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[quote=Anonymous]Yea they will be limiting. Email just out now. Looks like ANC Nimbyism at work

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We are committed to being good neighbors in Tenleytown, and we continue to work diligently to honor our neighborhood agreements. In that spirit, we write to share an update of the ongoing discussions with our local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC3E) related to our enrollment cap.

As we shared on Sunday, when GDS unified all three divisions in Tenleytown, the School went through a zoning approval process, which resulted in a number of requirements, particularly regarding the management of traffic in the neighborhood. Our zoning order also sets a specific enrollment cap for the School.

In Sunday’s newsletter, we shared a reminder that GDS is unintentionally temporarily overenrolled due to a drastically different, COVID-related admissions environment. Many of our projections and assumptions related to admissions based on years of experience simply did not hold up during the pandemic. This experience was not unique to GDS. In addition, as we navigated the challenges of the pandemic and managed staff transitions, GDS unintentionally failed to file a required annual report on traffic and enrollment to the ANC. Upon learning of this oversight, GDS filed this year’s annual report before the deadline, along with last year’s report. GDS made mistakes in how we managed and communicated about our compliance with our enrollment commitments. We are committed to returning to compliance with our enrollment cap next fall. And it is important that you know that none of this was intentional.

On Thursday, GDS attended the February meeting of the ANC3E, where the commissioners asked GDS to share more information about our overenrollment and voted on a resolution criticizing GDS. GDS takes great exception to the characterizations of what occurred, both during the meeting and within the resolution, including the misinformed rhetoric that paints the School and its staff as purposefully breaking the rules and hiding information. As we have shared, we sincerely regret the oversight and administrative error and have taken steps to ensure we honor our obligations going forward.

GDS will be in compliance with the enrollment cap next year, enrolling a total of 1,075 students. This will mean admitting slightly fewer new students across all grade levels for the 2023-24 school year. Please be assured that this enrollment contraction will not impact currently enrolled students.

GDS takes our commitments to the ANC and the Tenleytown neighborhood seriously. We have invested enormously in our transportation management program to best serve the needs of our students, families, and neighborhood. In fact, our work has been recognized by the DC Department of Transportation, naming GDS the only Platinum School Ambassador in the District. You’ve likely experienced the impact of our investments, including 11 traffic officers, community-wide subsidized bus and public transit, and a full-time staff member dedicated to helping the School live into our agreement. 
 
Also at issue for the ANC3E commissioners is the GDS community’s pick-up and drop-off behaviors. First, we remain grateful for the majority of our GDS families who follow the requests we make regarding carpooling, not parking in the neighborhood, and carline queuing. We must continue to observe all requirements set forth in our agreement with the ANC. Your help in following all street-level standing and parking restrictions (no matter the street), driving with care for pedestrians, and not arriving before dismissal time will go a long way in rebuilding trust with our local neighborhood representatives.

GDS will continue to work in good faith and seek respectful dialogue with the ANC, the Zoning Administrator, and the DC Department of Transportation to address any areas of disagreement and work toward collaborative resolution. We remain committed to being good neighbors in Tenleytown. We are grateful for your partnership in ensuring that we are living into our neighborhood agreements, so that we can all focus on what matters most: our students and their learning.[/quote]

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