what is the biggest diffenerence between sidwell and gds?

[Anonymous]

it seems to me that gds and sidwell are kind of similar in quality of education. what is the biggest difference between the two schools? For parents to chose sidewell, not gds, what is the main reason for you to choose sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it seems to me that gds and sidwell are kind of similar in quality of education. what is the biggest difference between the two schools? For parents to chose sidewell, not gds, what is the main reason for you to choose sidwell?

GDS is a truly progressive school; students can generally work to their limits, which for more advanced kids, is a great advantage. Sidwell is a more traditional school, but with progressive attitudes within the school. Both are fantastic schools, but the kids have to go to where they are admitted and if given a choice, where they feel more comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it seems to me that gds and sidwell are kind of similar in quality of education. what is the biggest difference between the two schools? For parents to chose sidewell, not gds, what is the main reason for you to choose sidwell?

GDS is a truly progressive school; students can generally work to their limits, which for more advanced kids, is a great advantage. Sidwell is a more traditional school, but with progressive attitudes within the school. Both are fantastic schools, but the kids have to go to where they are admitted and if given a choice, where they feel more comfortable.

My dd is very creative, very advanced in reading, writing and math, might sidwell give her some boost academically? or gds is a better fit?

[Anonymous]

If she is that advanced, send her to SWW where she can take courses at GW.

[Anonymous]

In English and history, the two schools have quite different curricula. Sidwell classes also seem to meet for more hours over the course of the year due to differences in scheduling and reqiirements. Look on their websites for more information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it seems to me that gds and sidwell are kind of similar in quality of education. what is the biggest difference between the two schools? For parents to chose sidewell, not gds, what is the main reason for you to choose sidwell?

GDS is a truly progressive school; students can generally work to their limits, which for more advanced kids, is a great advantage. Sidwell is a more traditional school, but with progressive attitudes within the school. Both are fantastic schools, but the kids have to go to where they are admitted and if given a choice, where they feel more comfortable.

My dd is very creative, very advanced in reading, writing and math, might sidwell give her some boost academically? or gds is a better fit?

There is really no way for an outside person to be able to answer that. She has to walk the halls and pick up the vibe and see where she is comfortable.

[Anonymous]

GDS parent here - What grade? Pretty similar in the early years. You and your child are likely to change considerably, so choose based on what feels right for her now. If high school, visit and your child may develop a strong preference herself. They both have excellent teachers and large cohorts of very smart, hardworking students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In English and history, the two schools have quite different curricula. Sidwell classes also seem to meet for more hours over the course of the year due to differences in scheduling and reqiirements. Look on their websites for more information.

do you mean the class lasts longer for English and history for sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is that advanced, send her to SWW where she can take courses at GW.

what is sww?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is that advanced, send her to SWW where she can take courses at GW.

what is sww?

school without walls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is that advanced, send her to SWW where she can take courses at GW.

what is sww?

school without walls

Is the GW stuff limited to a certain percentage of Walls students?

[Anonymous]

Oddly enough, I feel like one difference is that because GDS seems to attract/encourage quirky students intent on expressing their individualism, the students as a whole are more homogeneous in worldview. Almost everyone is like one of the lovable plucky oddball characters from a John Hughes movie, so they all kind of blend together after a while. I see more character "types" among my kid's Sidwell friends. That's not criticism of either school, but just an observation of one difference ... and a bitchin' '80s reference to boot.

On the whole, many more similarities than differences. Choose based on which is an easier commute, IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oddly enough, I feel like one difference is that because GDS seems to attract/encourage quirky students intent on expressing their individualism, the students as a whole are more homogeneous in worldview. Almost everyone is like one of the lovable plucky oddball characters from a John Hughes movie, so they all kind of blend together after a while. I see more character "types" among my kid's Sidwell friends. That's not criticism of either school, but just an observation of one difference ... and a bitchin' '80s reference to boot.

On the whole, many more similarities than differences. Choose based on which is an easier commute, IMHO.

Gds is super liberal and talked about different family structure every year since pre-K. Is Sidwell similar or less liberal?

[Anonymous]

They're close enough. You'll be lucky if you have choice.

[Anonymous]

They both have recent teacher on student sex scandals.