Bullis Community Update: April 21, 2025

Dear Bullis Families,

My community-wide letters tend to be end-of-month affairs, but there is much to report, and I thought I’d mix things up a little and write to you on this beautiful Monday.

Hiring

Director of Security

As you know, we have been searching for two senior-level protection officers. I am pleased to announce that David Papalia has accepted our offer to be our Director of Security. David joins us with an outstanding 30-year career in law enforcement with the Montgomery County Police Department, most recently serving as a Police Detective Sergeant with MCPD's Vice Intelligence Unit, from which he retired in January. David’s extensive experience in policing and his understanding of the unique needs of independent schools make him an exceptional fit for this role. In the coming months, David will spearhead the hiring process for a final, vital addition to our security team—an Assistant Director of Security. I am confident that under David's leadership, we will identify a fantastic candidate to round out our already strong security team. David officially started his position today--when you see him, please join me in giving him a warm welcome.

Deans

Mao Wang, our Middle School Dean, has accepted Dr. McDaniels offer to become the Grade 9 dean. Mao has extensive experience in upper schools and will provide a wonderful link between the Middle and Upper School, ensuring that there is a smooth transition for those students. Danielle Wilcox, our Assistant Athletic Director, will become the Middle School Dean. Danielle has years of experience with our Middle School and will continue to oversee Middle School athletics, too. She will join incoming Middle School Director Dr. Joe Weinstein-Sears’ fabulous leadership team of Jason Kezmarsky, Tori Scott, and Hannah White. Finally, Grade 10 dean, Dr. Jennifer Tinker, will be returning to her previous role as Upper School English teacher. After a national search, Dr. Celeste McDaniels has appointed Dr. Amanda Ross as the new 10th-grade dean. Amanda is currently the Director of Social and Emotional Learning and Wellness at Fisher Island Day School and comes to Bullis with a wealth of experience.

Enrollment

I am excited to let you know that when we open this coming September, Bullis will have achieved our strategic plan (2021) enrollment goal of 1090 enrolled students. That strategic plan envisioned the “right size” of Bullis at 1090 mission-appropriate students. Originally, that was conceived as 240 students in the Lower School, 240 students in the Middle School, and 610 students in the Upper School. Since then, we have realized that we need more than 610 students in the Upper School in order to populate the myriad co- and extra-curricular programs that we run; we need critical mass! Therefore, we are more likely to have 225 LS students, 235 MS students, and 630 students in the Upper School. As a consequence, the period of unprecedented growth at Bullis is coming to a welcome end! We are thrilled and grateful that we have had the market demand to build the school to its right size, and have arrived at a sustainable point of enrollment maintenance. It is particularly satisfying that this has occurred at the moment we will open the new Lower School building, open the completely renovated Middle School building, and hand over 12 additional classes to the Upper School. September 2, 2025, will be a historic day for Bullis!

Dogs!

You might have seen me outside greeting families last week with two different dogs–Rosie the Labradoodle and Kira the Pomsky. It’s been fun being outside with a furry companion. If you think your pooch might enjoy being showcased, let me know–I am always up for a little doggy playdate first thing in the morning. It’s now two years since our labradoodle, Freddy, went to doggy heaven. We still miss him, but both emotionally and because we are empty nesters, we just aren’t ready for another…yet.

I hope our Jewish families had a Happy Passover last week and that our Christian families enjoyed the Easter celebrations this weekend. As ever, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help with anything. I will write in mid-May with news of our seniors’ college placement. Most have already decided where they are going, but with the deadline for making decisions being May 1, let’s wait until it’s all done and dusted! Suffice it to say that we are proud of them and their choices already.

Warmly,

Christian G. Sullivan
Head of School