From Where I Stand

One of my favorite GDS traditions is Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day. I love the joy on our students’ faces as they walk a little taller, eager to show off the spaces and people that shape their daily lives. I’m struck each year by how many of our current grandparents were once GDS parents themselves—their children now entrusting the next generation to the same values-rich, joyful, purposeful education. And I’m moved by the distances our visitors travel—from New York, Florida, California, London, India—reminding us that love for this School (and for grandchildren!) stretches far beyond our campus.

Grandparents offer a valuable gift to young people: perspective. They’ve lived long enough to see how challenges pass and seasons turn. They remind us that winter does, in fact, become spring. At this moment in the world—marked by rapid change, uncertainty, and disruption—GDS, too, finds strength and clarity by turning to its roots.

That’s why our current Strategic Vision is anchored in our founding. “Audacious Beginnings, Bold Futures” draws on the wisdom of our charter from nearly 80 years ago: that a school can challenge the norms of its day, envision a more just and humane world, and prepare young people to help build it. That founding idea—that education should be animated by ethics, inquiry, courage, and joy—continues to guide us.

In this issue of Georgetown Days, you’ll see some of the ways our strategic plan is coming to life.

You’ll read about three High school students—Mac Penniman ’25, Oliver Wolin ’26, and Sam Pastreich ’25—who collaborated with GDS administrators to help our campus secure Renewable Energy Credits from wind farms. Combined with rooftop solar panels on our buildings, these efforts ensure that the School now offsets its electricity usage with clean, renewable energy. This is student leadership in action: not abstract ideals, but real change.

Teachers Foun Tang (LS) and Nadia Mahdi (HS) found common ground in their love of “thinking routines,” tools that encourage deeper reflection and engagement. Their collaboration sparked a joint lesson that brought their youngest and oldest students together, modeling how curiosity and critical thinking transcend age—and reminding us of our aspiration to be “One GDS.”

And in a High School Historical Research Seminar, students explored how race, place, and real estate have shaped the trajectory of their families over generations. With archival research, guest speakers, and site visits to DC and Baltimore, students not only unearthed personal histories—they began to understand the broader forces that shape access and opportunity.

These stories are not isolated sparks. They are waypoints pointing toward the kind of school—and the kind of world—we’re building: a place where sustainability is more than a talking point; where collaboration bridges classrooms and generations; where students investigate the past to inform the future.

This magazine issue also looks ahead to a major milestone: GDS’s 80th Anniversary. During the 2025–26 school year, we will celebrate eight decades of principled disruption, courageous teaching, and joyful learning. It will be a moment to honor those who came before us and to recommit ourselves to the mission they set in motion.

As GDS honors its 80th, I will be savoring every moment of my last year at the School. In March, I announced that I will be leaving GDS in June 2026 to join my wife in Colorado. I look forward to seeing many of you during this celebratory year—and to writing the next chapter of GDS history together.

On the cover:
The Spring 2024 Georgetown Days print magazine cover features the drawings of second grade students from a few years back, who were asked to draw Russell's outfits for the day. The project demonstrates (at Russell's expense) how people can hold different perspectives on the same topic, and all can be valid. More masterpieces below.