GDS middle school

[Anonymous]

I think GDS admissions process is not great. We went through it last year and multiple people reminded me that admissions is not the school and to try to see beyond that experience because once you’re in the school, you obviously don’t need to deal with admissions ever again. Our tour was pretty lacklustre, the interview was nothing much and I was sure our kid wouldn’t get in based on all of that. We knew a lot about the school from other families so we’re excited to attend despite the poor experience. So I guess I’m saying, if you haven’t found the tours or admissions experience to be good, try not to be put off and try to speak to families to find out more about it if you’re unsure

[Anonymous]

The parents CAN know what the kids are learning. But they encourage the parents to be hands off. Parents make their own choices about that.

I can go on the portal and see exactly what my kids' assignments are in the various classes. But I don't do that because I think it's a better idea to encourage thinking about what the homework is and then making a plan to get it done during the afternoon hours, rather than me saying exactly what to do and when.

I think a really important MS parent responsibility is to teach kids good executive function skills. That way when they get to HS and there is so much more homework to do, they are in the habit of remembering assignments and planning when to do things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum is spelled out with specificity in the course catalog on their website. Did you have specific questions or concerns? In 7th and 8th grade, students choose 1-2 arts to focus on.

I mean the quality of the teaching of these subjects as I didn't really see much student projects. Are there hands-on projects in science? How is learning outcome evaluated?

There is something really odd about the OP's post. Did you actually take the tour? Did you look at the GDS website? https://www.gds.org/academics/middle-school

How can one evaluate the quality of teaching and learning experience from website?

Valid question. From what I have experienced with the academic preparedness of their teachers,is that it’s not the strongest seeing that they are not trained, meaning licensed teachers. Elementary and middle school are the foundation of developing learning skills, self regulation, and baseline to advanced knowledge in content areas. GDS teachers as nice ans try, but they are are not equipped to meet the needs of instruction and I know this from personal experience. You should direct your questions of instruction to their assistant head of curriculum. That person should be able to share more with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

I would prefer to know that my student is good at skills X and Y but still needs to work on Z, then to get a B in English. But if that's not what you want, GDS isn't the right school for you. And that's ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

But the grades might not tell you much about if they are good at XYZ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

We had issues with student evaluations in MS, but a concern that it was shielding students from the harsh realities of letter grades wasn't one of them. Anyone who believes that MS students at GDS aren't keenly aware of what letter grades are is naive at best. Whether accurate or not, it seemed like most kids simply converted the adjectives into a letter grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

We had issues with student evaluations in MS, but a concern that it was shielding students from the harsh realities of letter grades wasn't one of them. Anyone who believes that MS students at GDS aren't keenly aware of what letter grades are is naive at best. Whether accurate or not, it seemed like most kids simply converted the adjectives into a letter grade.

They actually don’t align that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

There's plenty of feedback that we found more meaningful and actionable than A, B, C, etc .

Doubtful. Fifth and sixth grade is no longer nursery school. It's the time that students should be learning what letter grades mean, as they will encounter them for the rest of their academic careers. It's not all about "feedback." This is one of those (many) things that GDS seems to pride itself on, just to try to be different, that I would find annoying and deal-breaking.

I would prefer to know that my student is good at skills X and Y but still needs to work on Z, then to get a B in English. But if that's not what you want, GDS isn't the right school for you. And that's ok.

How about both, which is what most schools give? This avoidance of grades for students of that age is just silly and pointless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS MS family. We have been very happy there. The academics are strong and most teachers have been great. I think at any school not every teacher is perfect. We looked at many private schools and it's pretty common that the level of academic expectations is lower than in HS - and lower still in elementary/lower schools. But they are learning a lot. They have some homework, not excessively so but enough to be building executive function skills. There are some opportunities for math acceleration for those for whom it's warranted as well.

It's a "progressive school" meaning students do more projects, group work, discussions, and so on rather than cranking through a lot of facts and textbooks. You have to decide what's right for your kid. To what end do you want "rigor" - is the kid someone who learns best memorizing facts? Or they just want to not be bored like they were at their ES? Or you want them to get into a top college?

Also, the social-emotional journey in MS is really significant. Kids are changing a lot and feel really insecure about themselves, their bodies, etc. Often there is bullying in MS at many schools. GDS does a great job of teaching kids values and addressing dangerous TikTok trends if they are cropping up in the school. I think this is really important.

Most of all GDS has a parent community who is interested in being at the first integrated school in DC. That stuff isn't being hammered into the kids all the time but they do have assemblies where they talk about values and the parents lean a certain way. The 7th graders learn about the Haitian Revolution which I didn't learn about in my public school many years ago.

There is less of a focus on country clubs and so forth than we hear there is from some other school communities. If you would like to be at a potluck with parents who are this kind of people then GDS could be the right school. If you want a more traditional private school parent base then you may prefer the parent community at a different school.

I do know someone who went to open houses or tours (years ago) and said "they talked a lot about diversity and not a lot about math." I can assure you the kids learn math and can go on to take more advanced math in HS and really advanced math in college if that's the direction they want to go in life.

+1 if advanced math is a kid’s thing, GDS HS has one of the most advanced math curriculums of any school in the area

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully it’s the weakest part of the school and it doesn’t fully prepare kids for the gds high school. Maybe that’s just a general middle school thing. But the high school is unbelievable. So it’s worth it if you are in for the whole ride

Why doesn't it prepare the kids for high school? So families stay put for the four years middle school just for the high school?

Not four years. 5th/6th not really the issue and some lovely teachers. There are no grades and not that much work. That would be useful in 7th and particularly 8th grade so they are ready bc the high school is the real deal.

Some people started in elementary school - for some it’s still better than their public middle school. But I’d still do the gds package over other comparable schools but the high school is rigorous and they’ll really learn to write — and it’s a joyful place to be

No grades in 5/6 grade? Wow. That seems…. Shortsighted at best.

Eh, I went to a K-8 school that did no letter grades at any point. It didn't mean no feedback – you still got %s on math and science tests, written feedback on essays, etc. I then went to a traditional high school and adjusted to letter grades without issue. Kids generally get how they work.