GDS Student Newspaper posts about the horrible incident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are also real concerns about the school’s direction. Teaching practices feel dated in many places, and there’s a perception among other local independent school folks that faculty pretty much run the place, which makes meaningful change almost impossible.

And then there’s the school newspaper. It feels like it operates with little meaningful adult oversight. A high school paper isn’t the same thing as an independent press outlet — schools have a responsibility to set boundaries and ensure standards. Some of the content has crossed lines and felt wildly inappropriate for a school setting.

Another GDS parent. On the newspaper, I'm very happy that the high school is teaching student journalists to act like journalists and supporting them when they do. I don't think the student journalists crossed any lines. They reported facts, have asked people for comment, and as far as I know haven't printed anything that wasn't true. They didn't engage in speculation or editorializing; they told people that an email was sent out, what it said, what the police said, and so on. Good for them. I'd be opposed to the administration doing anything to clamp down on the newspaper.

As for the teaching, I of course have things I'd change but one always will. There are some people who want GDS to try to be just like other "top" independent schools in every way. I think it makes more sense for each independent school to have ways in which it's unique, so one school might best serve a particular style of learner or kids with certain interests, and another could do the same for different students. But on this board there's a frustratingly constant attitude that schools exist along only one dimension, "better" vs "worse," and the only thing that matters is for a school to try to move up that ranking by duplicating everything another school does.

I'm happy for GDS to be doing well at some athletics, for instance, but I would never want it to be recruiting athletes the way some schools do. Nothing against those schools, necessarily, but it's not what I am looking for. GDS has an ethos and a type of parent that's not exactly the same as for every other school. I hope that continues. I don't care how many people here think it's "Big N" or whatever. I want it to be a great school for my kids and some of those other schools aren't. But that's fine and the families at those other schools can be happy at those schools too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it about GDS if the police said no credible evidence? I am confused.

The police said the claim WAS credible but that they didn't have enough evidence to find the perpetrators. That's exactly why the family is hoping the community can help -- someone knows something.

GDS has not been at all helpful in gathering more information, and in fact is doing everything they can to keep people from sharing what they know.

What makes you think that a family or kid who knows something would come forward now because it went public when they didn’t come forward earlier? So now they know that they are supposed to report that they have information about a crime but they didn’t know that before it was made public?

Ummm do you think someone with information about this kind of crime would somehow not know that? What?

There is all kinds of info that is useful. Like, kids in that grade will know the kinds of relationships the attacked kid had with other kids. Behaviors that seems suspicious, for example, so now they can come forward so that investigators can question people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also real concerns about the school’s direction. Teaching practices feel dated in many places, and there’s a perception among other local independent school folks that faculty pretty much run the place, which makes meaningful change almost impossible.

And then there’s the school newspaper. It feels like it operates with little meaningful adult oversight. A high school paper isn’t the same thing as an independent press outlet — schools have a responsibility to set boundaries and ensure standards. Some of the content has crossed lines and felt wildly inappropriate for a school setting.

Another GDS parent. On the newspaper, I'm very happy that the high school is teaching student journalists to act like journalists and supporting them when they do. I don't think the student journalists crossed any lines. They reported facts, have asked people for comment, and as far as I know haven't printed anything that wasn't true. They didn't engage in speculation or editorializing; they told people that an email was sent out, what it said, what the police said, and so on. Good for them. I'd be opposed to the administration doing anything to clamp down on the newspaper.

As for the teaching, I of course have things I'd change but one always will. There are some people who want GDS to try to be just like other "top" independent schools in every way. I think it makes more sense for each independent school to have ways in which it's unique, so one school might best serve a particular style of learner or kids with certain interests, and another could do the same for different students. But on this board there's a frustratingly constant attitude that schools exist along only one dimension, "better" vs "worse," and the only thing that matters is for a school to try to move up that ranking by duplicating everything another school does.

I'm happy for GDS to be doing well at some athletics, for instance, but I would never want it to be recruiting athletes the way some schools do. Nothing against those schools, necessarily, but it's not what I am looking for. GDS has an ethos and a type of parent that's not exactly the same as for every other school. I hope that continues. I don't care how many people here think it's "Big N" or whatever. I want it to be a great school for my kids and some of those other schools aren't. But that's fine and the families at those other schools can be happy at those schools too.

If you aren’t outraged at the school, then you are clearly not paying attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

+1 If you were actually a parent at the school when this supposedly was reported, you would know that the family did share it with plenty of families, and based on who it was and how they handled it alone you would know enough to trust that the school did everything right here. The people on here claiming they know anything are sadly liars with nothing better to do with their free time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

Agree. My child is at a similar DC area private. These kids are super close (and gossipy) almost like a family. A lot have been together since kindergarten and the small school environment makes it almost impossible to keep secrets. It also doesn’t help that middle schoolers and teenagers aren’t the best at keeping secrets. They spread rumors like it’s nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

+1 If you were actually a parent at the school when this supposedly was reported, you would know that the family did share it with plenty of families, and based on who it was and how they handled it alone you would know enough to trust that the school did everything right here. The people on here claiming they know anything are sadly liars with nothing better to do with their free time.

I am PP and am a parent of two GDS students, including one in the MS. I feel your anger, frustration, and pain. I really do. I also think that GDS is not negligent here. By no means do I think that the school and the board are perfect, or even great, but in this case I believe the school acted appropriately. I also believe that the child was abused, but not by two GDS middle schoolers. There is just too much that does not make sense here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it about GDS if the police said no credible evidence? I am confused.

The police said the claim WAS credible but that they didn't have enough evidence to find the perpetrators. That's exactly why the family is hoping the community can help -- someone knows something.

GDS has not been at all helpful in gathering more information, and in fact is doing everything they can to keep people from sharing what they know.

What makes you think that a family or kid who knows something would come forward now because it went public when they didn’t come forward earlier? So now they know that they are supposed to report that they have information about a crime but they didn’t know that before it was made public?

Ummm do you think someone with information about this kind of crime would somehow not know that? What?

Maybe they saw someone follow the boy into the restroom, he later seemed upset and the witness thought nothing of it at the time, lots of possibilities. For the sake of the victim I hope the school’s attempts to silence are unsuccessful. The perps also need help as do any other possible victims.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, GDS tuition is paying this company? I am in shock. https://tmusallc.com/investigation-consulting-services/
Is this true?


Who We Are:
Investigators and analysts who discreetly manage the most demanding cases. We are skilled at locating hidden assets, identifying online threats, and exposing fraud. Our staff has roots in law enforcement, investigative journalism, forensic accounting, and intelligence. All are thorough and results-driven.

What We Do:
Customize investigations to meet the needs of our clients: individuals to multinationals, solo practitioners to corporate law firms, startups to leaders in finance, philanthropy, entertainment, tech, higher education, public health, and art.

Forensic accounting to assist individuals, government agencies, and business entities and corporations uncover financial irregularities and ensure overall compliance.

Deliver timely, reliable, and admissible intelligence.

Vet job candidates and avoid hiring mistakes by providing context and background.

Pair our rigorous desktop research with human source intelligence and analysis to help clients mitgate risk and make better business decisions.

Locate and interview witnesses and conduct background checks for deposition preparation.

Offer a range of strategic and crisis consulting services that assess the safety of travel destinations and neutralize adverse media coverage.

Monitor social media and the dark web for reputational and physical threats and create online content to lessen the impact of negative posts.

The person hired was a woman. She "has conducted and managed hundreds of high-stakes and sensitive investigations involving sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination, domestic violence, stalking, hazing, bullying, retaliation, and other misconduct. Julie is regularly called on to consult in matters across a wide range of institutions and organizations, including K–12 schools, colleges and universities, museums, sports organizations, nonprofits, and corporations, both in the U.S. and internationally. She also develops tailored policies and protocols and provides one-on-one and group training to help clients respond to misconduct with care, compliance, and clarity."

She "began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted homicide and felony cases from investigation through trial. She gained extensive experience as a member of the Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Units and served in the Appeals Bureau, briefing and arguing cases before the Appellate Term, Appellate Division, and the New York Court of Appeals. "

GDS hired an independent investigator who seems to be qualified. MPD did a separate investigation. As others noted, two month after the fact, it is quite difficult to get any evidence two months after the fact. In the school's communication, they said there had been no other bathroom incidents, contrary to reports here. The family is trying to acquire additional evidence. In my opinion, the school's main job, absent corroborating evidence, was to strengthen security protocols to ensure a similar incident could not happen again. Beyond that, the challenge remains that the victim said there was no identifying information for the perpetrators. It would be very difficult to sanction any student without hard evidence.

I think this is where it starts and stops.

Why not encourage anyone with information to reach out to MPD or investigators when hired? Why not encourage that now? Why not change safety procedures?

It seems like this is pretty much the only argument being made, that the school has an independent duty to “reach out to the school.” But per the article MPD asked them not to, and it is also well known that making blanket calls for information in this way can distort the results of an investigation. You are all really grasping at straws.

Where does anything say that?

From the school newspaper - "In the Feb. 13 email, Shaw said MPD asked school administrators to “refrain from broad communication to our community to avoid interference with their investigation.”

That might have been appropriate in the immediate aftermath when MPD thought it might find credible leads on its own. But that doesn't mean the school shouldn't have pushed back on that at any point in the year+ that followed. At some point, a community-wide email really should have gone out.

And what would that email have said? There was a report of a sexual assault, it was investigated by the police who could no find enough evidence to press charges or identify a suspect. The police asked us not to contact you until after they completed their investigation. Here is what we have done to try and prevent this from happening again.

If they say when it happened, people at the school would be able to figure out who the victim was because the kid was withdrawn from the school. This would violate the victims privacy.

If they say that the perpetrators were two students people will freak out wanting to know who they are and why they have not been removed. If they don't say it was other students then people freak out about people being on campus who shouldn't be, which wasn't the case.

Sending out an email only adds confusing and questions without being able to point to anything that solves the situation.

It appears the family is not worried about protecting the victims privacy, I would guess the entire school knows who he is now. That sucks for the kid because there is 0 chance that his identity doesn't get further leaked through the people who know the school and families at the school. The likelihood that new evidence is brought forward now is slim to none. Anyone who knew anything should have come forward long before this. If they didn't come forward with evidence then, what makes you think they would come forward now? Honestly, it feels like the family wants to hurt GDS in whatever way that they can and this was the best that they could do.

Are you serious? Are you paid to post or worried about college placement as a boy mom?

NP. So answer the PP’s question in the first line. What would the email have said? What would your draft look like?

Something similar to what the family sent last week addresses the point just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

Tell me you don't understand CSA and insurance without telling me you don't understand CSA and insurance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is, wasn’t this widely known amongst middle school parents, if the victim’s parents weren’t exactly hiding it? If they wanted to inform parents, they bc ours told a few people in their circle and work would spread through the school. I’m amazed nobody seemed to know anything about it, not even rumors. Or the the victim and parents keep completely silent because they were advised by police and the school to do this during the investigation phase?

While I don’t know anyone at GDS well, from what I hear from other private school parents this is not true. It seems parents at GDS know something happened…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

+1 If you were actually a parent at the school when this supposedly was reported, you would know that the family did share it with plenty of families, and based on who it was and how they handled it alone you would know enough to trust that the school did everything right here. The people on here claiming they know anything are sadly liars with nothing better to do with their free time.

What a horrible thing to say.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a good example in how inclusion works in elite schools. We are inclusive and tolerant until your problem becomes our problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

+1 If you were actually a parent at the school when this supposedly was reported, you would know that the family did share it with plenty of families, and based on who it was and how they handled it alone you would know enough to trust that the school did everything right here. The people on here claiming they know anything are sadly liars with nothing better to do with their free time.

Now we're getting somewhere.

The other elementary school parents didn't like this family and therefore didn't believe them? It sounds like the fixer was hired on purpose because some parts of the class were reflexively against them.

I've seen enough in my years to know that the serial complainers among us usually have a kernal of truth in their complaints and that nobody benefits from reflexivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there has god forbid been another incident like this at school in the time GDS sat on this for a year and did nothing, this will open up GDS to great liability including criminal liability.

This is why they should have notified the community in 2025 when this came to light - even to say we have investigated a troubling charge and not found anything. They refused to even do that.....

This is precisely why I am disinclined to believe that GDS was negligent I its response, as others assert. GDS would be litigated to its death if the perpetrators committed another assault. There is no incentive to believe that GDS would sweep an incident this serious under the rug. Also as one PP noted I cannot believe that the rumor mill has not spit out the names of the perpetrators. GDS is a small community and the fact that none of the middle schoolers seem to know anything is telling. GDS parents love gossip, and there has been nothing about the perpetrators that is known.
I do believe that this poor child suffered something terrible, but I do wonder if the actual facts of this child’s abuse are being obscured by this child out of fear.

+1 If you were actually a parent at the school when this supposedly was reported, you would know that the family did share it with plenty of families, and based on who it was and how they handled it alone you would know enough to trust that the school did everything right here. The people on here claiming they know anything are sadly liars with nothing better to do with their free time.

I am PP and am a parent of two GDS students, including one in the MS. I feel your anger, frustration, and pain. I really do. I also think that GDS is not negligent here. By no means do I think that the school and the board are perfect, or even great, but in this case I believe the school acted appropriately. I also believe that the child was abused, but not by two GDS middle schoolers. There is just too much that does not make sense here.

By whom? If by outsiders but inside the school, it would have been crazy. The real question people should ask is: is this school safe to attend?