GDS vs. Maret - cultural and curricular differences?

[Anonymous]

We are a GDS middle school family and love it for many of the reasons listed above- great highly intelligent cohort of kids, inspired and inspiring teachers, creative approach to learning. That said I think Maret is also great but the deciding factor for us was the class size. I really felt Maret was too small in the High School. I am not sure how many "cultural" differences there are. Maybe GDS appears more "loose" bc of the calling teachers by their first name but the curriculum is rigorous and demanding. I can't comment on Maret's curriculum- we have friends that are happy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For hs, GDS has much more of a college feel than a high school feel. The level of intellectual engagement, breadth of interests, rapport between students and teachers, seriousness of purpose, independence, and respectful socializing with each other is truly impressive. All of the stats are impressive too, but the atmosphere of the school is unlike any other high school, private or public, I've ever visited. It feels much more like a small liberal arts college than a high school. It's certainly a distinctive school, and you and your child should visit to see if it works for your child.

I should add that I don't say any of this in contrast to Maret (the premise of the A v. B thread is a little silly). Lots of great things to say about Maret, but I just don't know it well enough to write.

The premise is silly in some circumstances, but clearly some families are lucky enough to be choosing between the two schools. Literally a "GDS vs. Maret" decision. I find the discussion very interesting and helpful. Thank you to all of you who have posted. Keep it coming!

[Anonymous]

I think the fact that GDS has more kids allows it to offer a pretty wide range of ECs. Theater. Music. Arts. Athletics. Great debate team. Model UN. Need a lot of kids with diverse interests to support all of those programs. From visiting both schools, Maret did feel like more of a community. Defined small campus. Kids all seemed to known each other. Which is best for you really depends on your child (and grade entering).

[Anonymous]

I'm a Sidwell parent, but our kids have many friends who went to or are current students at GDS or Maret. Both are good schools, but Maret has always seemed to me to be less intense than GDS, Sidwell and the Cathedral schools. I mean that as a compliment to Maret -- parents and kids strike me as friendly and unpretentious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Sidwell parent, but our kids have many friends who went to or are current students at GDS or Maret. Both are good schools, but Maret has always seemed to me to be less intense than GDS, Sidwell and the Cathedral schools. I mean that as a compliment to Maret -- parents and kids strike me as friendly and unpretentious.

A serious question: are GDS parents/kids more pretentious?

[Anonymous]

Don't pay any attention to what you read here. Go and visit the schools. Talk to parents. Everything posted here is silly and predictable.

[Anonymous]

Got into GDS and Maret at 9th. Chose Maret. GDS seemed too disorganized and kind of frumpy. Clear focus on kids at the tip top but the next level of kids seemed to be ignored, and I mean that GDS admissions/parent open house for admits indicated that certain things are reserved for top students. My kid would actually be closer to top i suspect but it was off putting. Maret seemed like a community that is inclusive and as a small school it needs to allow a lot of flexibility in participating in activities -- sports, theater, music, debate, model UN etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got into GDS and Maret at 9th. Chose Maret. GDS seemed too disorganized and kind of frumpy. Clear focus on kids at the tip top but the next level of kids seemed to be ignored, and I mean that GDS admissions/parent open house for admits indicated that certain things are reserved for top students. My kid would actually be closer to top i suspect but it was off putting. Maret seemed like a community that is inclusive and as a small school it needs to allow a lot of flexibility in participating in activities -- sports, theater, music, debate, model UN etc.

Like what kind of things? I ask because I am truly interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got into GDS and Maret at 9th. Chose Maret. GDS seemed too disorganized and kind of frumpy. Clear focus on kids at the tip top but the next level of kids seemed to be ignored, and I mean that GDS admissions/parent open house for admits indicated that certain things are reserved for top students. My kid would actually be closer to top i suspect but it was off putting. Maret seemed like a community that is inclusive and as a small school it needs to allow a lot of flexibility in participating in activities -- sports, theater, music, debate, model UN etc.

Like what kind of things? I ask because I am truly interested.

+1

I was there, and I didn't sense that at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got into GDS and Maret at 9th. Chose Maret. GDS seemed too disorganized and kind of frumpy. Clear focus on kids at the tip top but the next level of kids seemed to be ignored, and I mean that GDS admissions/parent open house for admits indicated that certain things are reserved for top students. My kid would actually be closer to top i suspect but it was off putting. Maret seemed like a community that is inclusive and as a small school it needs to allow a lot of flexibility in participating in activities -- sports, theater, music, debate, model UN etc.

As a parent of a high school student at GDs who is definitely not at the tip top, I have to say that unfortunately you very much misread the school. Certainly if your child wants to take something like quantum mechanics, he or she will have to be prepared for it. But there is no bar to a child pursuing whatever they want to pursue academically, socially, or in extracurriculars, there seems to be pretty much a no-cut policy, even if it's not formally stated that way. Students are strongly, strongly encouraged to pursue debate team, model un, drama, dance, and of course sports and an endless list of clubs. I've yet to hear my child say he can't do something because he's been told no by the school. Instead, we are regularly getting emails on all the opportunities at the high school, and he practically lives there with all of his involvements. It really has been a wonderful experience for him at GDS, and we have absolutely no complaints. It's an amazing place. I have nothing but good views of Maret too, but i just felt the need to correct some pretty serious misrepresentations of GDs. Good luck with your decision!

[Anonymous]

Maret is fine. DC chose Maret over GDS and other larger schools for the nurturing and supportive community, and small class size.
The academics are fine. There is differentiation in math beginning in middle school and again in high school. There is history differentiation in 10th grade. Science also starts to differentiate in high school. The curriculum and MSON network do add to the curriculum, but the offerings are still limited in part due to the campus and class size. ( Even MSON classes need a classroom and at least a few kids).
In part, because each grade is so small, even in classes that are divided by ability, there is a wide range of ability which can limit the pace of the class and the depth of material covered.
EC and athletics seem to vary- some teams are definitely "no cuts" and then others do make cuts and are extremely competitive. There are many clubs and activities, yet participation can be sparse.

The small class does feel a bit suffocating, and there are social issues that arise within such a small class.

Overall, Maret is fine, but there are definitely drawbacks to such a small school and in retrospect, we likely would have chosen a bigger school for DC.

[Anonymous]

This is more a question about NCS/STA then amaretto but related. Maret gets knocked regularly for its size, but the Cathedral schools are each similar size though single size, in terms of number of kids per high school grade. Is there a lot of mixing between the two schools academically so it really feels closer to double the size?

[Anonymous]

Sorry - auto correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is more a question about NCS/STA then amaretto but related. Maret gets knocked regularly for its size, but the Cathedral schools are each similar size though single size, in terms of number of kids per high school grade. Is there a lot of mixing between the two schools academically so it really feels closer to double the size?

The more we research schools, the more we are attracted to Maret. Many schools promise individual attention to students, but do not deliver so well. The size of the school, teacher-student ratio, quantity of educational support staff do not add up. Kids fall through the cracks in small and sometimes big ways. So far that I can tell from student and parent testimony, Maret being so small and well staffed means that kids really DO get personal attention and efforts catered to them as individual learners.

Can anyone offer additional comments on this?

[Anonymous]

Maret parent here. There is definitely individual attention there, as well as individual feedback. One example -- we recently got report cards. Rather than just a card with grades, at Maret there is a 7 or 8 page document with grades and lengthy, personal narrative write-ups. First, a write-up summary from the child's advisor, who writes a sum-up of the semester based on the teacher reports plus his/her experience in advisor-advisee sessions. Then, for each class, there's a grade, plus an often lengthy paragraph describing the highs/lows/challenges/etc. for our child in the teacher's class that semester. Teachers not only discuss the semester but also sometimes include advice for the future, and not just generic "come see me if you have a question" advice but advice specific to our kid, indicating that the teacher knows our kid pretty well. I'd bet that for most kids around the US, report cards get read and then put in a drawer or file and not looked at again. Maret's are so detailed and helpful that we and our kids keep them in a desk cubby or pinned up on a cork board so they can be referred to or looked to for inspiration. I'm not kidding!

As for GDS, we didn't even apply for our kids. We're a typical progressive/liberal NWDC family, but GDS has always seemed to us to be a bit too far out on the left-wing spectrum. Maret is definitely well onto that side of the spectrum but not as far out there as GDS.