’s 141-year history.  

Shaped by our Quaker values, the campaign focused on three strategic goals —
1) Reimagining the future of learning by transforming how, what, and where our students learn; 2) Welcoming a wider community through greater access to a Sidwell Friends education; and 3) Ethically engaging the world via the role we play in our city and the way we steward our planet.

In supporting the largest campaign undertaken by any Quaker independent school, our donors have helped Sidwell Friends model how philanthropy can be aligned with Quaker values to contribute to a better world. As Head of School Bryan Garman says, “I am profoundly moved by and grateful for the success of this campaign. Our community is letting its life speak with these investments.”

New Upper School Breaks Ground

Among the campaign’s chief priorities is an innovative new Upper School, made possible by the rare opportunity to purchase and renovate property adjacent to Sidwell’s D.C. campus. “It is incredibly exciting to have crossed the finish line of this momentous campaign,” says Campaign Co-Clerk and Real Estate Committee Co-Clerk Charis Menschel P ’25, ’27, ’29. “The generosity of donors has allowed us to break ground at the Upton Street Campus, paving the way for a fantastic Upper School facility and future unification of the Sidwell campus.”  

When the new Upper School opens, it will mark a reshaping of the physical campus and learning environment for all Sidwell Friends students and faculty. Construction began in June with the new building set to open for the 2026-27 school year. At more than 130,000 square feet, the Upper School will add new capacity in science, robotics, scholarship and research and accelerate Sidwell’s path to becoming a carbon neutral campus.

Reuniting All Three Divisions

In building the new Upper School, Sidwell Friends moves closer to reuniting our Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools in D.C. for the first time in more than 60 years. “At a time when many campuses across the country are divided, it feels particularly profound that we are embarking on campus unification,” says Board Clerk Jamie Hechinger ’96, P ’27, ’29. “The gifts this move will provide extend well beyond any new physical buildings. Unification exemplifies all that we are building from and towards – enduring Quaker education and values that open possibilities for how we teach and learn from each other.”  

When the Upper School is complete, Sidwell Friends will renovate the Harrison Building to become the new Lower School. Bringing Sidwell 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.

“Students, parents, faculty and alumni often say events like Founders Day are uniquely special in that all members of the community are together,” says Charis Menschel. “Donors have been particularly motivated by the prospect of a future with the entire community on one campus as an everyday experience. The new Upper School is a significant step toward that vision.”

Upper School Highlights

The new Upper School will replace the existing Harrison Building, built in 1964 with a 1997 addition, and include the following features:

• Geo-thermal wells and solar panels will generate renewable energy and put the School on a path to creating a carbon-neutral campus.
• The Learning Commons will create a new academic hub as home to the library, student technology support, quiet study areas, and the School Archives.
• Eleven science labs and three science courtyards will expand opportunities for research and create flexible space for robotics and science projects.
• “Quaker Commons” will provide open and flexible dining spaces indoors and out and will feature a teaching kitchen that can serve as a classroom and gathering space.
• The Fox Den store and coffee shop will serve as a gathering spot for all to meet and relax.
• The Center for Ethical Leadership will support community-service initiatives and provide resources to affinity groups across all grades at the School.
• The Center for Teaching and Learning will provide a space for faculty education and training, with a prototype classroom for testing new approaches and technologies.