The Scandal That Rocked Sasha And Malia Obama's Pricey Middle School

With their every move scrutinized, Sasha and Malia Obama had the misfortune of growing up in the full glare of the media spotlight. Luckily, the two escaped without even a whiff of scandal during their father Barack Obama's time in office. However, it's been different for the middle school they both attended.

Malia was 10 and Sasha was 7 when they upped sticks and moved from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Their parents did their best to ensure they lived as normal a life as possible despite the many obstacles they faced. Even more impressive was keeping things controversy-free. Michelle Obama explained why it was so crucial for Sasha and Malia to always put their best foot forward during an episode of "The Light Podcast" (via CNN). "It was no accident that our children had to show up right in the world," Michelle explained. "They carried the burden of making sure they weren't messy because it wouldn't have been laughed off; it wouldn't have been just, 'Oh, it's youthful,' or whatever. It would've been some statement about the soul of Black folks."

Still, the Obamas couldn't control things outside their family, such as what went down at their daughters' pricey middle school, Sidwell Friends, which Chelsea Clinton, Tricia Nixon Cox, and two of President Joe Biden's granddaughters also attended, according to Politico. The establishment was hit with a sensationalist sex scandal in 2011, leading to a nasty lawsuit.

Sasha and Malia Obama's middle school, Sidwell Friends, in Washington D.C., was rocked by accusations of sexual misconduct in 2011. The Daily Mail reported that one of the pupil's fathers, Arthur Newmyer, slapped the establishment with a $10 million lawsuit, claiming the school's psychologist, James Huntington, slept with his wife, Tara Newmyer, with the school's full knowledge, while he was counseling pupils about a sex scandal involving a teacher having inappropriate relations with a pupil.

Court documents allege that Huntington also taught sex education to sixth graders from 2009-2011, which would have included Malia's class. In addition, it claims Huntington "sent sexually explicit messages from his school email address" and slept with Tara in a hotel while Arthur's 5-year-old daughter, who was his student, was in the next room. 

It's not the only time the elite school has hit the headlines. The Washington Post ran a story in 2019 claiming parents of Sidwell Friends were sabotaging students to give their kids a better chance of placing at an Ivy League school. Director of college counseling Patrick Gallagher was forced to email parents, informing them that anonymous complaints would not be tolerated. "If a parent ever feels the need to inform me or my colleagues regarding the actions of a child that is not their own — I will ask you to leave my office or end the phone conversation," Gallagher wrote.

One thing's for sure: neither Sasha nor Malia Obama were affected by any school saboteur attempts by pushy parents. Malia headed off to Harvard after graduating from Sidwell Friends. Meanwhile, Sasha opted for a non-Ivy League college, the University of Michigan, before transferring to the University of Southern California. The Los Angeles Times reported that Barack and Michelle Obama caused a major stir when they popped up at their youngest daughter's graduation in May 2023 despite their best attempts to keep things low-key.

Meanwhile, Michelle reportedly had some sage words of advice for Malia before she headed off to Harvard in 2017. "Don't wind up on Page Six," Page Six claimed she told the audience at 2018's Klick Health's Muse event in New York. "I don't know if she managed that," Michelle continued.

Just because her girls have graduated college and are all grown up doesn't mean Michelle has stopped advising them. She told Hoda Hotb on "The Light Podcast" (via CNBC) that she's warned her girls not to fall into marriage and kids just because they think society expects it. "I want my daughters growing up to understand they can have whatever life they choose," Michelle said. "As long as they are happy, we've got their backs," she says. "I want my daughters to have a broad view of what happiness can look like."