Getting the GDS mojo back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know very little about GDS, but am familiar with Flint Hill. I'm not sure that the "Flint Hill Effect" applies equally to GDS. Flint Hill has taken less of a hit to its Upper School compared to the dwindling Lower and Middle Schools due, at least in part, to the fact that there are very few other options for private high school in Northern Virginia. There are many opportunities and choices for families living near GDS.

To this point, my child's private (elementary) school has many AU Park students attending. My child's private school is walkable to AU park.

For many of us, even safe and adequate public school isn't what we want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know very little about GDS, but am familiar with Flint Hill. I'm not sure that the "Flint Hill Effect" applies equally to GDS. Flint Hill has taken less of a hit to its Upper School compared to the dwindling Lower and Middle Schools due, at least in part, to the fact that there are very few other options for private high school in Northern Virginia. There are many opportunities and choices for families living near GDS.

To this point, my child's private (elementary) school has many AU Park students attending. My child's private school is walkable to AU park.

For many of us, even safe and adequate public school isn't what we want.

Sounds like NPS.

[Anonymous]

GDS has serious problems right now -- some structural and some related to leadership (both the top administrators and the Board). It's a school that is trading on its past rather than building on it and it risks losing its strongest African-American students (especially but not exclusively boys) if it doesn't make significant changes. It's also losing good teachers (especially younger ones) over some of these issues.

The events of this year have put the Board and the Administration on notice regarding the nature and severity of the problems. And some structures (e.g. a taskforce on discipline) have been put in place to consider reforms. Whether GDS does the soul searching and the hard work necessary to fix what's broken and to live up to its mission is really an open question at this point. The need for massive fundraising to pull off the campus consolidation project complicates the picture because it seems to be producing a kind of desperate boosterism that's at odds with a candid assessment of what's going wrong (or not working) and why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know very little about GDS, but am familiar with Flint Hill. I'm not sure that the "Flint Hill Effect" applies equally to GDS. Flint Hill has taken less of a hit to its Upper School compared to the dwindling Lower and Middle Schools due, at least in part, to the fact that there are very few other options for private high school in Northern Virginia. There are many opportunities and choices for families living near GDS.

To this point, my child's private (elementary) school has many AU Park students attending. My child's private school is walkable to AU park.

For many of us, even safe and adequate public school isn't what we want.

Sounds like NPS.

There are plenty of schools walkable to AU Park, from WIS and Cathedral Schools, to Burke, Sheridan etc. It isn't a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS has serious problems right now -- some structural and some related to leadership (both the top administrators and the Board). It's a school that is trading on its past rather than building on it and it risks losing its strongest African-American students (especially but not exclusively boys) if it doesn't make significant changes. It's also losing good teachers (especially younger ones) over some of these issues.

The events of this year have put the Board and the Administration on notice regarding the nature and severity of the problems. And some structures (e.g. a taskforce on discipline) have been put in place to consider reforms. Whether GDS does the soul searching and the hard work necessary to fix what's broken and to live up to its mission is really an open question at this point. The need for massive fundraising to pull off the campus consolidation project complicates the picture because it seems to be producing a kind of desperate boosterism that's at odds with a candid assessment of what's going wrong (or not working) and why.

I am curious about the bolded statement. I think a lot of private schools (and public schools as well) have an issue with unfair discipline towards AA kids especially boys. I know GDS is a popular option for AA families, but is it doing something specific towards AA kids? I can see that maybe white kids because they have more money may get away things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS has serious problems right now -- some structural and some related to leadership (both the top administrators and the Board). It's a school that is trading on its past rather than building on it and it risks losing its strongest African-American students (especially but not exclusively boys) if it doesn't make significant changes. It's also losing good teachers (especially younger ones) over some of these issues.

The events of this year have put the Board and the Administration on notice regarding the nature and severity of the problems. And some structures (e.g. a taskforce on discipline) have been put in place to consider reforms. Whether GDS does the soul searching and the hard work necessary to fix what's broken and to live up to its mission is really an open question at this point. The need for massive fundraising to pull off the campus consolidation project complicates the picture because it seems to be producing a kind of desperate boosterism that's at odds with a candid assessment of what's going wrong (or not working) and why.

I am curious about the bolded statement. I think a lot of private schools (and public schools as well) have an issue with unfair discipline towards AA kids especially boys. I know GDS is a popular option for AA families, but is it doing something specific towards AA kids? I can see that maybe white kids because they have more money may get away things.

To tell the truth, my impression is that private schools, if anything, tend to bend over backwards the other way. They are very careful about discipline unless the facts are 100% clear and after having given every benefit of the doubt in the past. In today's climate, schools which see themselves as progressive are very skittish about being perceived as somehow being "insensitive."

[Anonymous]

Where GDS has to do some serious reappraisal is over the PUD plan. However well-intentioned the motivation, it's become an albatross. It's telling that Sidwell Friends School announced its own campus expansion near Tenleytown some 15 months after GDS launched its ambitious plans. Yet despite its much later start, Sidwell got all of its approvals last March, with no one from the community testifying in opposition. Meanwhile, GDS has faced much opposition and roadblocks from DC planning authorities. Perhaps the differences in outcome have to do with project size and scope and perhaps with the approach to community engagement. GDS needs to concentrate on the campus plan. The school has demonstrated they know how to educate children well, but the school leadership is operating out of its wheelhouse with taking on commercial development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know very little about GDS, but am familiar with Flint Hill. I'm not sure that the "Flint Hill Effect" applies equally to GDS. Flint Hill has taken less of a hit to its Upper School compared to the dwindling Lower and Middle Schools due, at least in part, to the fact that there are very few other options for private high school in Northern Virginia. There are many opportunities and choices for families living near GDS.

To this point, my child's private (elementary) school has many AU Park students attending. My child's private school is walkable to AU park.

For many of us, even safe and adequate public school isn't what we want.

Sounds like NPS.

There are plenty of schools walkable to AU Park, from WIS and Cathedral Schools, to Burke, Sheridan etc. It isn't a factor.

The only walkable "elementary" (identified by OP) is NPS. Maybe Sheridan, but it's not technically an elementary because it has a middle school. None of the others would be a reasonable walk for an elementary-aged child. Plus, there are a lot of NPS families in AU park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where GDS has to do some serious reappraisal is over the PUD plan. However well-intentioned the motivation, it's become an albatross. It's telling that Sidwell Friends School announced its own campus expansion near Tenleytown some 15 months after GDS launched its ambitious plans. Yet despite its much later start, Sidwell got all of its approvals last March, with no one from the community testifying in opposition. Meanwhile, GDS has faced much opposition and roadblocks from DC planning authorities. Perhaps the differences in outcome have to do with project size and scope and perhaps with the approach to community engagement. GDS needs to concentrate on the campus plan. The school has demonstrated they know how to educate children well, but the school leadership is operating out of its wheelhouse with taking on commercial development.

+1 the neighbors know the GDS plan is a scheme that will make some developer friends and family of the school a ton of money. The neighbors should keep up the fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where GDS has to do some serious reappraisal is over the PUD plan. However well-intentioned the motivation, it's become an albatross. It's telling that Sidwell Friends School announced its own campus expansion near Tenleytown some 15 months after GDS launched its ambitious plans. Yet despite its much later start, Sidwell got all of its approvals last March, with no one from the community testifying in opposition. Meanwhile, GDS has faced much opposition and roadblocks from DC planning authorities. Perhaps the differences in outcome have to do with project size and scope and perhaps with the approach to community engagement. GDS needs to concentrate on the campus plan. The school has demonstrated they know how to educate children well, but the school leadership is operating out of its wheelhouse with taking on commercial development.

Mostly this more than anything else. Sidwell needed zoning relief from the BZA to operate a school in the soon to be former Washingron Home space, whereas GDS is going through a PUD process for all of the parcels related to its consolidation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where GDS has to do some serious reappraisal is over the PUD plan. However well-intentioned the motivation, it's become an albatross. It's telling that Sidwell Friends School announced its own campus expansion near Tenleytown some 15 months after GDS launched its ambitious plans. Yet despite its much later start, Sidwell got all of its approvals last March, with no one from the community testifying in opposition. Meanwhile, GDS has faced much opposition and roadblocks from DC planning authorities. Perhaps the differences in outcome have to do with project size and scope and perhaps with the approach to community engagement. GDS needs to concentrate on the campus plan. The school has demonstrated they know how to educate children well, but the school leadership is operating out of its wheelhouse with taking on commercial development.

Mostly this more than anything else. Sidwell needed zoning relief from the BZA to operate a school in the soon to be former Washingron Home space, whereas GDS is going through a PUD process for all of the parcels related to its consolidation.

The GDS project is more complex than Sidwell's. That said, the NW Current reported that Sidwell has spent years nurturing its relationship with the neighborhood and then with the Washington Home purchase, Sidwell worked hard and made meaningful concessions to address their concerns. It seems that GDS took the view that it could largely stick to its plans, despite local opposition, because it expected the DC Office of Planning to support it. But then OP didn't. Perhaps by doing the campus expansion and the PUD, GDS bit off more than it (or any independent school) could chew.

[Anonymous]

GDS's public outreach on its commercial development/PUD seems both high-handed yet ham-handed at the same time. They acted as if they were entitled to the zoning map amendment and then were shocked and offended when DC's Planning Office declined to support them. They try to suggest public support for their plans through some new community "grassroots" group, when GDS's website lists the group's leader as a key member of the alumni council. The attitude that dismisses legitimate concerns and takes everyone for fools has proven counter-productive.

[Anonymous]

Not to defend them, but one can be a neighbor and an alum at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know very little about GDS, but am familiar with Flint Hill. I'm not sure that the "Flint Hill Effect" applies equally to GDS. Flint Hill has taken less of a hit to its Upper School compared to the dwindling Lower and Middle Schools due, at least in part, to the fact that there are very few other options for private high school in Northern Virginia. There are many opportunities and choices for families living near GDS.

Good point. In NW, there are a lot of great elementary options both public and private, but is really important to fill those lower school spaces because you need a core group to stay through high school. True kids leave over the years, but it is important long term to fill those lower school spots. You are right there a lot of good private high schools in NW and surrounding areas. I think as the tuition goes up and public schools and charters improve, there will be less demand for GDS' high school because it does not have the same cachet as Cathedrals and Sidwell which incidentally have larger endowments.

What is interesting about GDS (and Sidwell and the Cathedral Schools as well) is the number of kids attending who live in Maryland and Virginia. I think the prevailing belief once was that DC residents used the schools in lieu of public but, now, many seats are filled by kids from excellent suburban school districts. I'm not in a position to speculate as to why these families aren't choosing public.

I went to Sidwell in the 70s and 80s. I lived in Maryland. Many (probably the majority actually) of my classmates lived in MD, a few in VA, and a good chunk in Cleveland Park. This is not a new thing at all. Sidwell may be somewhat unique since the LS is located in Bethesda so certainly attracted lots of kids from Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS has serious problems right now -- some structural and some related to leadership (both the top administrators and the Board). It's a school that is trading on its past rather than building on it and it risks losing its strongest African-American students (especially but not exclusively boys) if it doesn't make significant changes. It's also losing good teachers (especially younger ones) over some of these issues.

The events of this year have put the Board and the Administration on notice regarding the nature and severity of the problems. And some structures (e.g. a taskforce on discipline) have been put in place to consider reforms. Whether GDS does the soul searching and the hard work necessary to fix what's broken and to live up to its mission is really an open question at this point. The need for massive fundraising to pull off the campus consolidation project complicates the picture because it seems to be producing a kind of desperate boosterism that's at odds with a candid assessment of what's going wrong (or not working) and why.

I am curious about the bolded statement. I think a lot of private schools (and public schools as well) have an issue with unfair discipline towards AA kids especially boys. I know GDS is a popular option for AA families, but is it doing something specific towards AA kids? I can see that maybe white kids because they have more money may get away things.

Definitely a situation where kids whose parents are lawyers will not be (successfully) subjected to the same sorts of arbitrary and harsh discipline that has been inflicted on other kids. As for the racial dimension, the perception is both that a disproportionate number of African American boys disappear from the high school and that AA children generally are less likely to have their grievances taken seriously by the school. There's a tendency to cover up or downplay racialized aggression to protect the school's image. GDS parents with kids in different schools have said publicly that some of the BS their kids have had to deal with at GDS would never be tolerated at other local privates. Discipline at GDS is highly personalized and unchecked power is left in the hands of a few individuals. The due process rights that students have in public school settings are missing and the 24/7 policies encompassing off campus conduct have created a situation in which only a few are punished for conduct that is widespread.

The problems aren't limited to discipline. There appears to be a fairly significant achievement gap, especially in math. Differentiation doesn't begin until middle school and it starts with individual teachers slipping accelerated work packets to some kids but not making them available to those who express an interest. And the Diversity Office, which was once one of GDS's greatest strengths (both internally and externally), has been really gutted. It's not the resource it once was -- for students, teachers, or parents.