What makes GDS GDS?
Oftentimes I hear GDS families talk about GDS’s “special sauce.” How is it, they want to know, that GDS students seem to both love school and care deeply about what they’re doing? The answer is simple, really. When young people are honored for their curiosity, their unique identities, their voices, their goodness and capacity, they thrive. This is the foundation that was laid by our founders 80 years ago. It’s one that we are fortunate to be able to build on today.
Welcome to Georgetown Day School!
Russell Shaw
Head of School
The GDS Founding Story
In 1945, a group of courageous parents in Washington, DC came together with a revolutionary idea: to open a school where children of all races, religions, and backgrounds could learn side by side. That idea became Georgetown Day School.
The GDS Mission
Georgetown Day School honors the integrity and worth of each individual within a diverse school community. GDS is dedicated to providing a supportive educational atmosphere in which teachers challenge the intellectual, creative, and physical abilities of our students and foster strength of character and concern for others. From the earliest grades, we encourage our students to wonder, to inquire, and to be self-reliant, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.
The GDS Philosophy
Georgetown Day School students receive a comprehensive education designed to prepare them for a lifetime of learning and a healthy appreciation of their world and their opportunities.
GDS believes that the educational development of the whole person requires comprehensive study of academic subjects, in-depth exposure to the arts, regular opportunities for physical education and athletics, and involvement in extracurricular activities and community service. Believing that each young person is unique and has special gifts, the School recognizes that identifying and fostering the growth of these individual talents is one of its most challenging responsibilities.
Noted for the depth and breadth of their knowledge and for their personal concern for the students they teach and advise, our teachers are essential to the GDS ethos. When hiring faculty, the School looks for individuals who believe deeply in the capacity of all children to excel, are passionate about the subjects they teach, work to create respectful, democratic learning communities in and outside the classroom, and possess the ability to spark enthusiasm for learning. Within a carefully designed and coordinated curriculum, teachers employ a variety of pedagogical approaches to ensure the success of all students.
Believing that students have obligations to others as well as themselves, we expect students to respect others, to appreciate others' successes, and to work hard toward their own.
GDS graduates leave the School with a love of learning, an abhorrence of bigotry and intolerance, a broadly rounded fund of knowledge, the ability to enter the great conversations of life, and the willingness and capacity to bring needed change to a troubled world.
GDS At-a-Glance
Financial Aid
$36,400 avg financial aid award
$9.6 mm financial aid budget
GDS's Approach to Sustainability
Mission: Georgetown Day School strives to cultivate a community that prioritizes the stewardship of the planet and its inhabitants.
Vision: We prepare students to lead purposeful lives by fostering intellectual curiosity, strength of character, and the understanding that true equity and justice are inseparable from environmental sustainability and regeneration.
Georgetown Day School is a Washington, DC preK-12 independent school with an enrollment of 1,075 students, a city campus, and a comprehensive, innovative curriculum. Founded in 1945 as the first integrated school in Washington, DC, GDS maintains a diverse student body, 40% of whom identify as students of color, as well as a diverse faculty and Board. The High School is college preparatory, sending 100% of its graduates to colleges and universities throughout the world. GDS is accredited by the Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools (AIMS)