GDS high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does someone who's "sick of DEI" stand for affirmatively? What are their values exactly?

I didn’t write that myself but my 8th grader wants to write an essay without that focus. Or have a history lesson without that focus. He just wants a more traditional education where everything isn’t boiled down to identity or ethnicity or race. It’s tiresome to have it seep into their daily eduction.

But this is EXACTLY what the school said they do at the admissions open house. Did you not believe them? This is what you signed up for. This is what you said you wanted to buy.

It's been a while since we had our open house - we have high schoolers at GDS now. But before the world went crazy, GDS talked only about viewpoint diversity, being the first truly integrated school in DC. Nothing at open houses about single minded focus on DEI.

Of course, they want to model being mini-BU / Kendi institute now.

So they now say at open houses that every subject will veer into DEI/Social Justice framing?

We went to an open house in 2019 and this is what they were saying even then. We listened and went elsewhere. We tried again after Covid and had the same experience. I don’t understand how anyone can claim they weren’t aware of the school’s intense focus. It was and is right there in front of you.

Fall Open House 2018 was the same. The past years have been online so different in nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does GDS continue to offer the "A View From the Other Side" course year after year? That would not be allowed to exist somewhere that's supposedly dedicated to indoctrination.

Yes they offer one mini-mester course. Optional, 10 kids take it. WHat's your point?

Try sitting in on one of the myriad trans assemblies, the 9th grade seminar/indoctrination class. Those are not optional like minimester. Those are mandatory.

My kids don't view the assemblies or seminar as indoctrination at all.

And I mentioned the mini-mester as merely one example of programming that belies the argument that the DEI programming is one note.

Let's take some of the teach-in day offerings as well:

Connecting Across Difference: The Hindu-Muslim Tension
Decoding Antisemitism in Media
Islamophobia in the United States: Examining the rise since 9/11 and October 7th
Stereotypes and Perceptions Surrounding Asian Men: Masculinity and Fetishization in Popular Culture
What's in a name? What US & German public spaces and monuments say about society today

What is being "indoctrinated" exactly through the availability of these options?

This week's newsletter made families aware of quiet spaces being made "available for quiet prayer, reflection, and for those who are fasting and need a space during lunch." What other schools in the area are doing this?

To be clear, I agree with many of the criticisms about the school administration and the DEI office. But some of y'all act as if there's no room to have moderate views on the topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does someone who's "sick of DEI" stand for affirmatively? What are their values exactly?

I didn’t write that myself but my 8th grader wants to write an essay without that focus. Or have a history lesson without that focus. He just wants a more traditional education where everything isn’t boiled down to identity or ethnicity or race. It’s tiresome to have it seep into their daily eduction.

But this is EXACTLY what the school said they do at the admissions open house. Did you not believe them? This is what you signed up for. This is what you said you wanted to buy.

Not exactly. I had no idea HOW intense and intrusive the DEI department would be. I did not anticipate how frustrated my DC would be due to the continual DEI focus during assemblies, aspects of History class in HS and much of MS, field trips, 9th grade Seminar, weird reporting practices, biased disciplinary approaches, etc.

Yes! All of this is true

Would not be the first time GDS doesnt paint full picture at Open Houses. For instance, they dont tell parents that kids are limited to applying to 10 (now 12 reluctantly after a parent revolt in 2023) colleges max. That's it.

They most certainly dont talk about that upfront.

They dont talk about how discipline process in HS works - opaque, inconsistent, and crappy dressed up in DEI / restorative justice, student-driven hoo-ha.

There are now 29 pages of comments about the poorly run administration

If many of us could do it again, we would have done a cathedral school. And our family is not religious, we are URMs, and we are liberal. the goal posts have moved.

No, many of you wouldn’t. You’d be in that big group applying to get in despite what you heard at the open house because, well, prestige! And you’d put up with it like you are now because …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does someone who's "sick of DEI" stand for affirmatively? What are their values exactly?

I didn’t write that myself but my 8th grader wants to write an essay without that focus. Or have a history lesson without that focus. He just wants a more traditional education where everything isn’t boiled down to identity or ethnicity or race. It’s tiresome to have it seep into their daily eduction.

But this is EXACTLY what the school said they do at the admissions open house. Did you not believe them? This is what you signed up for. This is what you said you wanted to buy.

Not exactly. I had no idea HOW intense and intrusive the DEI department would be. I did not anticipate how frustrated my DC would be due to the continual DEI focus during assemblies, aspects of History class in HS and much of MS, field trips, 9th grade Seminar, weird reporting practices, biased disciplinary approaches, etc.

Yes! All of this is true

Would not be the first time GDS doesnt paint full picture at Open Houses. For instance, they dont tell parents that kids are limited to applying to 10 (now 12 reluctantly after a parent revolt in 2023) colleges max. That's it.

They most certainly dont talk about that upfront.

They dont talk about how discipline process in HS works - opaque, inconsistent, and crappy dressed up in DEI / restorative justice, student-driven hoo-ha.

There are now 29 pages of comments about the poorly run administration

If many of us could do it again, we would have done a cathedral school. And our family is not religious, we are URMs, and we are liberal. the goal posts have moved.

GDS limits kids to 12 college applications? Wow.

Mine at other Big 3s applied to 15-20 each. Some kids just need to explore more options, particularly in this tough admissions environment.

What business is it of the school if kids want to spend additional time submitting applications and parents are fine with excessive applications fees?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids in the GDS high school and I hear a constant drum beat from them and their friends on how great most of the faculty is and how truly awful the high school administration is. Especially the high school principal who seems universally disliked by the kids

She’s described as being out of touch, not a presence in the high school, and viewed as being distant from the day to day of the school.

Can other GDS HS parents confirm if they hear or see the same?

Are Jewish students being targeted or feeling uncomfortable as they are at other schools that have a lot of very liberal students like Harvard, Brown, Cornell, etc? I know there are a large percentage of Jewish students at GDS but there are as well at the schools above mentioned but still kids are feeling unsafe.

Please don’t turn this into a political thread. And do you care how Muslim students are feeling or only Jewish students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids in the GDS high school and I hear a constant drum beat from them and their friends on how great most of the faculty is and how truly awful the high school administration is. Especially the high school principal who seems universally disliked by the kids

She’s described as being out of touch, not a presence in the high school, and viewed as being distant from the day to day of the school.

Can other GDS HS parents confirm if they hear or see the same?

Are Jewish students being targeted or feeling uncomfortable as they are at other schools that have a lot of very liberal students like Harvard, Brown, Cornell, etc? I know there are a large percentage of Jewish students at GDS but there are as well at the schools above mentioned but still kids are feeling unsafe.

Please don’t turn this into a political thread. And do you care how Muslim students are feeling or only Jewish students?

I’m not the PP but I fail to see how PP’s question is political. If she is Jewish and has a Jewish child and is considering applying to the school but is curious if the very left group-think mentioned in this thread has revealed some antisemitism or an environment that might be a poor fit or uncomfortable for her family, this would be the appropriate forum to ask. Surely everyone hopes Muslim students and all students feel safe at school, as well. But PP is allowed to ask about whether the environment is emotionally safe for her actual child and family without random whataboutism.

[Anonymous]

I’m glad this thread finally died. GDS bashing has become a sport

[Anonymous]

But you brought it back to life?

[Anonymous]

At least in the HS, our experience is mostly good teachers, with a few exceptions that persist year after year despite complaints.
The administration is awful -- self-involved, holier than though and disorganized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids in the GDS high school and I hear a constant drum beat from them and their friends on how great most of the faculty is and how truly awful the high school administration is. Especially the high school principal who seems universally disliked by the kids

She’s described as being out of touch, not a presence in the high school, and viewed as being distant from the day to day of the school.

Can other GDS HS parents confirm if they hear or see the same?

Are Jewish students being targeted or feeling uncomfortable as they are at other schools that have a lot of very liberal students like Harvard, Brown, Cornell, etc? I know there are a large percentage of Jewish students at GDS but there are as well at the schools above mentioned but still kids are feeling unsafe.

Please don’t turn this into a political thread. And do you care how Muslim students are feeling or only Jewish students?

Jewish students are the ones being targeted at above mentioned schools and the protests are anti-Israel and anti-semitic language has been used and large groups of protests. Kids at Brown, Columbia saying they do not feel safe. An RA at Harvard beat up a Jewish student on his floor. Jewish kids at Columbia were chased and forced to hide in the library. Looks at the video online. So yes it is a pertinent question. I don't see Jewish students forming large groups of protests targeting others and making them feel unsafe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids in the GDS high school and I hear a constant drum beat from them and their friends on how great most of the faculty is and how truly awful the high school administration is. Especially the high school principal who seems universally disliked by the kids

She’s described as being out of touch, not a presence in the high school, and viewed as being distant from the day to day of the school.

Can other GDS HS parents confirm if they hear or see the same?

Are Jewish students being targeted or feeling uncomfortable as they are at other schools that have a lot of very liberal students like Harvard, Brown, Cornell, etc? I know there are a large percentage of Jewish students at GDS but there are as well at the schools above mentioned but still kids are feeling unsafe.

Please don’t turn this into a political thread. And do you care how Muslim students are feeling or only Jewish students?

Jewish students are the ones being targeted at above mentioned schools and the protests are anti-Israel and anti-semitic language has been used and large groups of protests. Kids at Brown, Columbia saying they do not feel safe. An RA at Harvard beat up a Jewish student on his floor. Jewish kids at Columbia were chased and forced to hide in the library. Looks at the video online. So yes it is a pertinent question. I don't see Jewish students forming large groups of protests targeting others and making them feel unsafe.

That’s awful.

I wonder what’s worse, being triggered in a class (and the warnings now needed to have mostly conversations) or being chased?


Any language that asserts the rights of Palestinians to live is seen as antisemitism.

The right wing has been criticizing the absence of freedom of thought and speech at elite institutions for a while now. It seems that now many left leaning folks, particularly Jews and those supporting Israel’s war in Gaza, are seeing the consequences of these ultra left leaning policies and lack of dialogue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids in the GDS high school and I hear a constant drum beat from them and their friends on how great most of the faculty is and how truly awful the high school administration is. Especially the high school principal who seems universally disliked by the kids

She’s described as being out of touch, not a presence in the high school, and viewed as being distant from the day to day of the school.

Can other GDS HS parents confirm if they hear or see the same?

Are Jewish students being targeted or feeling uncomfortable as they are at other schools that have a lot of very liberal students like Harvard, Brown, Cornell, etc? I know there are a large percentage of Jewish students at GDS but there are as well at the schools above mentioned but still kids are feeling unsafe.

Please don’t turn this into a political thread. And do you care how Muslim students are feeling or only Jewish students?

Jewish students are the ones being targeted at above mentioned schools and the protests are anti-Israel and anti-semitic language has been used and large groups of protests. Kids at Brown, Columbia saying they do not feel safe. An RA at Harvard beat up a Jewish student on his floor. Jewish kids at Columbia were chased and forced to hide in the library. Looks at the video online. So yes it is a pertinent question. I don't see Jewish students forming large groups of protests targeting others and making them feel unsafe.

That’s awful.

I wonder what’s worse, being triggered in a class (and the warnings now needed to have mostly conversations) or being chased?


Any language that asserts the rights of Palestinians to live is seen as antisemitism.

The right wing has been criticizing the absence of freedom of thought and speech at elite institutions for a while now. It seems that now many left leaning folks, particularly Jews and those supporting Israel’s war in Gaza, are seeing the consequences of these ultra left leaning policies and lack of dialogue.

What does any of this have to do with GDS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least in the HS, our experience is mostly good teachers, with a few exceptions that persist year after year despite complaints.
The administration is awful -- self-involved, holier than though and disorganized.

The administration is full of children, who are running a school, with the exception of a long-standing admin, who has been silenced by the two new DEI appointees. We hope that the principal can move on quickly, and that her assistant of academics can also move onto another school, and Gds can return to being run by people with actual experience, intelligence, and compassion.

What are the dei positions? Most schools have at least one person now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does GDS continue to offer the "A View From the Other Side" course year after year? That would not be allowed to exist somewhere that's supposedly dedicated to indoctrination.

Yes they offer one mini-mester course. Optional, 10 kids take it. WHat's your point?

Try sitting in on one of the myriad trans assemblies, the 9th grade seminar/indoctrination class. Those are not optional like minimester. Those are mandatory.

My kids don't view the assemblies or seminar as indoctrination at all.

And I mentioned the mini-mester as merely one example of programming that belies the argument that the DEI programming is one note.

Let's take some of the teach-in day offerings as well:

Connecting Across Difference: The Hindu-Muslim Tension
Decoding Antisemitism in Media
Islamophobia in the United States: Examining the rise since 9/11 and October 7th
Stereotypes and Perceptions Surrounding Asian Men: Masculinity and Fetishization in Popular Culture
What's in a name? What US & German public spaces and monuments say about society today

What is being "indoctrinated" exactly through the availability of these options?

This week's newsletter made families aware of quiet spaces being made "available for quiet prayer, reflection, and for those who are fasting and need a space during lunch." What other schools in the area are doing this?

To be clear, I agree with many of the criticisms about the school administration and the DEI office. But some of y'all act as if there's no room to have moderate views on the topic.

It's Ramadan, so probably all of them. Our DCPS has space for prayers and for people fasting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does GDS continue to offer the "A View From the Other Side" course year after year? That would not be allowed to exist somewhere that's supposedly dedicated to indoctrination.

Yes they offer one mini-mester course. Optional, 10 kids take it. WHat's your point?

Try sitting in on one of the myriad trans assemblies, the 9th grade seminar/indoctrination class. Those are not optional like minimester. Those are mandatory.

My kids don't view the assemblies or seminar as indoctrination at all.

And I mentioned the mini-mester as merely one example of programming that belies the argument that the DEI programming is one note.

Let's take some of the teach-in day offerings as well:

Connecting Across Difference: The Hindu-Muslim Tension
Decoding Antisemitism in Media
Islamophobia in the United States: Examining the rise since 9/11 and October 7th
Stereotypes and Perceptions Surrounding Asian Men: Masculinity and Fetishization in Popular Culture
What's in a name? What US & German public spaces and monuments say about society today

What is being "indoctrinated" exactly through the availability of these options?

This week's newsletter made families aware of quiet spaces being made "available for quiet prayer, reflection, and for those who are fasting and need a space during lunch." What other schools in the area are doing this?

To be clear, I agree with many of the criticisms about the school administration and the DEI office. But some of y'all act as if there's no room to have moderate views on the topic.

It's Ramadan, so probably all of them. Our DCPS has space for prayers and for people fasting.

Yeah this isn’t uncommon. SSSAS has been running a weekly notice in the newsletter for a while now:

HONORING HOLY SEASONS THIS SPRING
As an Episcopal school, we are dedicated to supporting the spiritual lives of all of our students, regardless of their faith backgrounds, and to respecting those who adhere to no faith tradition. This spring affords us the opportunity to honor the convergence of three major observances within the Abrahamic religions: Ramadan commences on March 10; Lent ends with Easter on March 31 in Western Christianity and on May 5 for Orthodox Christians; and the first night of Passover is April 22. Starting on Monday, March 11 - April 8, the prayer room connected to the Chapel Lobby will be available every day during lunch for students, faculty, and staff who want a private place to pray, away from food and drink.