The Community Engagement and Experiential Learning (CEEL) curriculum at Georgetown Day School deepens students’ understanding of our community and the world we live in through active, purposeful, and reflective PK-12 programs that challenge students to collaborate, build empathy, explore new places and perspectives, and take meaningful informed action.
 

These programs are embedded in students’ school life as full-grade off-campus learning experiences, student-led advocacy initiatives, and group or individual community service activities – all of which often have ties to classroom curricula. Community Engagement at GDS entails working closely with local community organizations and national groups, while simultaneously deepening students’ connections to their own school community.

Community service has been a bedrock of the GDS mission since its founding. We firmly believe that active work in the community helps prepare students to be empathetic and effective agents of change in the world beyond our school walls. GDS uses a combination of instruction, service, real-world collaboration, and reflection to inspire students to become fully engaged citizens in diverse communities. We do this through programs such as our High School Community Engagement requirement in which all high students must complete 60 hours of approved volunteer work by the second semester of their senior year, and through our Middle School GDS Corps, in which each grade tackles pressing social justice issues through active on-campus learning and off-campus fieldwork. 

By interacting with experts within and outside of their communities, our students learn empathy and how to think critically about real-world problems. They leave GDS prepared for the future, with better communication and collaboration skills, deep curiosity, and the tools to address the systemic inequities that exist in the world.