culture at GDS high school?

[Anonymous]

thats just what other parents told me. the mom has new students in 9th grade at gds and is organizing some non profit but dragging her kids along bc she thinks will get them into HYP. its quite strange but mb more common at other schools. not at gds.

[Anonymous]

I'm also an actual GDS parent. I find the culture at the HS to be wonderful. Teachers are caring and super smart and dedicated, for the most part. They really care about connecting with the students. The breadth of course offerings is amazing. I disagree with the poster who suggested that students can go narrow. They have distribution requirements and I believe everyone takes 4 years of English, math, history, and science. Arts program is so impressive. I also think that the majority of kids seem pretty mainstream and conventional and not particularly quirky at all. There is room for all types. It's a warm, accepting, and joyful place. I have had two kids go through the HS and I haven't seen the crazy competitiveness/crazy parents that other PPs describe. Maybe it is there in some small segment, but that's not been our experience at all.

[Anonymous]

My son is a HS student at GDS (entered in 9th) and we have found it not to be cutthroat at all. It is demanding, and I think some people equate that to cutthroatedness, but I have detected literally no competitive tension with other students. I think GDS students tend to be less driven by competition and more by self-motivation. I’m sure there are pockets of competition that I’m not seeing, but it’s not inherent in the culture.

The comments about the HS being run like a college are spot-on. I have been shocked by the level of autonomy the students are given (e.g., my son has no standard “start time” for the school day - it varies by day depending on his class schedule and whatever he might want to get done before class starts). And the course catalog does read a lot like a SLAC’s catalog — lots of specific, focused classes are available.

I can see how some kids would thrive in this environment and others might need more structure and direction. It’s worked out well for us but it probably isn’t for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. my daughter is a freshman. Pretty mainstream as are her friends. You will have a mix of ppl. Some chill and some cut throat. One parent was recently reported to the counselor bc she was trying to play a game by starting a nonprofit and saying her kids did it. This was in the context of resume padding. But that was unusual at gds. my daughter works hard but has a busy social life.

Wtf? Spill more deets?

More interesting to me is that she was tattled on by another parent...Sounds like a very nice community you have there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. my daughter is a freshman. Pretty mainstream as are her friends. You will have a mix of ppl. Some chill and some cut throat. One parent was recently reported to the counselor bc she was trying to play a game by starting a nonprofit and saying her kids did it. This was in the context of resume padding. But that was unusual at gds. my daughter works hard but has a busy social life.

Wtf? Spill more deets?

More interesting to me is that she was tattled on by another parent...Sounds like a very nice community you have there.

NP here (and not GDS) - I'm not one to gossip but you have to admit this one is over the top so I wouldn't call it tattling. That's something that I'd actually talk about. The more significant line I see that has been crossed here is then posting that story on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

IQ is not a requirement to apply for private school. Just good grades, activities, a killer essay and an good interview

[Anonymous]

You had me at 'our education consultant'

[Anonymous]

Well why did the consultant only recommend GDS?

My question is if an aspergers child would do well in their middle and upper school? Anyone know?

[Anonymous]

Another GDS high school parent here. I wouldn't call the atmosphere "cut throat" but I do think the kids feel lots of academic pressure. It's an academically oriented school that is not dominated by the jocks or the preppies or popular kids. In 9th and 10th grades, there is no/little differentiating by achievement levels so there can be a wide gap between the academic high flyers and "normal" smart UMC kids in any given classroom. It shows up in discussions in class and with each other. My DC says everyone knows who the super capable kids in their class are and it is hard not to compare themselves to the exceptional ones. Most of the high flyers really enjoy having academic peers at their level. And most of the "normal" study harder and work longer to keep up. More often than not, it's the students who load the pressure on themselves rather than the parents. No one should need to do homework until midnight most nights, but some do. My DC took calculus in 11th grade, but did not consider themselves a good math student because they had friends taking multi-variate already. The student' internalized pressure gets worse in some ways once the college process starts and students start taking the really advanced electives. "Normal" students shooting for elite colleges can drive themselves well past healthy limits to stay on par with the superstars and there is not much parents or the school can do to get them to stop.

[Anonymous]

Who is it dominated by? Anyone or is it quite disparate?

We’ve been to some events and seen who gets the cheers and crowds, it’s not the sports teams much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well why did the consultant only recommend GDS?

My question is if an aspergers child would do well in their middle and upper school? Anyone know?

It really depends on the specific needs of the student. I have an NT student at gds and an "Asperger's" student (although that diagnosis hasn't been used in either your or my child's life) not at gds. My autistic student needs much more executive function support than gds can offer and the workload would be overwhelming and anxiety-producing. Writing assignments in particular don't provide the scaffolding my autistic child needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another GDS high school parent here. I wouldn't call the atmosphere "cut throat" but I do think the kids feel lots of academic pressure. It's an academically oriented school that is not dominated by the jocks or the preppies or popular kids. In 9th and 10th grades, there is no/little differentiating by achievement levels so there can be a wide gap between the academic high flyers and "normal" smart UMC kids in any given classroom. It shows up in discussions in class and with each other. My DC says everyone knows who the super capable kids in their class are and it is hard not to compare themselves to the exceptional ones. Most of the high flyers really enjoy having academic peers at their level. And most of the "normal" study harder and work longer to keep up. More often than not, it's the students who load the pressure on themselves rather than the parents. No one should need to do homework until midnight most nights, but some do. My DC took calculus in 11th grade, but did not consider themselves a good math student because they had friends taking multi-variate already. The student' internalized pressure gets worse in some ways once the college process starts and students start taking the really advanced electives. "Normal" students shooting for elite colleges can drive themselves well past healthy limits to stay on par with the superstars and there is not much parents or the school can do to get them to stop.

Would you switch schools or do public if you could do over?

[Anonymous]

Is there school on Wednesdays or does GdS have a 4 day week? More self-tutelage model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there school on Wednesdays or does GdS have a 4 day week? More self-tutelage model?

Nice try but move along.

[Anonymous]

PP must not be part of the GDS community for asking the question about Wednesdays.