GDS high school

[Anonymous]

The social justice teach-in day course options disagree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Russell's total comp in 2022 was nearly $1 million vs. $200k or less for everyone on down.
Riddle that one.

That's in line w/ others schools of its ilk I believe. But it's still shockingly high. Teacher starting salary is 45k and maxes around 85k. That's the most distressing stat.

Meanwhile there are 20+ DEI and community engagement staff at the school across divisions. And DEI only means one thing. Not jewish kids, not middle eastern kids, not indian kids. Bareky hispanic kids. Just one thing.

Such a bummer. Reason this school was started was not to be a regressive place with speech limitations. Ask any HS student if they feel comfortable sharing political views that dont match the blue haired minority. They dont.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Russell's total comp in 2022 was nearly $1 million vs. $200k or less for everyone on down.
Riddle that one.

That's in line w/ others schools of its ilk I believe. But it's still shockingly high. Teacher starting salary is 45k and maxes around 85k. That's the most distressing stat.

Meanwhile there are 20+ DEI and community engagement staff at the school across divisions. And DEI only means one thing. Not jewish kids, not middle eastern kids, not indian kids. Bareky hispanic kids. Just one thing.

Such a bummer. Reason this school was started was not to be a regressive place with speech limitations. Ask any HS student if they feel comfortable sharing political views that dont match the blue haired minority. They dont.

Given GDS's philosophy, the massive discrepancy between the salary of the HOS and the staff is unconscionable. However, the board determines his salary, and the board consists of a lot of finance people who believe that Russell will leave if they lower his compensation. I also seriously doubt that the board would have a hard conversation with Russell about equity in salaries at GDS that would require the lowering of Russell's salary.
I believe that the DEI staff, however well intended, do not bring a value-added to the educational experience of the classroom. As has been stated by so many PPs, the teachers are fantastic and they already bring diverse and critical perspectives through their teaching. Students at this point are jaded by the endless forums and days of programming that seem to be the justification for the DEI office. Students want to be intellectually challenged, they don't need another person telling them that XYZ actions are harmful to ABC people. They know this already. Students would be better off spending more time in the classroom and less time in the gym being told what they already know.

[Anonymous]

I get it, you hate the Friday assemblies. But what’s your specific gripe with the CEEL curriculum’s community outreach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get it, you hate the Friday assemblies. But what’s your specific gripe with the CEEL curriculum’s community outreach?

It just takes so much time away from academics and it's too intense for some of the kids. My kid always chooses the "easiest" one because they don't always want to have to debate injustices. Just let the kids learn English, math, stem, and prepare for college.

[Anonymous]

Why are you still at GDS? None of this is new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you still at GDS? None of this is new.

What's new is the departure from a philosophy that students should be allowed to, if not encouraged, to debate controversial ideas. There's no way GDS would allow kids to debate the 1619 project, the war in Israel-Gaza, the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.

[Anonymous]

What's new is that people don't want to just have liberal discussions in place of education. Parents are fed up and can't speak up without fear from higher up board members and school admin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Because he's smart, involved and compassionate. He's more than a gifted speaker. Also, can you imagine who they might hire if he leaves? Given recent HOS hiring at other schools, GDS is darn lucky to have him.

I haven’t found him to be any of those things. And who do you think is ultimately responsible for all the things people complain about at GDS if not the HOS?

[Anonymous]

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?

How are college admissions here for most? I know some are getting into top schools but what about others below the top 10 percent of the class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's new is that people don't want to just have liberal discussions in place of education. Parents are fed up and can't speak up without fear from higher up board members and school admin.

So in your view the list that Russell presented at the State of the School meeting regarding examples of discourse taking place at the school was a lie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a GDS middle school parent and this whole thread is super frustrating. I don't understand why parents aren't bringing this to the attention of the board. My good friends at an equivalent private school were instrumental in implementing admin change via board actions. Even at the HOS level (not implying Russell should leave), just saying with enough voices that change occurs. For those on the way out, just curious if you've raised your concerns in writing to board members or others.

I am one of the previous posters and a HSl parent and we've been beyond frustrated but also on our way out. We have brought issues informally to members of the board that we know. Generally the answer is no answer: that the board doesn't have the ability to facilitate change or its slow change or the HOS isn't really aware or involved of day-to-day as he leaves it to the administrators. We considered formally raising issues but our senior did not want us to cause a fuss or put a spotlight on them because of fear of unfair treatment. When we brought issues up to teachers and advisors the answer was generally we are aware but I'm just the "xx" teacher, no one listens to me.

I have seen this too. I have spoken to a couple of board members and they say what you have heard.

I have spoken to administrators and they say certain things are "above their pay grade"

I have spoken to teachers and they feel entirely powerless.

So I come back to - either no one is actually running this place, or they actually just dont want to hear from us because they think everything is peachy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Russell's total comp in 2022 was nearly $1 million vs. $200k or less for everyone on down.
Riddle that one.

Wow, that is a huge differential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Russell's total comp in 2022 was nearly $1 million vs. $200k or less for everyone on down.
Riddle that one.

That's in line w/ others schools of its ilk I believe. But it's still shockingly high. Teacher starting salary is 45k and maxes around 85k. That's the most distressing stat.

Meanwhile there are 20+ DEI and community engagement staff at the school across divisions. And DEI only means one thing. Not jewish kids, not middle eastern kids, not indian kids. Bareky hispanic kids. Just one thing.

Such a bummer. Reason this school was started was not to be a regressive place with speech limitations. Ask any HS student if they feel comfortable sharing political views that dont match the blue haired minority. They dont.

I hope that the teachers who have been there more than 10+ years are making more than 100k. Otherwise that is just depressing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the first question on this string....as a 9 year GDS parent yes, the HS admin is very weak. Teachers are the gem and they really care about the kids. But, the admin is soo out of touch. They try to force the kids to meet with them with repeated emails but kids have no interest.
Also, there is NO appetite for diverse thinking at this school - its the far left or you are considered a complete idiot. When this is raised with teachers they agree but their hands are tied and they express frustration. The HS principal is a total joke. The placement of the seniors is good but dont mistake that for the admin. They dont help one bit. We are excited to be done with that place.

Totally agree. New to this thread and agree with everything you say and in the thread. The admin is terrible and out of touch. Talk to the older teachers and in private they will often reveal what they feel. They despise the admin and the regressive way the admin runs the school. The teachers feel hamstrung in what they can say in classes. The admin will send monitors into controversial classes like teachers who discuss Israel Palestine. Teachers feel like they are being watched by the GDS speech police. It's a very small minority of kids who like the admin. Most side with and love their teachers. Most kids feel as the teachers do - a particularly weak principal and her entire office and many of her underlings are also weak "yes men" who have an axe to grind on regressive speech monitoring.

We are almost done after many years and a few kids here. I can't wait. I will never ever give another dollar to the place.

The place changed for the worse in last 3-4 years. Especially the HS. But not just that. There have been a cascade of bad hiring decisions at LS/MS principal level too. L

ike many, we love(d) Russell but you can't just be good at giving speeches.

Privately someone said HOS is even afraid of his admin in some ways. Return in person was latest of *any* DMV school after COVID b/c he was afraid of a revolt from his administrators. Wow. If that. is true, that tells you a lot.

The tail wags the dog here.

The entire place needs to be cleaned out of its leadership, I'm afraid. That said, I wonder if the board has the balls to do this. Looking at the board, I doubt it.

My two who already graduated from GDS mostly have terrible things to say about the admin and the speech police and great things to say about the vast majority of the teachers. They feel no sense of pride in having gone there, no bind to the school overall.

I've never understood why so many parents give him a free pass while complaining about everything else.

Russell's total comp in 2022 was nearly $1 million vs. $200k or less for everyone on down.
Riddle that one.

That's in line w/ others schools of its ilk I believe. But it's still shockingly high. Teacher starting salary is 45k and maxes around 85k. That's the most distressing stat.

Meanwhile there are 20+ DEI and community engagement staff at the school across divisions. And DEI only means one thing. Not jewish kids, not middle eastern kids, not indian kids. Bareky hispanic kids. Just one thing.

Such a bummer. Reason this school was started was not to be a regressive place with speech limitations. Ask any HS student if they feel comfortable sharing political views that dont match the blue haired minority. They dont.

I hope that the teachers who have been there more than 10+ years are making more than 100k. Otherwise that is just depressing

I believe teachers with >20+ years of tenure can make around $100k - perhaps a bit more. The system they have is tenure based and based on having a full class load. It's why younger teaches sign on for field trips, overnight trips, grade dean etc etc - all of those are extra income, Some teachers sell their parking spot back to the school and walk to work in order to pocket the $2-$3k per year for parking, I'm told. It's a ard living in the DMV for GDS teachers (likely same for many non-union private school teachers). On the flip side, GDS gives teachers tons of continuing ed funds to use on school vacations for trips that are educational etc - so there are some perks.