A Legacy of Families: The Historical Role of Parents at GDS

GDS was founded in 1945 by seven families who wanted a new type of school not only for their children, but also for their country and for the greater good. In the midst of a deeply segregated Washington, DC, these founding parents sought to create an affordable, racially integrated school. They also introduced the radical idea that it should be co-owned by all participating families, regardless of race or religion. Each family would hold joint stock in the school and be deeply, actively involved in every aspect of its operation.

Several of these founding families, including the Shramms, Nashes, Pinkett-Dodsons, Perlman-Martins, and Goldschmidts, among others, would enroll their children generation after generation, making GDS a family tradition. The Pinkett-Dodson and Perlman-Martin families were part of the GDS community for some 50 years.

These founding families agreed, as has every subsequent head of school at GDS, that it takes the commitment of parents, teachers, and staff together for a school not only to survive but to thrive, and that continuous parental involvement at GDS has been a key to its success.

“To be a wise parent is not easy, to be a good teacher is hard work, and it takes the combined efforts of both to produce good schools and good citizens,” wrote the third Head of School and GDS parent, Gladys Stern, demonstrating the emphasis she placed on the necessity of parental involvement at GDS. Gladys herself had been drawn to GDS as a parent before she became Associate Director, then Principal, then Head of School, resulting in some 40 years of involvement with GDS. This level of commitment for many families became the norm rather than the exception.

“Every school should have a few devoted families who enroll generation after generation, not necessarily to learn anything, but because they have made a tradition,” wrote GDS alum Judith Martin ’70, The Washington Post’s Miss Manners columnist, in a guest column in the GDS Newsletter in February 1972. Judith attended GDS in its Grasslands era and sent her children, Nick ’84 and Bina ’88, to GDS as well. In addition, Judith’s mother, Helen Perlman, was a renowned teacher at GDS who had five grandchildren attend, including Nick, Bina, Penny Perlman ’86, Sarah Perlman ’90, and Jacob Perlman ’94.

Today, the majority of GDS’s Board of Trustees is composed of current GDS parents elected by the parent body, and parents have remained active in providing voluntary support for various school functions. 

A Parent Service Association to help organize parental support was established in 1987. Since its creation, the PSA has flourished and grown, hosting grade-level coffees and walks, charity food and clothing drives, family gatherings, and community excursions such as movie nights or ice skating on the National Mall. These activities help form and strengthen bonds within the community. Some of GDS’s biggest events, including Country Market Day, rely heavily on the help of parent volunteers. Much of our current faculty and staff, and even our current Head of School, Russell Shaw, are GDS parents who actively support the school in various ways beyond their jobs.

From its founding to the present day, GDS has been shaped, strengthened, and sustained by its families. Parents are not only part of the school’s story, they are at the heart of it, ensuring that GDS remains a vibrant, principled, and deeply connected community for generations to come.

In addition to his roles as Head of School, and as a GDS parent, Russell Shaw has published several articles on the subject of parenting:

When Helicopter Parents Touch Down—At College

When Your Kid’s Best Friend Is a Great Big Problem

AI Will Never Be Your Kid’s Friend

The Wrong Way to Motivate Your Kid

Parents, Put Down Your Phone Cameras