Our Stories

This year, we are welcoming Leigh Gilman to MILTON as our new Director of Admission. In addition to being a highly accomplished educational leader, she is also a former MILTON parent!

We met with Leigh to talk about what she does as Director of Admission, her approach to the role, and how her backgrounds in education and with MILTON inform her work.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you do as the Director of Admission?

I’m in charge of admission for Early Elementary, which is Pre-K, kindergarten and first grade. I’m also doing a lot of recruitment, because Pre-K and kindergarten are big entry years.

What does recruitment look like?

We have both open houses and opportunities for families to have 1:1 tours of the school. We also do events with the PJ library, which are ways of reaching out to people who maybe have not even heard of MILTON, but are looking for an activity for their young child on a Sunday. We have snacks, playtime, and a story and art project led by a teacher. We usually have them on campus, but we did our latest one at Washington Hebrew to build relationships in that neighborhood. We might try events in Petworth or Rock Creek Park to let people know we’re out there and what it’s like to be involved with the community. You get to see what one of our teachers is like, and talk to our parent ambassadors who come to all of these events.

What does the application process look like for Early Elementary?

First, the parents fill out an online application and we ask their current teachers to fill out an evaluation. Then, we have two Sundays in January where they come in for an hour-long screening. For half of it, they are in a play group, with five or six other kids who are applying for the same class. A teacher leads them through a story and a game just to see how they interact, how well they separate from their parents, and what extra support we’d need if we had them at our school. The second half is the actual screening where they’re one on one with a teacher who sees what developmental milestones they’ve hit—where they are with pre-reading, numeracy, and other things. And then finally, I interview the parents.

What brought you to this role?

I was a Latin teacher for 30 years. I taught at five independent schools over those years. For the last 22 years, I was at Sidwell Friends, and I was starting to think about what I was going to do next. And then a friend told me I should apply for the Admission position. At first, I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be at a school and not be a teacher. 

But then I reflected on the experience I had over the years. I had been on the admission committee at Sidwell. I feel very strongly about MILTON—I was a parent here, so I know a lot about it. My kids were so happy here, and I’ve made some of my closest friends, and some of the teachers my kids had are still here. So I thought, I can sell this school. 

I also know how the independent school world works from both sides. My kids went through it, and professionally, I’ve taught in several different independent schools and I’ve seen how different schools function. And I also wanted to work with people, and in this position I’m working with parents and getting to listen to them talk about their kids. It turns out I love hearing them do that.

How does your experience as an alumni parent at MILTON (JPDS at the time) inform your work now? 

I can see the school through a parent’s eyes and empathize with their hopes (and worries). But now my kids are launched, having gone from JPDS to Sidwell, and now to college. I know MILTON gave them a great start! It made them happy to be Jewish and to be in school, and then it helped them to transition to different schools after graduating. When they found out I was applying for this job, they were so excited.

Do you remember what it was like to apply to MILTON?

I remember I came to an open house at night. We were shown a video that choked me up a little! It was very warm and fuzzy. I remember appreciating that JPDS sent someone to observe my son in his current preschool so they could get a full picture of him. 

When you’re giving tours and talking to prospective parents, do you use your background in education?

I do! I was the Foreign Language department head at Sidwell, and I evaluated all the teachers in my department. I observed Spanish classes, French classes, and Chinese classes. So even though I don’t know Hebrew, I know how to talk about second language acquisition, and I know what good language teaching looks like. As a whole, I’m able to talk about education and child development in an informed way and to help families tune into the nuances of what’s happening in the classroom. 

As the clerk of the faculty at Sidwell (clerking is a role unique to Quaker organizations, I think), I learned to pause before making decisions and listen for unity in group discussions. I think these are useful things to know in any situation, but especially in school admissions. I also acted as a faculty representative to the administration, including during COVID, so I know how to have difficult conversations! 

What are your goals in this role?

Ultimately, I would love it if MILTON was on every Jewish family’s mind as they think about the educational landscape of DC. I also want to make sure we are accessible to the entire Jewish community. I stepped into a great and growing program, so my goal is to maintain that and keep the momentum going!