Georgetown Day School
Encyclopedia
Georgetown Day School is a pre-K-12 private
preparatory school
in Washington, D.C.
.
school in the District of Columbia.
(Georgetown Day High School or GDHS), and the middle
and lower schools (Georgetown Day Middle School and Georgetown Day Lower School or GDS-L/MS). The School has two separate campuses in northwest Washington. The lower and middle schools (pre-kindergarten
to eighth grade
) are located in the Palisades neighborhood. The high school is located several miles away in Tenleytown
. Both campuses feature libraries
, full-size gym
s and athletic fields, black box theater
s, fully equipped science labs
, art studios, technology/multimedia labs, and student lounges and activity areas. Both facilities have elevator
s and are fully handicapped-accessible. The GDS High school has an open campus.
, especially the performing arts
, and its historical success in high school policy debate
, It's Academic
, and quizbowl
. Because it believes that students and teachers are partners in education, everyone at the school — students, faculty, and administrators — goes by first names. The current head of school is Russell Shaw.
, Crisp & Juicy, Osman & Joe's Steak & Egg Kitchen, and Pete's Pizza.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
History
GDS was founded in 1945 as the first integratedRacial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
school in the District of Columbia.
Academics
GDS offers 18 Advanced Placement courses, and nationally recognized diversity and community service/service learning programs. It consists of a high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
(Georgetown Day High School or GDHS), and the middle
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
and lower schools (Georgetown Day Middle School and Georgetown Day Lower School or GDS-L/MS). The School has two separate campuses in northwest Washington. The lower and middle schools (pre-kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
to eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
) are located in the Palisades neighborhood. The high school is located several miles away in Tenleytown
Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC.-History:In 1790, Washington locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally...
. Both campuses feature libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, full-size gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
s and athletic fields, black box theater
Black box theater
The black box theater is a relatively recent innovation, consisting of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, usually a large square room with black walls and a flat floor.-History:...
s, fully equipped science labs
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, art studios, technology/multimedia labs, and student lounges and activity areas. Both facilities have elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s and are fully handicapped-accessible. The GDS High school has an open campus.
Student Demographics
The school enrolls approximately 1035 students in any given year and graduates about 120 seniors each year. GDS is known for a strong emphasis on the artsARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, especially the performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, and its historical success in high school policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
, It's Academic
It's Academic
It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Central Virginia and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland . The show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, making it the longest...
, and quizbowl
Quizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
. Because it believes that students and teachers are partners in education, everyone at the school — students, faculty, and administrators — goes by first names. The current head of school is Russell Shaw.
Relationship with Neighborhood
Because the GDHS has an open campus, students frequently patronize neighborhood establishments including the Secret SafewaySafeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
, Crisp & Juicy, Osman & Joe's Steak & Egg Kitchen, and Pete's Pizza.
Notable alumni
- David AllynDavid AllynDavid Allyn, Ph.D. is Director of Education for New Jersey SEEDS , an organization serving high-achieving, low-income students....
, author, playwright, educator - Brian BakerBrian Baker (musician)Brian Baker is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994 alongside Greg Hetson...
, musician in Minor ThreatMinor ThreatMinor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
, Dag NastyDag NastyDag Nasty was a Washington D.C. punk band formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown...
, and Bad ReligionBad ReligionBad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the... - Sean FineSean FineSean Fine is a documentary filmmaker whose War/Dance about child soldiers was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2007.- Biography :...
, documentary filmmaker, best known for the Academy Nominated War/DanceWar/DanceWar/Dance is a 2007 American documentary film written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine and produced by Shine Global's Susan MacLaury, a professor at Kean University, and Albie Hecht... - Franklin FoerFranklin FoerFranklin Foer is an American journalist and editor-at-large for The New Republic. Foer is a 2012 Bernard L. Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation as of Sept...
, The New Republic editor - Jonathan Safran FoerJonathan Safran FoerJonathan Safran Foer is an American author best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
, novelist - Joshua FoerJoshua FoerJoshua Foer is a freelance journalist living in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, with a primary focus on science. He was the 2006 U.S.A...
, freelance journalist - Andrew Sean GreerAndrew Sean GreerAndrew Sean Greer is an American novelist and short story writer.He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an “inspired, lyrical novel,” and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named one of the best books of 2004 by the San Francisco...
, author - Judith MartinJudith MartinJudith Martin , better known by the pen name Miss Manners, is an American journalist, author, and etiquette authority. Martin's uncle was economist and labor historian Selig Perlman.- Early life and career :...
, author and Miss Manners - Olivia WildeOlivia WildeOlivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
, actress - Gillian ZinserGillian ZinserGillian Amalia Zinser is an American actress, known for her appearance as Ivy Sullivan in 90210.- Biography :Zinser was born November 4, 1985, in Washington DC. She attended New York University in Manhattan, NY...
, actress