Compare GDS to the Lowell School

[Anonymous]

The school is going to refer you to happy, involved parents. All schools do. At the risk of sounding like Forest Gump, schools are like ice cream flavors. Some people don't like pistachio, it's all about the fit. OP, school visits will help you decide where to apply.

I think many of these comments about mixed reviews predate the new head of school who only started one year ago. The sixth grade placements were stellar, so something's going right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former Lowell parent I think you will be happy there if you give yourself completely over to their way of doing things. If you question the "Lowell Way" or are at all questioning of their philosophy you will be unhappy. That said...their 6th grade class last year had very impressive placements IMHO. Beware the carpool line, however, it is HEINOUS!

Agreed on the carpool line, but with regard to questioning "the Lowell Way" and philosophy, I believe that this poster is referring to the fact that the previous head was quite rigid about these facets of Lowell. The new head (now in her 3rd year so not so new) is very welcoming of feedback and has been responsive to parents who felt some changes were needed.

Current Lowell parent - fifth year at the school. The new head is instituting many changes - including the fact that the carpool line this week has been 12 minutes flat! It appears that there is more academic rigor and consistency across the curriculum and from my perspective the kids seem to be working toward more objective standards. The jury is out on how the kids will perform on standardized tests, but as another posted noted, the kids in last year's class had excellent placements at top schools. I sometimes think of leaving only to avoid the heavy competition when we get to ninth grade, but if you are choosing between Lowell and GDS, I really don't think there is much difference other than the fact that GDS goes through 12th grade.

[Anonymous]

OP,
It's great, in fact essential, to speak with current parents. But since we all view this through the prism of our child's experience, and my child might be quite different from yours, it makes sense to visit and tap your Inner Applicant Voice. You will have one! Schools have a vibe, they send all sorts of messages, conscious or not, that help parents and students formulate an opinion. Also, remember that this is not a restaurant menu and that you may apply to both, prefer one to the other but get accepted to your second choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I sometimes think of leaving only to avoid the heavy competition when we get to ninth grade, but if you are choosing between Lowell and GDS, I really don't think there is much difference other than the fact that GDS goes through 12th grade.

With a kid who attended both Lowell and GDS, I have to disagree that there isn't much difference (i.e., culture, breadth and depth of the curriculum, make up of student body, facilities)

[Anonymous]

15:06 Will you please characterize the differences you've seen/experienced?

[Anonymous]

15:06, please also state which grades your child(ren) attended at each, since Lowell only goes through 6th at this point. I would imagine that MS would be quite different...

[Anonymous]

"Imagine" would be the operant word there. Most of the kids/families are the same, campus/building/facilities are the same, the principals are different but they work with the same Head, the same Director of Studies (who guides hiring/curriculum decisions), the same Admissions people, and the same Board. Even some of the same teachers (arts, PE, foreign language, library).

[Anonymous]

So it is really similar from K to high school is what you are saying? I though that there are a few big entry yeras in there, so I was under the impression that the school would get a bunch of new kids a few times through, whereas at Lowell one would assume that most people don't enter after k, 1, and maybe 2...

[Anonymous]

HS is a different campus and the cohort is much larger -- so yeah, if you compare the same class in PreK (20 kids) vs. 12th grade (120), much has changed.

But LS/MS isn't a major transition. There are significant increases a couple times during LS and the move from 5th (LS) to 6th (MS) doesn't seem any more dramatic -- you add maybe 10 kids to the grade which translates to 2 per classroom (with classes of 14). Part of the reason for having an influx every few years is that you can acculturate newcomers rather than be overwhelmed by them. So it's not the typical public ES/MS transition where 3 different schools converge simultaneously to form a new much bigger one. Kids are coming as individuals and entering at a variety of different years.

MS/HS looks much more dramatic. Class size increases by about 40 (approx 50%) and there's a whole new campus and faculty (except for a few coaches).

[Anonymous]

I don't get all these through-Grade-12 points. A student who goes to Lowell has to go switch schools at Grade 7 or, when the school goes through Grade 8, Grade 9.

[Anonymous]

One PP asserted GDS and Lowell were essentially the same. Another, with kid(s) who had attended both, disagreed. A third asked for an explanation of how they differed. A fourth than said, basically, hold grade constant when you answer which, arguably (e.g. if the DC(s) in question left Lowell to attend GDS and didn't do so mid-year), rendered any attempt to answer subject to the "you aren't comparing apples to apples" objection. A fifth poster rebutted the GDS LS and MS must be "quite different" assumption.

In short, it's an argument about whether/how GDS and Lowell can be compared. Rendered somewhat moot (thus far) by an unwillingness to engage in detail beyond "same" and "different."

[Anonymous]

PP here...the reason I asked the person to clarify differences by grade, is that there is an active poster in the Lowell forums (when they pop up) who had a bad experience at Lowell and later moved to GDS. However this person did this several years ago, so in my view isn't all that helpful when these questions arise! I'd love to hear from a more recent perspective how these schools might differ at the lower grades. If this poster's child is now in 4th or 5th grade and last experienced Lowell at the K-2 grades, I'd say their information is very outdated...But if this a new person who has never posted on the topic, I am very interested in their perspective as I am considering both schools as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:06 Will you please characterize the differences you've seen/experienced?

Unlike Lowell, the student/parent population at GDS is largely Jewish which does impact the culture of the school and to a lesser extent (given that GDS is a secular school) parts of the curriculum given. From a facilities / physical plant (i.e., theaters/black boxes, fields, gyms, libraries) perspective, the differences are quite obvious if you visit each campus. One would expect this given that the endowment and size of the student body (and thus giving population) is considerably larger at GDS. From an academic perspective, there appears to be more performance tracking and accountability earlier on in the grades at GDS versus Lowell. From a curricular perspective (and probably helped by the consistently more thematic nature of study in certain grades), the exposure to topics has more depth at GDS and incorporates more field study / experiential learning. I find that GDS tends to go deep versus broad.

These are just examples. I don't think it's necessary to itemize each difference to present my reasoning. FWIW, I don't have an ax to grind as a Lowell parent alum. I just feel that beyond the fact that both schools are progressive, they are not as similar as one might expect or assume.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the examples!