Our Community

Since 1759, Germantown Academy inspires curiosity, builds character, and instills confidence in our students. Grounded in enduring values yet driven by meaningful innovation, we are a community for life where every student is known and supported as they embrace new challenges. Through exceptional teaching and rigorous academics, along with extraordinary opportunities beyond the classroom, students discover their passions, thrive in college, and go on to lead lives of purpose and impact around the world.

Find Your Place

House System

Established in 2007, the GA House System gives every Upper School student a close-knit community within the broader life of the school. Students are placed in one of seven Houses named for a notable community member in GA’s history: Alcott Day, Galloway, Kershaw, Osbourn, Roberts, Truesdell, and Washington, which creates opportunities to build meaningful relationships with peers and faculty, participate in mentoring and collaboration, develop leadership skills, and take part in inter-House activities and friendly competitions. House Heads and faculty advisors focus on one House, allowing them to provide students with the individual attention, guidance, and support they need to thrive.

Clubs

Clubs provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore their interests, pursue their passions, and connect with others beyond the classroom in every division. From arts, athletics, and academics to service, wellness, culture, and everything in between, the range of clubs reflects the diverse interests and curiosity of our students. Clubs also create valuable opportunities for students and faculty to build relationships around shared interests, while giving students a voice in shaping their experience and contributing to the vibrant life of the GA community.

Affinity Groups

GA offers affinity groups that create spaces for students, faculty, staff, families, and alumni to build connection, resilience, and a sense of belonging. Groups such as African American/Black, Asian American, Jewish, Hispanic/Latino, SWANA, and LGBTQIA+ affinity groups provide opportunities for community members with shared identities and experiences to connect, reflect, and support one another. These groups, along with the Black Alumni Association and Black Family Alliance, help foster a community where individuals feel seen, affirmed, and connected.

Competition

Germantown Academy is proud to stand among the premier athletic programs in the region as a founding member of the Inter-Academic Athletic League (Inter-Ac) - the oldest interscholastic athletic league in America. With 28 varsity teams and 74 interscholastic teams competing in exceptional facilities with dedicated coaches who believe in developing the whole student-athlete, GA offers countless opportunities to grow, lead, and proudly represent the red, black, and blue.

Service

Community service is a core value woven throughout the student experience and brought to life through the school-wide Community Service Organization (CSO). Established in 1986 by Peter McVeigh 1760, CSO empowers students to turn social awareness into meaningful action, develop leadership skills, and make a tangible difference in the lives of others. Through service projects across divisions, students learn that service is personal, purposeful, and an essential part of being a member of the GA community.

traditions

GA’s traditions bring generations of students, families, faculty, and alumni together, creating shared moments that build school spirit, strengthen connections, and make the experience of being part of the GA community truly memorable.

Flag Raising

No new school year has officially begun until the time honored ritual of Flag Raising has been completed. On the morning of the first Friday of full classes each school year, every member of the school community – students, faculty, staff, and administration – gather on Connor Quad by the main flag pole. After announcements for the year, and sometimes a re-enactment of our proud school history, the senior class sings our “Alma Mater” while a special American Flag, bearing 13 stars recalling the original collection of colonies existent in our young country at the time of our schools founding, is raised above the GA school flag where they will fly each day of the school year. All are dismissed for the start of the day’s first class by the toll of our historic bell ringing for all to hear from The Belfry atop the Administration Building.

Field Day

This beloved Lower School tradition dates back to the 1960s, with roots that reach even further back to GA’s Upper School Tug of War in 1875. Every Lower School student is assigned to either the Red Team or Blue Team—and once you’re red or blue, you’re red or blue for life! The day kicks off with a spirited parade around campus before everyone heads to the fields for a morning packed with friendly competition, school spirit, and plenty of cheering.

GA/PC Day

Graduation Hand Shake Line

Connor Quad is the setting for Germantown Academy's outdoor graduation celebration each year. Once all the pomp and circumstance is complete, it is tradition for the faculty to process first and line up around the Quad's outer rim to congratulate each senior for completing their student days at GA. While not every student and teacher knows each other, this joyful (and sometimes tearful!) round of handshakes, high fives, and hugs captures the spirit of a school where every student is known, supported, and celebrated by the community.

Academy Club

Founded by the members of the Class of 1924, the Academy Club is an organization whose members are chosen by their peers in recognition of their dedication, involvement, and school spirit as well as their commitment to keep their class connected to GA as alumni.

The purpose of the club is to create, in the words of the founders, a "closer relationship between the Alumni body of Germantown Academy and the school itself." This spirit of dedication and involvement is commemorated each year when GA and the senior class honor certain class members for contributing to the life of the school.

Parents' Committee

When a family joins Germantown Academy, not only do the students engage in and form valuable community bonds, but parents also have many community opportunities throughout the school year. The Germantown Academy Parents' Committee is a diverse group of active parents whose objective is the enrichment of the GA community by promotion of communication, cooperation, friendship, and understanding among parents, faculty/staff, administration, and students. The Committee also helps raise funds for special school projects. The Committee has an Executive Committee, Co-Chairs representing each class, and Standing Committees that are responsible for school-wide activities. All parents are members of the Parents' Committee. ALL GA parents are welcome.