On Dec. 4, 2023, Sidwell’s Head of School Bryan Garman announced in a letter to the Sidwell community that Robbie Gross, who currently serves as the Assistant Principal for Academic Affairs, will be succeeding Mamadou Guèye as Upper School Principal.
Garman wrote that he has “no doubt that he will be a remarkable principal and hope that [the community] will join me in celebrating his appointment.”
Gross first came to Sidwell in 2013 as a history teacher. Recalling what drew him to Sidwell, he touched on experiences from his high school years: “I went to a high school that had close relationships between students and teachers… I have memories of club meetings where there were faculty members, and where students and faculty members were arguing about sports or current events topics.”
Gross explained that his high school atmosphere was part of what drew him to Sidwell. In terms of community, “it was a place like Sidwell… one of the reasons I was attracted to Sidwell was because I wanted that [community]”.
From his first day at Sidwell, Gross mentioned that he “really learned from [his] colleagues.”
“What happens in the classroom with students is really important, but what happens outside of the classroom is also really important,” Gross said.
In order to better forge bonds with students, Gross also served as a faculty adviser for Model U.N., fondly recalling traveling with students, seeing them outside of the classroom and
“[observing] them wearing these ill-fitting suits that they had to wear.”
Gross’ sense that faculty had to be involved in learning outside of the classroom was further reinforced by the pandemic.
“At the end of the day… teachers can convey information and students can learn information online pretty well, but what you can’t do online is just get to know one another, and learn about somebody’s interests and what makes them tick, and support them if they’re having a tough day, and celebrate them if they’re having a good day, and so that’s one of the things I’ve loved about Sidwell Friends,” Gross said.
Gross wants to continue the Sidwell atmosphere of support that exists outside of the classroom. He prioritizes supporting one another, not just between students, but between faculty and staff as well. “[Sidwell] has that culture that does inspire those relationships. That’s what I hear every year during the seniors’ meeting for worship,” Gross commented.
“You just hear students talk about the meaningful relationships they’ve had with one another and with their teachers. That’s always such a beautiful meeting. That is, at the end of the day, one of the special things about this place, that it fosters that intellectual engagement buttressed by supportive relationships.”
Gross and his fellow faculty members, like many students, worried about what school would look like after the pandemic. As the world changed and the way school worked changed as well, he thought “what if we [couldn’t] get back what we had? What if we [came] back and everyone [was] out of sorts and we [lost] that magic of Sidwell Friends?”
However, Gross concluded that, “because of the amazing efforts of faculty and students, I don’t think we’ve lost it. It feels like we’re back to normal and hopefully better than ever.”
The challenges of the pandemic “did hammer home for me how vital school is and how precious what we have at Sidwell Friends is and we don’t want to lose that. There’s a culture that’s built there,” Gross said.
To help students through the challenges of online learning, Gross, alongside other teachers and administrators, created initiatives such as starting every day with advisory, hosting fun outdoor activities and starting the virtual day at 9 a.m. to allow students to sleep in.
When asked if the school day would ever be switched to begin at 9 a.m. again, Gross commented “Who knows?” He added that it is difficult to adapt the schedule when taking fall sports into account, but has no definitive answer on whether a later start is out of the question entirely.
In regards to his plans as principal, Gross made clear that “At the end of the day, there’s no grand plans. It’s not a presidential administration or anything… To me, the health of students is really the most important thing. You can’t learn, you can’t build relationships, if you’re not healthy.”
One ongoing project that Gross intends to complete is the new Upton campus, which will offer “more space, newer design on labs, and all kinds of exciting opportunities.” Additionally, Gross prioritizes analyzing the results of the Mental Health Task Force, a project was involved with.
As future Upper School Principal, Gross looks forward to “getting to hear from students about what their priorities are, what some of the things that they’re interested in us looking to change are, having those conversations, and engaging faculty in those conversations.”
He added,“what I like about Sidwell Friends is we’ve got the structures for that… Hearing from student voices, finding other ways to get students involved is another thing I’ve been chatting about.”
