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[quote=Anonymous]I am currently attending GDS High School. I have attended GDS since Pre-K, and it has been a pretty good ride so far. But not without many significant rough patches. GDS is great academically. I have enjoyed almost every class I have attended, and have been taught by some amazing teachers. There have also been sub-par teachers, but so far the very good ones have outweighed the very bad ones. 
My favorite part of GDS is by far the academic atmosphere. In the HS, the blocked schedule is wonderful, and is modeled to prepare you for college. If you have a free period first thing in the morning, you can sleep in. As a student, you have to choose how to allocate your time. I also approve of calling teachers by their first name. Classes feel like more of a conversation, and you can really travel places throughout the discussion. 
The only thing I have ever had trouble with at GDS is the social climate. And perspective parents REALLY need to keep this in mind while applying. GDS has a reputation for being very cliquey. This is most certainly true. Social stress is very high. There are distinct social groups formed by the middle of freshmen year, and these remain intact for the most part throughout high school. Somebody was commenting on this the other day- the student came to GDS for high school with friends from his old school, but now would never consider talking to these people because of their social status.
 I consider myself a quiet person. After 7th grade, you could find me in the corner reading a book. GDS can be torturous for people like me. There are very few true quiet spaces, and there is a lot of pressure to be very social. But it sometimes feels like an endless trap, because the cliques are hard to get into. A big factor in the formed cliques is also ethnicity (starting mostly in the lower/middle school, but less in the HS). GDS has a very high Jewish population (I would estimate 50-60%). As early as 4th grade, I was never completely accepted in certain friend circles because I was not Jewish. I like the fact that GDS is diverse religiously, but sometimes I feel that the Jewish culture is being forced onto me. I would prefer a school that is not biased in any sort of religious way, being an atheist. 
GDS is a great school, and now that I have been in the high school, I the class benefits have outweighed the social drawbacks. But if my parents had let me, I think I would be happier at a different school for high school. I had tried to lobby for switching schools, because I knew that the social atmosphere would get worse in high school. If my parents had let me, I would have switched happily. 
For perspective parents, this is what I have to say: GDS is a definite "yes" for lower school and middle school. Those were some of my favorite years. But think hard about high school. If your child is a little more introverted, like me, be very cautious. If you are happy with the intense social climate and believe that the academics are worth it, send them here. 
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