Wayne Robinson ’76 was the first alumnus to be drafted to play by one of the 4 major US sports leagues. He was drafted #31 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980. He was later traded to the Detroit Pistons before spending 9 seasons playing overseas.
Author: Courtney Sparrow
Anna Godwin ’82 and Mary Schenck ’82 were the first two “Lifer” students to graduate from Greensboro Day School who were students in the first 1st grade class offered in 1970! A ‘Lifer’ is now considered anyone who attends GDS from Kindergarten-12th grade.
“Lo Hearts Behold” stated that “A presentation of Pygmalion was perhaps the first major dramatic production at GDS” in the fall of 1979. However upon further review of the archives, the school performed Love Rides the Rails in 1977 and The Imaginary Invalid in 1978.
The first computer purchased for instruction came in 1979 when the Parents’ Council purchased an Apple II computer. The Parents’ Council subsequently provided regular replacements and upgrades, with major acquisitions in 1989 and 1992 for use in all 3 divisions. Whatever technological changes the future brings, Greensboro Day School’s humanistic approach to technology is poised to take full advantage.
In the early years of the school, health services were provided by volunteer parents. More than 30 years ago, then Head of School, Dr. Ralph Davison recognized the need to have a nurse on campus, someone on campus who could support students’ health. In 1987, Denese Roseborough was hired as the school’s first nurse, working each day from 9am-2pm. Denese held this position until 1995, when GDS Alumna Linda Knox Sudnik Register ’79 was hired as the school’s first full-time nurse. It is under Nurse Linda’s leadership and supervision that our health service team has grown to what it is today!
In 1978, Head of School Jim Hendrix received permission from the Board of Trustees to establish a program of professional development and evaluation. After a two-day workshop led by Dr. David Purpel of UNCG, the faculty endorsed the concept and organized a committee, that over a period of three years developed the system of partner teachers, observation, goal setting, evaluation, and faculty study which was widely emulated across the independent school world. David Gilbert and Carmen Redding, key members of the original committee, were often asked to present workshops for other schools about the GDS program. After such a workshop in Tennessee in the fall of 1994, Gilbert noted, “Our program strikes a responsive chord with faculty because it was developed by teachers rather than by administrators.” The program was featured in the Journal-ISM magazine, of Independent School Management in August of 1983 and in a panel of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) conference in the spring of 1985 and again in 1991. The minutes of the 1984 Annual Meeting indicate that “special praise was directed toward Dr. Hendrix for providing the effort, image and character upon which the high standards of the school are based.” To this point, nothing the school had done had achieved as much national attention as the IOI.
The Southern Association of Schools and Colleges formally and fully accredited Greensboro Day School. The knowledge of this accreditation made students and parents confident of the quality of education the school affords.
The school first offered summer programs in 1977. Rick Lawson, Rick Michaels and Bill O’Connor were among those instrumental in getting the program established. Over the years it has served many purposes and many young people, in offering to students of all ages exploratory and enrichment activities ranging from study skills and pre-kindergarten camp to cooking and athletic camps. Summer Programs currently go for 6 weeks during the summer with 72 camps offered during the summer of 2019.
In 1975, the school started a chapter of the National Honor Society. Beth Garriss served as the faculty sponsor. Each year, approximately 40 students are inducted into the National Honor Society.
After all the rigorous coursework, extracurricular activities, service outreach, global connections, and lifelong friendships created, Greensboro Day School graduated its first seniors, a class of just 12 students, in 1975.