SFDS is one of (if not) the only private, nonsectarian schools in the city to not require language immersion or specialty-focused student body, for a well-rounded education and student life.

Students in grades 3-8 take the annual Educational Records Bureau (ERB) Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) for individual, class, and national comparison, then the SSAT as a feeder school for high school admissions.

[4] Since 1993, SFDS has served as the Breakthrough Collaborative San Francisco partner, helping under-served community students with application-based, tuition-free academic enrichment and a pathway to college (90% being first-generation college students).

[5][6][7] The school, students, and parents donate funding, time, and physical resources to tackle educational inequality.

[8] SFDS recently completed a campus expansion which has a theatre, art room, music room, rooftop garden, and housing for teachers.