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[quote=Anonymous]Dear All,

I would like to comment a bit on this. I am a graduate of GDS 2003 and have had friends in various schools in the DC area private school circuit. I think perhaps I could shed some light on a student's experience.

Both GDS and Sidwell are very competitive schools. By this I mean that there is tremendous pressure within the student body to achieve academically. Until I went to undergraduate, I did not realize that a B was not the passing/fail threshold. However, this was in no way force-feed to us by the teachers (at least at GDS). As teenagers, kids naturally compare themselves with their peers. This includes grades and extracurricular activities.

The teachers at GDS are open and friendly, and sometimes overly qualified for their positions. I am sure this is the case with Sidwell teachers as well. The beauty of private school is the access to knowledge. However, the students at GDS consider themselves to be equals to their professors, for better or worse. This allows for an open channel of communication. You are taught to challenge established norms, ask questions, and think for yourself.

As for the environment, GDS gives its students freedom and responsibilities. GDS HS has an open campus policy. This may seem frightening to some parents, but it was the best thing I could have imagined. I was so well prepared for undergraduate that it seemed as if there was no adjustment period. The block scheduling and open campus policy allowed me to learn to manage my time better.

All in all, it depends on what you want from a Highschool education for you child. Test scores are important, but nothing a Kaplan prep course couldn't improve. What GDS offers is a mini-undergraduate experience. We used to say that freshman year of college was easier than senior year at GDS. Otherwise, if you want hard statistics, rules to keep your child in-line send them to a boarding school. 
No graduate from GDS nor Sidwell, will end up not being accepted to college... and very rarely end up not in the top 100 schools in the nation.

Hope this helps. I know that parents have other concerns, but I truly enjoyed my time at GDS, and believe it is a truly enriching experience. 
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