GDS high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are we looking at the same MS report cards? Our kids had very specific course standards listed for each of the core classes. And the teachers described in the comments specifically where they did well and/or could improve for certain course standards.

My recollection, and perhaps I am mistaken, was that my DCs MS report cards included specific language about areas for improvement but it all felt very boilerplate, as if teachers were limited to include language from a particular script. The comments seemed much less revealing and less thoughtful than they had been for my older children when the report cards were not tied to the current rubric. Maybe I am wrong about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher of 10+ years experience applying to teach at GDS and the first question they asked me in the interview was “what experience do you have in social justice?”

Good god. I’m a GDS parent and that’s perhaps the worst thing I’ve read on this thread so far.

And there have been some pretty damning and true things posted.

This is exactly how that HS physics teacher was hired two years ago. Dude literally knew zero physics. Parents and students kept complaining.

It took a year to get him out. The poor kids who had him.

They could have picked a rando off the streets who would have known more physics.

Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes.

My kid liked him. He was very personable. Perhaps they should have moved him to the middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the parent of a senior and reading this thread has been incredibly validating and depressing. There are themes here that repeat over and over.
1. Teachers are generally great
2. Administration sucks- specifically, it's unorganized and controlled by the DEI agenda that squashes sophisticated and nuanced discussion.
3. Kids generally are happy but if you make any mistake- especially something DEI related you will be cancelled
4. Russell is overpaid
5. The senior class this year is doing well vis a vis college admissions but that has to do with the specifics of the kids not the college office. And the jury is still out. Not all acceptances are back.

Russell practically has a cult following at the school. You cannot say a word against him

[Anonymous]

My GDS grad is a junior in college now. I don't think they could've been any more prepared for college - both academically and socially, and their GDS friends will be their friends for life. Don't know what more you can ask for from a high school experience.

[Anonymous]

This post is quite personal as you can identify the individual questioned / criticized. Are you so isolated from other parents at the school that you need to bring this issue to a public forum? This is public shaming and I do not understand why this is permitted. Of course, you do not sign your post. That principal is a person, a human being. How would you feel is someone would do this to you? Typical passive aggressive / coward behavior. Shame on you OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post reeks of racist gaslighting.

Try harder. I despite lazy accusations of racism.
Do you believe that the principal is immune from criticism because she's Black?
The fact of the matter is that the principal had ZERO principal experience before she held this position. How does a school of GDS' stature put in place a HS principal with no principal experience whatsoever? She is hardly visible around school. I have yet to see her at a regular sporting event. The students don't find her engaging. When I've seen her, she's not been enthusiastic, warm, or friendly. A HS principal has to be able to connect to students, and she does not.
A lot of people at GDS, including parents like myself who shell out $50K per year for the GDS experience, sincerely believe in the goals of DEI. But many of us are increasingly critical at the lack of effectiveness of DEI as it has played out in schools and colleges across this country. DEI programming is not working. Staffing schools with DEI people who seem to replicate what a good teacher already does seems wasteful. (That money would be better spent to pay teachers better and to fund scholarships, IMHO.) Students are afraid to have real conversations about diversity because the DEI administrators shame people into conformity and silence, and that's what they are modeling for the children as the appropriate response to different points of view. GDS has strayed away from its freewheeling intellectual roots, and it's a damn shame.

And this is the way of changing things? Public shaming the individual on “DC Urban Mom”? You try harder!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post reeks of racist gaslighting.

Try harder. I despite lazy accusations of racism.
Do you believe that the principal is immune from criticism because she's Black?
The fact of the matter is that the principal had ZERO principal experience before she held this position. How does a school of GDS' stature put in place a HS principal with no principal experience whatsoever? She is hardly visible around school. I have yet to see her at a regular sporting event. The students don't find her engaging. When I've seen her, she's not been enthusiastic, warm, or friendly. A HS principal has to be able to connect to students, and she does not.
A lot of people at GDS, including parents like myself who shell out $50K per year for the GDS experience, sincerely believe in the goals of DEI. But many of us are increasingly critical at the lack of effectiveness of DEI as it has played out in schools and colleges across this country. DEI programming is not working. Staffing schools with DEI people who seem to replicate what a good teacher already does seems wasteful. (That money would be better spent to pay teachers better and to fund scholarships, IMHO.) Students are afraid to have real conversations about diversity because the DEI administrators shame people into conformity and silence, and that's what they are modeling for the children as the appropriate response to different points of view. GDS has strayed away from its freewheeling intellectual roots, and it's a damn shame.

And this is the way of changing things? Public shaming the individual on “DC Urban Mom”? You try harder!

And of course, all that brave public shaming and criticism are done anonymously…

Yep, it seems like very reasonable behaviors.🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post reeks of racist gaslighting.

Try harder. I despite lazy accusations of racism.
Do you believe that the principal is immune from criticism because she's Black?
The fact of the matter is that the principal had ZERO principal experience before she held this position. How does a school of GDS' stature put in place a HS principal with no principal experience whatsoever? She is hardly visible around school. I have yet to see her at a regular sporting event. The students don't find her engaging. When I've seen her, she's not been enthusiastic, warm, or friendly. A HS principal has to be able to connect to students, and she does not.
A lot of people at GDS, including parents like myself who shell out $50K per year for the GDS experience, sincerely believe in the goals of DEI. But many of us are increasingly critical at the lack of effectiveness of DEI as it has played out in schools and colleges across this country. DEI programming is not working. Staffing schools with DEI people who seem to replicate what a good teacher already does seems wasteful. (That money would be better spent to pay teachers better and to fund scholarships, IMHO.) Students are afraid to have real conversations about diversity because the DEI administrators shame people into conformity and silence, and that's what they are modeling for the children as the appropriate response to different points of view. GDS has strayed away from its freewheeling intellectual roots, and it's a damn shame.

And this is the way of changing things? Public shaming the individual on “DC Urban Mom”? You try harder!

Try mentioning any of this directly to anyone in the administration or board. Go ahead. Let's see how that goes for you. I've tried. No one responds in a timely way unless you take it to 100. Regular requests to chat are pushed downward to the advisors and grade deans who have no power.

Posting here seems to me to reflect a bubbling over of frustrations of some parents (and kids) being heard by the admin while they watch the admin cater exclusively to a small agenda and subset of the students

Read the posts here - there are a number on this 20 page thread that give specifics about bad policies and bad administrators. Yes overall, the teaching and prep for college and life is quite strong, but the school seems to not want to hear anything but nice nice validating talk from parents

GDS is not a culture that allows people to speak up in small and large ways. (same goes for opposing political views amongst the kids despite oped after oped by students in school paper begging for more openness to diversity of thought)

My example: on a recent 9th/10th CCO zoom, a parent dared to ask about GDS' poorly timed, poorly executed AP testing policy in the last 5 min and the CCO went off on how the CCO knows better. So no, they want zero IRL feedback. And no one wants to be that complain-y parent IRL bc you know that the same CCO is checking one of 5 boxes on the common app counselor recc as to whether your kid is amazing, excellent, very good, or ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post is quite personal as you can identify the individual questioned / criticized. Are you so isolated from other parents at the school that you need to bring this issue to a public forum? This is public shaming and I do not understand why this is permitted. Of course, you do not sign your post. That principal is a person, a human being. How would you feel is someone would do this to you? Typical passive aggressive / coward behavior. Shame on you OP.

Sorry which post? The whole 20 page thread or a specific post here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post reeks of racist gaslighting.

Try harder. I despite lazy accusations of racism.
Do you believe that the principal is immune from criticism because she's Black?
The fact of the matter is that the principal had ZERO principal experience before she held this position. How does a school of GDS' stature put in place a HS principal with no principal experience whatsoever? She is hardly visible around school. I have yet to see her at a regular sporting event. The students don't find her engaging. When I've seen her, she's not been enthusiastic, warm, or friendly. A HS principal has to be able to connect to students, and she does not.
A lot of people at GDS, including parents like myself who shell out $50K per year for the GDS experience, sincerely believe in the goals of DEI. But many of us are increasingly critical at the lack of effectiveness of DEI as it has played out in schools and colleges across this country. DEI programming is not working. Staffing schools with DEI people who seem to replicate what a good teacher already does seems wasteful. (That money would be better spent to pay teachers better and to fund scholarships, IMHO.) Students are afraid to have real conversations about diversity because the DEI administrators shame people into conformity and silence, and that's what they are modeling for the children as the appropriate response to different points of view. GDS has strayed away from its freewheeling intellectual roots, and it's a damn shame.

And this is the way of changing things? Public shaming the individual on “DC Urban Mom”? You try harder!

And of course, all that brave public shaming and criticism are done anonymously…

Yep, it seems like very reasonable behaviors.🙄

You would rather us (and there appear to be a lot!) just drink the DEI kool-aid and be quiet, huh? This is a forum where parents can find solace, knowing that we're not alone in our frustration and desire for change. GDS and other schools with heavy DEI thought police systems haven't set up a structure where students or parents feel comfortable critiquing or raising their discontent without fear of repercussion. Minimizing a difference of opinion won't make it go away.

[Anonymous]

Ironic that a self-proclaimed progressive school suppresses diverse viewpoints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ironic that a self-proclaimed progressive school suppresses diverse viewpoints.

Sadly this is the case at many leading universities too.

I've always viewed GDS (and many progressive secondary schools like it) as mini / "try-hard" version of Harvard or Yale (or pick your T25 place). I don't mean academically or in research, of course.

I mean constantly in a race to copy what those places do policywise and to virtue signal to those places...When those places go off the rails on social justice hiring litmus tests, regression against open speech both explicit and implict regression (as they have), GDS and its ilk do to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ironic that a self-proclaimed progressive school suppresses diverse viewpoints.

This is not true. I have voice my opinion in many instances. I have ALWAYS felt heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post reeks of racist gaslighting.

Try harder. I despite lazy accusations of racism.
Do you believe that the principal is immune from criticism because she's Black?
The fact of the matter is that the principal had ZERO principal experience before she held this position. How does a school of GDS' stature put in place a HS principal with no principal experience whatsoever? She is hardly visible around school. I have yet to see her at a regular sporting event. The students don't find her engaging. When I've seen her, she's not been enthusiastic, warm, or friendly. A HS principal has to be able to connect to students, and she does not.
A lot of people at GDS, including parents like myself who shell out $50K per year for the GDS experience, sincerely believe in the goals of DEI. But many of us are increasingly critical at the lack of effectiveness of DEI as it has played out in schools and colleges across this country. DEI programming is not working. Staffing schools with DEI people who seem to replicate what a good teacher already does seems wasteful. (That money would be better spent to pay teachers better and to fund scholarships, IMHO.) Students are afraid to have real conversations about diversity because the DEI administrators shame people into conformity and silence, and that's what they are modeling for the children as the appropriate response to different points of view. GDS has strayed away from its freewheeling intellectual roots, and it's a damn shame.

And this is the way of changing things? Public shaming the individual on “DC Urban Mom”? You try harder!

Try mentioning any of this directly to anyone in the administration or board. Go ahead. Let's see how that goes for you. I've tried. No one responds in a timely way unless you take it to 100. Regular requests to chat are pushed downward to the advisors and grade deans who have no power.

Posting here seems to me to reflect a bubbling over of frustrations of some parents (and kids) being heard by the admin while they watch the admin cater exclusively to a small agenda and subset of the students

Read the posts here - there are a number on this 20 page thread that give specifics about bad policies and bad administrators. Yes overall, the teaching and prep for college and life is quite strong, but the school seems to not want to hear anything but nice nice validating talk from parents

GDS is not a culture that allows people to speak up in small and large ways. (same goes for opposing political views amongst the kids despite oped after oped by students in school paper begging for more openness to diversity of thought)

My example: on a recent 9th/10th CCO zoom, a parent dared to ask about GDS' poorly timed, poorly executed AP testing policy in the last 5 min and the CCO went off on how the CCO knows better. So no, they want zero IRL feedback. And no one wants to be that complain-y parent IRL bc you know that the same CCO is checking one of 5 boxes on the common app counselor recc as to whether your kid is amazing, excellent, very good, or ok.

I have mentioned many things to the Administration and to the Board. My experience is that they listen. The point is that we are a diverse community and what is red for you, might look green to me.

The sense of entitlement is incredible. Trashing an individual in a public forum does not serve any cause.

20 opinions, of whom? We do not know if these opinions are from fellow parents, kids, a competing school or an angry ex-boyfriend.

Yeah, I think you can come up with a better strategy… or maybe not, maybe I am asking too much…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ironic that a self-proclaimed progressive school suppresses diverse viewpoints.

This is not true. I have voice my opinion in many instances. I have ALWAYS felt heard.

*voiced