Reply to Difference Between GDS, Maret and Sidwell for HS?

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[quote=Anonymous]Vocal music program at Sidwell is fantastic, other arts much stronger at GDS.

GDS facilities actually I think for community/learning are really great, the forum is a wonderful thing, and really brings the HS community together, while not a cafeteria everyone gets lunch from the Safeway nextdoor or local restaurants and often bring it back and eat in the forum. The sidwell cafeteria is not very attractive, low ceiling, food gets monotonous, not sure really a selling point.  Other than the new arts center and meeting room and gym at Sidwell, the main classroom US building is ugly as sin and while functiona not really a selling point for the school.  GDS HS building post recent renovation is very very nice in terms of classrooms, labs, theater, and the gym/weight room is also really nice. Main lack is just having a single field, so teams have to go to MS via bus on some days to practice.

Both schools are really really strong academically and have more similarities than differences, both quite a lot of pressure on the kids, not sure Sidwell any worse in that respect than GDS. Sidwell is run by the teachers, there are some fantastic ones there, but the HS adminstration has been very weak and unsettled. GDS has a much stronger/more popular administration, and more parent involvement, agree that can be a plus or a minus depending on the issue.

Choose, if lucky enough to get into both, based on how your kid feels about the place, and perhaps the nature of a particular class, in a small school each graduating class can have very definite social and even academic flavors that will be a better or worse fit for your kid.  Hard to scope that out in advance, but you may be able to via contacts on sports teams, arts groups, neighborhood.  And then if a strong extracurricular interest, that can factor in as well (theater/visual arts GDS, football of course Sidwell or Maret, since GDS has none, but frankly other sports hard to choose, either not great at both schools such as lacrosse and baseball, or varies a lot from year to year, both have quite reasonable boys and girls soccer teams and track programs recently). [/quote]

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