Maret or GDS (US)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS for depth in courses, academic excellence, better social scene because there are MORE kids like in the real world. Less hand holding.
Maret for kids who need small class size and more hand holding though the former is a better prep for college and the world. How do I know this? We switched from Maret to GDS.

GDS admins would be embarrassed if they saw a parent write this.

In terms of material covered, Maret and GDS are similar. GDS has more homework, but whether that’s a positive is unclear.

As I've watched my two Maret kids do hours and hours of homework over the years, I have no idea where this notion comes from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS for depth in courses, academic excellence, better social scene because there are MORE kids like in the real world. Less hand holding.
Maret for kids who need small class size and more hand holding though the former is a better prep for college and the world. How do I know this? We switched from Maret to GDS.

GDS admins would be embarrassed if they saw a parent write this.

In terms of material covered, Maret and GDS are similar. GDS has more homework, but whether that’s a positive is unclear.

As I've watched my two Maret kids do hours and hours of homework over the years, I have no idea where this notion comes from.

I'm the PP; I went off mostly what I'd heard on these boards, but I can't fairly judge if I don't have direct experience with both.

FWIW, the academic experiences at both schools seem comparable.

[Anonymous]

Your kid should decide after meeting current students at welcome events or ask to have them shadow for a day at each school to decide. They should make the decision

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid should decide after meeting current students at welcome events or ask to have them shadow for a day at each school to decide. They should make the decision

Agreed - my kids both felt the kids at these two schools were pretty different. It's all a matter of personal preferences on which you like better. If you like them both, then turn to the school size, academic offerings, extra curricular requirements (or lack of - at GDS) etc. But have your kid think these through....this should be their choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS for depth in courses, academic excellence, better social scene because there are MORE kids like in the real world. Less hand holding.
Maret for kids who need small class size and more hand holding though the former is a better prep for college and the world. How do I know this? We switched from Maret to GDS.

GDS admins would be embarrassed if they saw a parent write this.

In terms of material covered, Maret and GDS are similar. GDS has more homework, but whether that’s a positive is unclear.

As I've watched my two Maret kids do hours and hours of homework over the years, I have no idea where this notion comes from.

I'm the PP; I went off mostly what I'd heard on these boards, but I can't fairly judge if I don't have direct experience with both.

FWIW, the academic experiences at both schools seem comparable.

I can’t speak to Maret but my Maret kid does 2x the work of his sibling at a Big 3 school. I personally have found the quality of the teaching more variable at Maret as compared with the other school, but we also could have gotten the short end of the stick on teachers. Please look carefully at the courses and compare options. For example, if your kid is really into humanities, then you might have more on campus options at GDS.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. I meant I can’t speak to GDS. I only can speak to Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS parent here. We chose GDS over Maret, mainly because of the curriculum (emphasis on social justice).

A good reason to choose Maret.

Could you clarify? Do you mean that Maret also has a strong emphasis on social justice or less so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here - also starting GDS US this fall! I have a question about lunch since it's not included? Do the students usually bring their own packed lunch, or do they go off campus every day? I can see an upper-level student heading off campus often, but don't really want my 9th grader off campus every day. what do most kids do? Also where do they eat on campus?

This is seriously the straw that broke the camels back for us. I cannot deal with lunches anymore.

They're in high school.... can't they pack their own lunch? I went to a HS without lunch, and my parents gave me some money that I could either spend on cheap lunches in the area, or could pocket and pack my own lunch. 14-18 year olds should have no problem making themselves a turkey sandwich the night before school.

I'm not PP - even if this is true - not having the option for lunch on campus requires families to shop and plan to have food even if the student packs the lunch. For one of my kids, GDS not having lunch was the last straw in their own decision....they went to a different school because no lunch available on campus felt very inconvenient.

+1
I know it sounds strange but the GDS no lunch thing was a big deal for DCs too. The shopping and planning is annoying for sure butwhat was an even bigger issue is that it creates a fragmented community. Kids are not congregating in one place and being forced to interact. The different groups cluster in different parts of the campus or leave campus which reinforces cliques whereas at places like STA, Holton, Sidwell they all meet up in the cafeteria and in some cases are forced to interact with kids they might not have thought to interact with before.

I'm sure DCs would have loved GDS if they had gone there but this is a big drawback IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here - also starting GDS US this fall! I have a question about lunch since it's not included? Do the students usually bring their own packed lunch, or do they go off campus every day? I can see an upper-level student heading off campus often, but don't really want my 9th grader off campus every day. what do most kids do? Also where do they eat on campus?

This is seriously the straw that broke the camels back for us. I cannot deal with lunches anymore.

They're in high school.... can't they pack their own lunch? I went to a HS without lunch, and my parents gave me some money that I could either spend on cheap lunches in the area, or could pocket and pack my own lunch. 14-18 year olds should have no problem making themselves a turkey sandwich the night before school.

I'm not PP - even if this is true - not having the option for lunch on campus requires families to shop and plan to have food even if the student packs the lunch. For one of my kids, GDS not having lunch was the last straw in their own decision....they went to a different school because no lunch available on campus felt very inconvenient.

+1
I know it sounds strange but the GDS no lunch thing was a big deal for DCs too. The shopping and planning is annoying for sure butwhat was an even bigger issue is that it creates a fragmented community. Kids are not congregating in one place and being forced to interact. The different groups cluster in different parts of the campus or leave campus which reinforces cliques whereas at places like STA, Holton, Sidwell they all meet up in the cafeteria and in some cases are forced to interact with kids they might not have thought to interact with before.

I'm sure DCs would have loved GDS if they had gone there but this is a big drawback IMO.

It’s amazing to me that you would say this without a child at the school. They all hang out in the forum or cafe at lunch, sometimes in the library if they are trying to catch up on homework. Just like they do after school. I wish there were some in school food options other than the vending machines and the LMS cafeteria, but I don’t think the lack of a cafeteria is creating cliques. There are cliques there, but no worse than any other school, and based on our kid’s experience, better than most.

[Anonymous]

Would suggest OP read this recent thread citing multiple issues at GDS HS including discipline process, college counseling office, HS principal

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1185149.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here - also starting GDS US this fall! I have a question about lunch since it's not included? Do the students usually bring their own packed lunch, or do they go off campus every day? I can see an upper-level student heading off campus often, but don't really want my 9th grader off campus every day. what do most kids do? Also where do they eat on campus?

This is seriously the straw that broke the camels back for us. I cannot deal with lunches anymore.

They're in high school.... can't they pack their own lunch? I went to a HS without lunch, and my parents gave me some money that I could either spend on cheap lunches in the area, or could pocket and pack my own lunch. 14-18 year olds should have no problem making themselves a turkey sandwich the night before school.

I'm not PP - even if this is true - not having the option for lunch on campus requires families to shop and plan to have food even if the student packs the lunch. For one of my kids, GDS not having lunch was the last straw in their own decision....they went to a different school because no lunch available on campus felt very inconvenient.

+1
I know it sounds strange but the GDS no lunch thing was a big deal for DCs too. The shopping and planning is annoying for sure butwhat was an even bigger issue is that it creates a fragmented community. Kids are not congregating in one place and being forced to interact. The different groups cluster in different parts of the campus or leave campus which reinforces cliques whereas at places like STA, Holton, Sidwell they all meet up in the cafeteria and in some cases are forced to interact with kids they might not have thought to interact with before.

I'm sure DCs would have loved GDS if they had gone there but this is a big drawback IMO.

It’s amazing to me that you would say this without a child at the school. They all hang out in the forum or cafe at lunch, sometimes in the library if they are trying to catch up on homework. Just like they do after school. I wish there were some in school food options other than the vending machines and the LMS cafeteria, but I don’t think the lack of a cafeteria is creating cliques. There are cliques there, but no worse than any other school, and based on our kid’s experience, better than most.

Yeah, that PP doesn't know what they're talking about. All the GDS HS kids hang out together at the Forum all day long and after school as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As I have just posted in another thread, as parent of three children attending GDS, here is what I love about the school:

1. The nurturing environment is truly remarkable.
2. The academic standards are high, and the teaching methods are both innovative and resourceful.
3. GDS embraces a progressive school philosophy, emphasizing inclusivity and personal recognition by teachers.
4. The sense of community at GDS is exceptional, something we experienced firsthand during our time at the school.
5. The quality of the teachers is outstanding.

I now have the same question. Which parent community is better? Which school have more neural divergent kids?

[Anonymous]

My GDS HSer makes their own lunch and takes it to school or grabs something nearby in the neighborhood. Bigger school is appealing to many. More friend options and less clicky. Plus top notch academics. Supportive and nurturing for students.

[Anonymous]

What a choice! For HS kids have been leaving Maret ( over 13 families left this year) and staff has been leaving GDS. Both are going through changes.

[Anonymous]

Thread is 18 months old. I imagine OP has figured it out by now.