Sidwell vs GDS upper school

[Anonymous]

Another PP who's a parent of teens, and believe me, they don't use words and phrases like "cohort" or "with regard to", at least not in chatboard postings. OTOH, parents of teens sometimes adopt their children's slang, esp. when posting on chatboards. But are you the same DCUM poster who made a similar "I'm on to you" statement on another thread recently, claiming -- again -- to be an expert on detecting voice patterns? The one who elicited another poster's suggestion that you immediately offer your services to the FBI and CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden? Are you the famed psychic DCUM? OMG, I'm not worthy!! (Sorry, combining slang from my own youth with slang borrowed from contemporary teen culture.)

[Anonymous]

https://www.gds.org/ftpimages/416/download/Flowchart%2011-12.pdf

is GDS's math curriculum chart. Algebra I can start as early as 7th grade.

[Anonymous]

No, I'm not that PP and I didn't say that every single poster on this thread is a teen, did I? Obviously there are parents posting here.

It also should be obvious on threads like this (Does Maret have smarter boys or does St. Albans? Which School Has The Better Lacrosse Program, GPrep or Landon? ) you get a lot of smart, invested students posting in the evening hours.

If you're really disbelieving that kids are posting and you honestly believe it's 50-something parents who post all these posts about the minutiae of sports stats and which student placed 3rd vs. 4th in at the biochem competition ... that's fascinating. That parents are so, so very invested in their kids' peers that they even know that level of detail and care so much that they post it at 9 pm

[Anonymous]

And bar/bat mitzvah venues run the gamut -- I've seen Cabin John Ice Skating Rink, duckboats at Harper's Ferry, a local rec center, MeiWah, the Women's Club of Chevy Chase, the Park Hyatt and a bunch of other (mostly downtown) hotels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to compare curricula, look at curricula. GDS's is available online and I think the chart that shows the various paths/points at which you can accelerate is public access as well.

The spreadsheet is for a series of math competitions that GDS doesn't regularly participate in.

I agree with this PP that if you're trying to compare how two schools might educate your child, your best approach would be to look at their respective curricula and maybe even talk to the teachers or other parents. The spreadsheet (which is one I compiled) is a very blunt instrument in this context. I think it's best used as a general screening tool, or perhaps a cross-check on what you might hear from the school. But BTW, it actually appears that GDS does compete in the AMC contests on a regular basis, since a handful of GDS students won recognition from AMC in each of the past six years.

As to OP's question, I've spent a fair amount of time synthesizing data on these two schools (as well as many others). They're both incredibly strong in all respects, and I completely agree with some PP who said you really cannot go wrong with either. If I were in the really fortunate position to choose between the two, I definitely would not base that decision on cold spreadsheet numbers reflecting past performance, but rather on personal discussions with my child, the schools themselves, and other families who have children there. HTH.

Congratulations and good luck to OP.

Sam2

[Anonymous]

I agree that both schools are very strong, with the differences being pretty subtle. If I were trying to choose, I'd be doing all I could to find out about the cohort at each school - talking to parents of current 8th graders about the class - that could turn out to carry much more weight than how many students at each school take algebra in 7th grade.

[Anonymous]

The schools do have very different cultures. Sidwell is definitely more structured. GDS more oriented toward the creative student. I would not make the claim that they are interchangable. I agree that it makes most sense to find out about the charactistics of the rising 8th grade for sure and I would also talk to people you know at both schools from any grade.

[Anonymous]

It's funny, while I agree that both schools have great academics, I didn't think that the differences were subtle at all-- the cultural stuff really struck me. One place felt like home and the other really turned me off. And, if anything, I went into the process favoring the one that ended up turning me off. Won't say which because it's idiosyncratic and I couldn't certainly imagine people for whom the roles would be reversed (and their preference would be as right for their kid as mine was for mine) and I know people who have one kid at each and feel both kids are where they belong.

OP do you (and your DC) really not have a preference? Or are you just asking this question for a reality check and to make sure you aren't missing something? (Fine reasons, but if that's where you're at, go for whichever you prefer -- you're not going to make a mistake deciding between those schools on that basis.)

[Anonymous]

13:16 here. When I said the differences were subtle, I was responding to the discussions about academics, not culture. I agree that the schools are different in terms of culture - but there's a lot of overlap. That's why I think, at least for a family that is genuinely torn, the cohort could be a deciding factor.

[Anonymous]

Another thing about the schools. GDS is best for the self-motivated student. Sidwell because of its structure forces some of the less motivated kids to toe the line.

[Anonymous]

Probably just a variation on that theme, but I think that a kid who rebels against competition as a motivator would be better off at GDS and a kid who does his/her best in competition would be better off at Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thing about the schools. GDS is best for the self-motivated student. Sidwell because of its structure forces some of the less motivated kids to toe the line.

Or not, and forces them out.

[Anonymous]

As a Sidwell parent I will say that it can be rough academically for kids who are not doing well. It's stressful and every year several kids - across all grades - leave the school because of academic reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But BTW, it actually appears that GDS does compete in the AMC contests on a regular basis, since a handful of GDS students won recognition from AMC in each of the past six years.

Not really a conclusion you can draw from the data -- individuals can sign up and provide school affiliations. So you don't know if a 0 means no participation vs. participation but no recognition. And that's a crucial distinction if you want to compare/rank schools.

[Anonymous]

When I say across several grades, I don't mean several kids in each grade. I mean it loses several kids from the entire school..pk-12.