GDS Lower School

[Anonymous]

Without any firsthand knowledge whatsoever, my guess is that interviews/offer/hiring should be wrapping up pretty soon. Announcement e-mail for the current LS principal went out on March 29, 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The outgoing principal was atrocious. There is very little discipline and I have witnessed some pretty terrible behavior there with no repercussions. Not the warmest or kindest children in my daughter's grade but she seems happy. The school really lacks in the social emotion component in lower school. Very little detail or focus on treating others with kindness or even teaching good community values. With all this being said, we have loved all of her teachers and think the academics are top notch.

I have two children there and strongly disagree with everything in this post except for the part about strong academics. The school is not perfect, for sure, but there is a lot of SEL and emphasis on kindness and community.

[Anonymous]

Have they hired a lower school principal yet?

[Anonymous]

Kid there since 1st and in high school now. The lower school was lovely and kind. Great teachers. They have had lots of turnover in their principals in LS, middle school, high school. We were fine w the academics. They learn to think and write which is what we care about. You want intense math and science? Go elsewhere. The middle school is the weak link and they don’t give grades or prepare the kids for their own high school. The hs is, however, amazing.

[Anonymous]

It was recently announced by HOS that GDS hired Christy Diefenderfer - Holton Arm's lower school director as the new lower school principal.

[Anonymous]

We absolutely love the GDS lower school. My child is so happy, learning a ton, and has great friends. We’ve loved all our teachers.

[Anonymous]

Christy is top notch! a great hire for GDS. Big loss for Holton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any thoughts on GDS Lower School? We are considering but curious of how things are with climate and culture? Staff? Principal? Students? Instruction? Etc.

GDS does not have a strong LS program- be careful. Students are not receiving math and reading instruction on a level that creates a foundation for academic success in the later years. Save your child the struggles, send them to a school with a clear curriculum!

Agree. Their math program is 1-2 years behind that of the top public schools in the area…

[Anonymous]

It is true that the LS curricula are not particularly innovative or rigorous, this is not news. If you feel that this is something to "be careful" about, especially PK-3, your money would be better spent elsewhere, honest advice. My kids are older and the academics are truly fantastic. Does that mean they are better than other similar schools? I have no idea, but would guess not. The outgoing LS principle was absolutely fantastic, I'm sad she is leaving!

[Anonymous]

Have sent both kids to GDS as lifers. LMS is warm, teachers are excellent, and families are committed to seeing their children thrive. We have not had to deal with admin, so I have no idea if they are effective or not. Children loved school. My biggest complaint is that the teachers are far too easy on the kids, academically, and spend way too much time on the social justice issues instead of core math and reading. They are victims of progressive academic philosophies, even when studies later show that some of these approaches do not help kids to learn. Teachers waited too long to admit that kids need phonics, for example, and did not push my kids to memorize times tables. (We ended up hiring tutors, like so, so many GDS families.) Also, and I hope the school is rethinking this, even 8th graders do not receive letter grades, so the transition to HS is rough. (Again, victims of their own progressive philosophy, rather than admitting what is in the best interest of the kids as students.)