What's in a Name? (or Title)

At GDS, we are in the practice of calling each other by our first names, without titles, regardless of whether one is a student or faculty member, and regardless of rank. This has been in practice since the early days of Georgetown Day School.

Early teachers and administrators at GDS were also parents. As there were only a handful of adults and students, they all knew each other on a first-name basis. They may have also considered that addressing each other by first name creates an intimacy that builds trust, which is vital to community.

Over the years, some adults balked at the idea. Third Head of School Gladys Stern reportedly once said to a teacher on the subject:

“Honey, being called Mr. or Mrs. gives you authority for exactly twenty-four hours, until the kids find out the answer to two very important questions: Do you know what you are talking about, and do you love them? If the answer to either of those questions is no, there are a lot of disrespectful ways a kid can say ‘Mister.’”

As “first names only” is still in practice today at GDS, here are a few thoughts, feelings, and reflections our current faculty and students have shared about what this practice means to them:

“To me, it means everything. It is a constant reminder of the history that underpins our school's most important values.”

–HS History Teacher James Elish

“It makes me feel more connected with my teachers.”

–Senior Ryan Libby ’26

“For me personally, it dissolves the traditional barrier between teacher and student, emphasizing that education is a shared pursuit of knowledge rather than a top-down exchange of power. I also recall Russell sharing something at my hiring about the origins of this tradition. This is what I remember: calling teachers by their first names isn’t just a tradition at GDS, it’s a statement. When the school first desegregated over 80 years ago, it refused to accept a system where respect was tied to race or title. Instead, it chose a simple, radical gesture: everyone would use first names. That choice continues to remind us that respect is earned through humanity, not hierarchy.”

–Lower School Instructional Coach Sarah Tiamiyu

“It’s always been our way. I think in my first year, famously terrible, it made things harder. I still remember making a perfectly reasonable statement in class and having a student respond, ‘I don’t know about that, Sue!’ In the end, however, it brings us closer together.”

                  –HS History Teacher Sue Ikenberry

“I feel my most authentic self when I get to just be ‘Julia.’”

        –LMS History Teacher Julia Blount 

“I remember [when I started working at GDS] that during staff week in August, I found out that everyone at GDS was addressed by their first name. I was shocked and wasn’t sure if I could go along with that. I was a Southern-born Black woman, and that was definitely not socially acceptable. However, I needed a job and learned to accept it. I will say my family and friends outside of GDS do not know, even after all of these years. I figured it would lead to too many questions. Interestingly, not because I asked anyone to do so, many students and their parents address me as ‘Ms. Judy.’ I have to say, I love that.”

–LMS History Teacher Judy Brown

“I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy this practice. From the outside, it seems a bit weird. But now that I’m living it, I’m all in. It just feels right.”

–HS Math Teacher Grant Franke

“Respect isn’t earned through a title.”

–HS History Teacher and Track and Cross Country Coach Anthony Belber

“The practice of addressing each other by our first names is one of the most important things that makes GDS, GDS. As a lifer, this is something that's been an unchanging part of my scholastic experience, and it is, in my view, a wonderful democratizing and leveling force within the school community. The fact that we address a first grader and the head of school with the same formality is something that is special and must be guarded carefully.”

–Senior Dominic Bloch-Prime ’26