Sprinter Ziyah Holman commits to run at the University of Michigan.
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Nearly one in five GDS students have special accommodations on tests, including extra time or sitting in separate rooms, a rate substantially higher than public schools in Washington, where fewer than two percent of students receive testing accommodations. In the wake of the recent college admissions scandal, testing accommodations have come under scrutiny amid allegations that schools in affluent areas are more likely to take advantage of such accommodations and that wealthy families have turned to paying for expensive assessments to gain an advantage for their children in school and on standardized tests. The federal section 504 program, created under
The women’s varsity soccer team secured their spot as regular season ISL upper division champions this afternoon.
The College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers the SAT exam, has scuttled its controversial plan to include an “adversity score” on student test results after facing criticism from students, parents and educators. The adversity score, originally announced last spring, aimed to quantify the level of hardship a student faced growing up by averaging two scores: one for the student’s school environment and the other for the student’s neighborhood environment. The official announcement was met with a wave of criticism, calling it an overreach by the College Board and an effort to score adversity the same way it does academic
In the wake of the national college admission scandal and the departure of their entire college counseling staff, Sidwell Friends School again finds itself in the midst of a college admission controversy. A former student sued the school, alleging discrimination that undermined her chances for college admission. The DC Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, however, have rejected her appeal. Dayo Adetu and her parents, Titilayo and Nike Adetu, said the private school breached a settlement with the family after it allegedly discriminated against Adetu by purposefully grading her more harshly than her peers. Adetu claimed Sidwell breached the
Failing to recognize the importance of addressing climate change means failing to recognize the importance of our futures, the beauty of the world around us and our privilege in ending this fight. The position of our school in the nation’s capital means we are not necessarily the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but we are in a unique situation where we can directly influence lawmakers to fight it. Major corporations, like those in the fossil fuel and food production industries, continue to leak pollutants into the atmosphere, land and water with little to no regulations. There are
Following the National Walkout for Gun Violence on March 14 at the Capitol, students have raised the question: are walkouts worth the consequences of missing school? The main argument made by students who participated in the protest was the rare experience that the walkout offers students. Bella Young, a sophomore at GDS, said that “It gives an opportunity for students to feel like they are a part of something bigger…the walkout makes students do more for what they have. It’s really empowering seeing all the students around you; no teachers, no parents.” As many keynote speakers at the 2019 National
When someone walks into the GDS High School, the first location that catches the eye is the Forum. Placed directly adjacent to the front desk, the Forum is the main hub of activity at GDS, crucial for travelling around the school or even socializing with fellow students. However, every entry, or exit, to the center of the Forum is comprised of stairs. For an individual with a physical disability, navigating the forum or any other section of the school is not only difficult but almost downright impossible. GDS is known for its focus on social justice, but one identifier that
By now, we have all heard the term “the GDS way.” The saying is often used as an umbrella term for values such as kindness, compassion, and acceptance, but, as one gets older, the term tends to take a more political tone. On a political spectrum, Georgetown Day students tend to lean far left. This political leaning manifests itself in assemblies, curriculum, class discussions, and even in everyday conversations between students. More conservative students often feel isolated, and even attacked, in open dialogue discussions as well as social situations as they are often shamed for not being “politically correct.” When
In March, the news broke of a scandal involving 33 parents (including various celebrities), prestigious university coaches and millions of dollars, all with the goal of cheating the college admissions system in order to get the children of wealthy America into top schools. The public outrage and interest following the story was near instantaneous. Co-director of the college counseling office Jenni Ruiz said, “For some reason… when we start to talk about college admissions… people have this puritanical view of how it should be fair.” Co-director Emily Livelli added, “there’s a lot of mythology around college [admissions].” The methods of
As a girl who participates in math competitions and considers herself a “STEM kid,” I am used to seeing enormous gender disparities in my extracurriculars. At many of the math competitions I participate in, boys comprise over ninety percent of participants. In fact, since the U.S. started participating in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), 88 percent of its teams have been entirely male. The lack of female participation in STEM in high school and middle school translates to a gender achievement gap in STEM fields. Despite conscious efforts by universities and other organizations to increase the number of females they
As we near the end of this school year, students have gotten used to GDS’ current distance learning program. It is possible that a similar type of schedule will be used for some of the next school year. It would be a mistake for the school to favor a fast return to in-person education over another stint of distance learning. Many studies suggest that this fall will be accompanied by a resurgence of COVID-19. According to a Washington Post article citing the research of numerous epidemiologists, “A decline in transmission in summer would probably be followed by a seasonal increase