Sidwell was founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell. Its motto is Eluceat Omnibus Lux ("Let the light shine out from all"; it can also be translated as "by all," an allusion to the Quaker concept of inner light). All Sidwell Friends students attend Quaker meetings for worship weekly.
Before moving to Wisconsin Avenue, Sidwell's campus was on I Street in downtown Washington. The Wisconsin Avenue property was first used for athletic fields while the campus was still downtown, with students shuttling between the two sites by streetcar.
For many years, Sidwell was the only co-educational school in its athletic league, the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC). Today, Sidwell's male sports teams compete in the MAC, while the female teams compete in the ISL.
Sidwell dropped its dress code in the 1970s.
The Wisconsin Avenue campus recently saw the completion of a new parking deck and sports field, and the construction on the Middle School has been completed. The Middle school building obtained a LEED Platinum certification from the United States Green Building Council. http://www.usgbc.org/News/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?ID=3018 The environmentally sound Middle School building spearheads Sidwell's effort to instill environmental stewardship among its students. The Sidwell community also cherishes Quaker values, diversity, and academic excellence.
The Sidwell Friends Upper School has a particularly strong English Department. In 2005, Sidwell's AP English Exam scores were the highest of all "Medium-sized" schools (300?799 students in grades 10?12)offering the AP English exam.http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/ap/2006/2006_ap-report-nation.pdf Sidwell does not offer an AP English course.
All students must acquire at least 19 credits before graduating. Students are required to take four years of English, three years of Math, three years of History, two years of one language, two years of Science, and one year of art. In addition to this, all freshmen must take the semester long "Freshman Studies" course. http://sidwell.edu/upper_school/graduationrequirements.asp
Sidwell has one of the region's strongest Chinese studies programs, with classes in Mandarin beginning in Middle School and extensive Chinese history courses offered in the Upper School. Every year the Sidwell Friends Upper School is host to two Chinese exchange students. Sidwell is also a member school of School Year Abroad.
The school's admissions process is merit-based. As documented on the school's website, it gives preference in admissions decisions to members of the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers"), but otherwise does not discriminate on the basis of religion.
Sidwell's sports team are known as the Quakers; their colors are gray and maroon. The Quakers compete in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference for boys' sports (after previously competing in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) until 1999) and the Independent School League (ISL) for girls' sports. Sidwell offers teams in Volleyball, Golf, Cross Country, Football, Field Hockey, Girls and Boys Soccer, Boys and Girls Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling, Boys and Girls Tennis, Baseball, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, Boys and Girls Track, Softball, and Girls Crew.
Sidwell's athletic program has strengthened over the years, with many teams winning city, regional and national accolades. Sidwell has also won the MAC Director's Cup (for overall excellence in Boys sports) for the past 7 years.
Boys' Soccer
In fall, 2006, the boys' varsity soccer team compiled a 19-2 record and was recognized as #9 in the Washington Post Top Ten soccer schools in the metropolitan area. The 2007 Boys Varsity Soccer team again won the MAC Boys' Soccer championship and achieved a second consecutive Washington Post Top Ten ranking, reaching #3 in the final poll with a 20-2 record.
Wrestling
The wrestling program at Sidwell has also been a success, taking 10th place in the national prep tournament in 2003, and winning the DC Classic, a competition among all DC private schools that compete in Wrestling, in 2007 and 2008. In February of 2008, the Boys Varsity Wrestling Team claimed their 7th banner in 9 years of participating in the MAC. It was also their 4th straight banner. They established clear dominance, winning the tournament by over 100 points, and boasted 8 MAC champions and one additional All-MAC selection.
Boys' Basketball
The 2006-2007 Varsity Boys' Basketball team also enjoyed measurable success, winning the school's first ever outright conference championship in Boys' Basketball, as well as completing the most successful conference season in MAC Boys' Basketball history with a 14-0 conference record under coach Duane Simpkins (who left for St. Albans the next year).
Current profile
2004-2005 school year: 1,091 students (563 boys and 528 girls) are enrolled
38% of the student body belong to ethnic minorities
21% of the student body receives some form of financial assistance
The School employs 145 teachers and 98 administrative and support staff.
Tuitions for the 2007-2008 school year are $26,790 (prekindergarten-grade 4) and $27,790 (grades 5-12).[1]
The school never releases its SAT average scores or college admission list. However, the school releases to the most recent alumni class a list of which institutions each recently graduated student is attending.
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