The Future Is Female! Three Reasons Why You Should Consider an All-Girls Independent School for Your Black or Brown Daughter
Guest blog by Kate Briscoe Collins
Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid, Greenwich Academy
The Future is Female!
Three Reasons Why You Should Consider an All-Girls Independent School for Your Black or Brown Daughter
Guest blog by Kate Briscoe Collins
Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid, Greenwich Academy
There is certainly a dizzying array of independent school options these days—the good news is, prospective families have many choices when it comes to considering their daughter’s education. Should they consider a PreK-12th grade school? A stand-alone school? A city school? A suburban school? A boarding school? While many families plan to send their daughter to an independent school, some decide that co-ed schools are the only option for them. “Because the world is co-ed!” they declare. “She won’t know how to talk to boys!” they lament.
While the world is indeed co-ed, the research from the International Coalition of Girls Schools paints a compelling picture of the often overlooked benefits of single-sex education. It is time to dispel the myth that all-girls schools are socially isolating, so that our Black and brown families consider the benefits of enrolling their daughters in an all-girls independent school. Here are three reasons why enrollment in an all-girls independent school can facilitate a life-changing trajectory for your daughter.
Girl power! Black and brown girls are born ready to lead, and all-girls schools empower their students to be bold and confident leaders. One study found that Black and brown girls strongly identify as leaders and have leadership aspirations. Black girls are the most likely to self-identify as leaders (48%) compared to girls of other races (White 31%, Latinx 36%, Asian 25%, Multiethnic 33%). Students in all-girls schools see only female peer role models around the schoolhouse, which leads to a culture where it’s cool to be a girl in leadership. Data suggests that girls at coeducational schools actually become less interested in leadership positions with age. 93% of girls’ school graduates say they were offered greater leadership opportunities than co-educated peers and 80% have held leadership positions since graduating from high school.
Got STEM? The reality is, Black and brown women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Girls’ school graduates are 6 times more likely to consider majoring in math, science, and technology compared to girls who attended coeducational schools. Think about it: in an all-girls school, the girls are the leaders and sole voices in the math and science classrooms. In an all-girls school, the girls are the makers and tinkerers in the engineering and technology lab. And in an all-girls school, the girls are getting the attention, resources, and STEM programming where they are often overlooked in a co-ed setting in favor of louder male voices in these critical classes.
You go, girl! Students in all-girls learning environments are supported by a community of peers, teachers, and school leaders.The overwhelming majority of girls’ school students strongly agree to feeling a culture of support and well-being in their schools. 95% feel supported by their teachers (compared to 84% of girls at coeducational schools), 90% report feeling supported by other students (compared to 73%), and 83% feel supported by their school leaders (compared to 63%). For Black and brown girls, feeling a sense of connection through their school’s affinity groups, through close rapport with an advisor, and through regular interactions with teachers and coaches will be paramount to their success in an independent school.
The single-sex educational experience for girls is more relevant today than ever before for the next generation of trailblazers. When you send your daughter to an all-girls independent school, you are letting her know that nothing can stand in her way. And that’s the important message that our schools provide for girls, each and every day.