The Community Engagement program at GDS strives to teach empathy, respect, and love for one another through experiential programs that challenge, inspire and dare us to be better friends to ourselves, our peers, and the earth we all share. These programs are embedded in students’ school life as service-learning projects, advocacy initiatives, and community service activities, which often have curricular ties. Community Engagement at GDS includes working closely with local community organizations, as well as within our GDS community.

Community service has been a bedrock of GDS’s educational mission since the school’s founding. We firmly believe that independent community service helps prepare GDS students for life. Students who interact within and outside of their communities, who have engaged with —and learned about—a variety of individuals, and who have had to think critically about real-world problems, leave GDS prepared for the 21st century with better communication and collaboration skills, an ability to think creatively about the world’s challenges, and tools that empower them to address the systemic inequities that exist in the world.