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= = = Getting to Know Today’s GPS  =

//Small groups of alumnae get a firsthand look at a dramatically changing school.//
By Corinne Anderson Adams ’69 If GPS was our academic nest, we have spread our wings to the far corners of the U.S. and beyond! Today GPS alumnae live in all 50 states, one U.S. territory, and in 13 foreign countries -- and it’s tougher than ever to maintain ties to classmates and our school. So what’s a girl to do? n  What if there were a special organization for alumnae who live outside of Chattanooga? n  What if we could come together during the year to get a firsthand look at our dramatically changing school and really “feel” what’s happening within its walls? n  What if we could experience the “sisterhood” we enjoyed there so many years ago? n  What if we could make a difference for the next generation of GPS “sisters”? These were the thoughts behind the establishment of the GPS National Alumnae Advisory Council – an organization founded three years ago to generate conversation and to strengthen involvement and financial support of alumnae who live outside Chattanooga. Today more than 80 GPS alums from all over the country have returned to GPS to get the inside scoop on the school and learn more about our roles in its future. In doing so, we have been surprised, thrilled -- and sometimes even shocked – by the changes at GPS! At our meetings, we are: n  __ Amazed __ to see the cultural and economic diversity in our student body – an exciting change that requires more financial aid to support it. n  __ Surprised __ to learn that GPS can’t maintain its state-of-the-art curriculum without financial aid. In fact, financial aid ensures that we have a full complement of talented students to participate in a strong program! n  __ Thrilled __ to know that GPS has a brand new Global Awareness program that impacts every part of the curriculum. (And did you know that GPS girls just waged a successful campaign to fund a fellow girls’ school in Afghanistan ? Read the //NY Times// best seller //Three Cups of Tea//, and learn more about the mission!) We are a global school!!!! n  __ Shocked __ to find that, although GPS has the largest endowment of the five girls’ schools in Tennessee, our endowment is one third of that at other comparable independent schools in Chattanooga. n  __ Stunned __ to learn that the GPS tuition is short $4,000 per student in covering the cost of the education. n  __ Extremely excited __ to see the passion and enthusiasm infecting every corner of this school! We’ve heard “master teachers” talk about art and global concerns, listened to tango music and stage-singing “divas,” gone to Spanish, physics and English classes, and heard students talk about their hopes and dreams for making a difference in the world. Bottom line: GPS is YOUR school – but it isn’t the school you may remember. It’s a school preparing girls for a new global community….a school where every girl can find her gift and use it….a school of which you can be extremely and immensely proud. So, what to do with all of this? If you’re curious about what’s happening at GPS today, call or email Carol Killebrew Meyers at 423-634-7698 (ckbrew@gps.edu) to get the dates for the next AAC (Alumni Advisory Council) meeting. You’ll spend an eye-opening day-and-a-half at GPS immersed in its colorful life. You’ll go to class… meet one-on-one with students, teachers, and parents…enjoy insider sessions with administrators about how the school operates, reconnect with fellow alums, and consider ways to make our school even better. Although I’m just around the corner from GPS (in Atlanta), I’ve been stunned…amazed…shocked…excited…surprised and thrilled at all I have experienced as part of the AAC. And I can’t wait for my next trip to the campus. In reconnecting with the school where I received a superb education and made lifelong friends, I am enriched – and feeling pretty terrific about “giving back.” Come be a part of the GPS Alumnae Advisory Council! **For more information on how you can join the NAAC, please call Carol Killebrew Meyers '79 at (423) 634-7698 or email **ckbrew@gps.edu**.**