Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students across two campuses in the city's Northwestern quadrant.
Founded in 1945 as Washington's first racially integrated school, it is known for its progressive climate and dedication to social justice. Students call teachers by their first names, and the high school allows students to leave the campus during school hours.
The school is known as one of the city's most academically rigorous and selective institutions, and it has educated the children of several high-ranking government officials, including former United States Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.
Academics
The Real GDS-Wives of 2012 - A Real Housewives parody with students from Georgetown Day School for the annual high school Powderpuff Football competition. Directed and Edited by Lukas Thimm.
GDS offers 18 Advanced Placement courses. The high school features a comprehensive curriculum covering the humanities, mathematics, sciences, and the arts. Students are required to take four years of English courses and a freshman seminar focusing on diversity issues.
The school enrolls approximately 1,075 students and graduates about 130 seniors in any given year. As a college preparatory school, GDS sends 100% of its graduates to four-year universities. The most frequently attended universities for GDS alumni include Harvard, Washington University in St. Louis, Wesleyan and Yale. The 25th to 75th percentile SAT scores for the 2015 senior class at GDS were CR (630 - 760), M (590 - 740), W (620 - 740). The Class of 2015 included 11 National Merit Semifinalists, 27 Commended Students, 3 National Achievement Semifinalists, and 1 National Hispanic Scholar.
Each year the school sponsors the Ben Cooper Lecture in memory of a student killed in a car accident in 1997. Past speakers have included immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist Michele Norris, journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer-brothers Franklin, Jonathan, and Joshua Foer (all three alumni), journalist David K. Shipler, feminist Zainab Salbi, civil rights activist Julian Bond, fraudster Greg Mortenson, historian John Hope Franklin, political scientist James C. Scott, architect William McDonough, author Sherman Alexie, Senator George J. Mitchell, journalist Anna Quindlen, author and humanitarian Elie Wiesel, poet Maya Angelou, scientist Harold Varmus (a GDS parent), historian Taylor Branch, and US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Notable alumni
- Elliot Ackerman, decorated veteran and author
- James Alefantis, owner of Comet Ping Pong
- Kelly AuCoin, actor
- Schuyler Bailar, first openly transgender NCAA Division I swimmer
- Sean Fine, documentary filmmaker, best known for the Academy Award-nominated War/Dance
- Ruben Fleischer, film director
- Franklin Foer, The New Republic editor
- Jonathan Safran Foer, novelist and professor of creative writing at New York University
- Joshua Foer, freelance journalist and author of Moonwalking with Einstein
- Matt Jackson, holder of the 4th longest winning streak on Jeopardy!
- Judy Kuhn, Tony-nominated theatre actress, known for her originating roles in Les Misérables, Chess, and Fun Home, as well as being the singing voice for Pocahontas in the Disney film Pocahontas
- Ben Mankiewicz, producer and actor
- Thurgood Marshall, Jr., partner at Bingham McCutchen, LLP, chairman of the Board of the Governors USPS, Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Cabinet at Clinton Administration
- Judith Martin, journalist, author, and etiquette authority
- Sam Means, comedy writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation; producer on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Guy Picciotto, singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist in Fugazi and Rites of Spring
- Jamie Raskin, elected to House of Representatives from Maryland
- Noah Robbins, American actor
- Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society of the United States
- Sarah Stillman, journalist and winner of the 2012 George Polk Award, the 2012 Hillman Prize, and a 2016 MacArthur Fellowship
- Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author and activist
- Olivia Wilde, film and television actress, starred in House
References
External links
- Official website
