WHY A GIRLS’ SCHOOL

Class of 2009 - Duchesene Academy of the Sacred Heart

“The students I met are learning to be their best selves, competent and comfortable with who they are. Isn’t that what all children deserve?” - Karen Stabiner, author, “All Girls: Single-Sex Education and Why It Matters”

According to The National Coalition of Girls’ Schools:

In 1982, Harvard University researcher Carol Gilligan authored a book that would trigger a revolution in education. With In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development, Dr. Gilligan established that girls think, interact, display leadership and make decisions in a way that is unique both psychologically and developmentally. The male-based model, she found, simply did not fit the ways girls learn.

Dr. Gilligan’s conclusions, as well as a growing awareness of disparities in academic performances between girls and boys, led to a closer examination of what actually goes on in a co-ed classroom. In Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that girls routinely were called upon less often. Professors Myra and David Sadker echoed those findings in Failing at Fairness: How School Shortchange Girls, a compendium of ten years of their research at American University. The Professors Sadker go on to cite that girls are free from sexual harassment that affects almost 90% of girls in co-ed high schools. An all-girls school can create an atmosphere that counteracts the negative influence of mass media and its often troubling depictions of women and girls. Women graduates of all-girls high schools and colleges report extreme satisfaction with their education.

Since then, single-sex education has been the subject of increasing interest among researchers, and several major reports have detailed the ways in which all-girl learning environments can be beneficial. A 2000 study of 4,274 girls’ school alumnae, conducted for NCGS by the Goodman Research Group of Cambridge, Massachusetts, examined outcomes at single-sex schools for girls. The girls’ school alumnae were overwhelmingly positive in their responses:

• 91% cited preparation for college and academic challenge as very good or excellent
• 88% would repeat their girls’ school experience
• 83% perceived themselves to be better prepared for college than female counterparts from co-educational high schools
• 93% agreed that girls’ schools provide greater leadership opportunities than coed schools; additionally, 80% had held leadership positions since graduating from high school
• 13% intended to major in math or science – significantly more than females and males nationally (2% and 10% respectively)

Duchesne Academy regularly interviews its alumnae five years after their graduation from Duchesne. Some of the statistics from this survey include:

• 84% of the Class of 2004 have graduated from college.
• 58% got college credit or high placement because of coursework at Duchesne Academy.
• 68% of the Class of 2004 started and graduated from the same college or university.
• Majors, representing both those who stayed with their original decision and those who changed, include: Nursing, engineering (structural, civil, mechanical, architectural), English, political science, Philosophy, Asian studies, psychology, journalism, business, education, studio art, religious studies, drama, biology, computer science, humanities, Spanish, international studies, accounting, justice & peace studies, physical therapy, graphic design, health administration, math, finance & marketing
• Out of a class of 67 graduates, 25 are currently enrolled in post-graduate programs, including professional schools of law, medicine and veterinary medicine
• 88% of the Class of 2004 are working in the field of their major.
• When asked how well Duchesne Academy prepared them for success at college, overwhelmingly, the respondents cited writing & research skills; critical thinking skills; time management; and the rigorous curriculum and work load.
• When asked to rate their overall preparedness for college on a scale of 1-5 (1= poor; 5=excellent), 45% said “5”; 52% said between 4-5.