Reimagining the GCS Parent Experience

Rebuilding the P&FA starts with listening, and that’s exactly what we’ve spent the past several months doing. Here’s a transparent summary of what GCS parents told us. 

• 303 parents completed our Spring 2026 survey—representing all four divisions of the school. This was one of the largest parent listening efforts in GCS history. 

• Over 50 parents participated in four small-group focus sessions, each approximately 90 minutes long. Sessions were held across divisions and designed as forward-looking conversations. 

• 89% of survey respondents said they can contribute something to the P&FA. The desire to be involved is strong. What’s been missing is a clear pathway in. 

• 56% had never participated in P&FA activities in the past two years, but not because they didn’t want to. The three most-cited barriers were time, scheduling conflicts, and not knowing how to get involved. 

• 71% expressed interest in new affinity groups such as Athletics, Diversity & Belonging, Innovation/STEM, and others. Purpose-driven, interest-based programming is one of the clearest opportunities ahead.  

We asked parents to be candid, and they were. These are the five things that came up most consistently—in the survey and confirmed in every focus group session. 

1. We need to do a better job explaining what the P&FA is and how it works. Many parents told us the P&FA can feel confusing or hard to understand, and some weren’t sure how active it currently is. This helps us see how important clearer, more consistent communication will be moving forward. 

2. Our scheduling doesn’t work for all families. Most GCS families have two full-time working parents. The majority of P&FA events and volunteer opportunities have historically been during weekday business hours. Parents would like to see evening and weekend options, hybrid/virtual formats, and short project-based commitments rather than year-long committee memberships. 

3. New families need more intentional ways to feel connected to the community and to each other—especially those entering in middle or upper school. Parents who joined GCS later in their child’s journey shared that it can be hard to find their footing or meet other families. This feedback underscored how important thoughtful welcoming and onboarding practices are for building a strong community. 

4. This is a good moment to take a fresh look at our events and how well they’re serving our community. We heard helpful perspectives on the kinds of events that have felt most meaningful and engaging over time, as well as those that have been harder to sustain. The enthusiasm is there, and with the right structure, we can build events that feel both engaging and sustainable.

5. Parents want to contribute—and are looking for clearer ways to do so. GCS has an extraordinarily talented parent community. Across the sessions, parents described wanting to offer their professional skills, networks, and energy—and weren’t sure where to start or how to plug in. Building clear, specific, bounded pathways to contribution is one of the most important things we can do. 

The Advisory Committee, with GCS administration and staff, discussed the findings and developed a framework for moving forward. As a result of this work,  will spend the summer preparing several enhancements for the 2026–27 school year, including:

• A refreshed Parent & Family Association structure

• Division-based engagement opportunities and room parent support

• A New Family Welcome Group

• New parent-led study committees focused on Athletics, Innovation/STEM, Arts, and Multicultural Engagement

• Expanded evening and Zoom participation opportunities

• A year-round electronic volunteer system with clearly defined opportunities, time commitments, and points of contact

• Improved communication about events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved

We look forward to sharing additional details in the fall as the new school year begins. 

How do Dragon families want to engage with GCS? How can families best support the school, faculty and staff, and students? The answers to these questions are likely quite different today than they were even a few years ago. The GCS Parents & Friends Association has long supported the school and served as parents’ primary avenue of engagement—so it is only natural that the P&FA, and our approach to parent and family engagement in general, would change and evolve as well. 

We are aware of other schools that have undergone similar evolutions for their parent and family support organizations; one school to note is Penn Charter in Philadelphia. Learn about their process here.

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