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THE COALITION CONNECTION
May 6, 2016
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Dear NCGS Community,
As the educators of girls we have committed our life's work to developing, inspiring, and guiding our students to become their best selves. We are dedicated to girls' education and understand deeply the value our work has on current and future generations. It is incredibly rewarding work, but let's be honest, it's about this time of year that we start the count down to the last day of school!
Summers are a time for much needed rejuvenation. Not just for us, but also for our students. We start to picture ourselves enjoying the tranquility of a mountain campsite or burying our toes in a sandy beach... relaxing in a backyard hammock or sitting on a park bench. In each of these mental images, there's a good book in our hands. It's that glorious time of year when we are less weighed down by daily commitments and can read purely for pleasure.
Several NCGS member schools select an all-school book for students and faculty or an all-faculty book for summer time reading. Recommended reading lists for students by grade levels are also popular practice.
As a thought leader in girls' education, last spring NCGS launched an Amazon eStore with recommended reading lists for educators, students, and parents. NCGS thanks the faculty and staff at member Emma Willard School for curating this summer's student reading lists grouped by age-appropriate levels. This resource is available to help your school identify an all-faculty book or inspire selections for your students.
I send best wishes for the conclusion of another successful school year, and hope you find the time this summer to relax with a good book.
Regards, Megan Megan Murphy Executive Director
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Reminder: Register for "Introduction to Girls' Schools" Course
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NCGS and One Schoolhouse (formerly Online School for Girls) are pleased to once again offer the highly successful " Introduction to Girls' Schools," an online professional development opportunity. This course provides instructional insight to all teachers new to girls' schools, be they seasoned educators or new professionals. In order for your newly hired faculty to thrive and succeed at their first girls' school, it is valuable to provide them an orientation to the most effective methods for teaching girls.
"Introduction to Girls' Schools" is a four-week long course and requires participants to spend approximately four hours a week engaged in the class. Three sessions will be offered:
- June 20-July 15, 2016
- July 25-August 19, 2016
- October 10-November 4, 2016
Click here for more information, including fees and comments from past participants.
To learn more about why this course is invaluable for your newly hired faculty, check out this interview conducted by Brad Rathgeber, Executive Director of One Schoolhouse and NCGS Trustee with Session I instructor Ann V. Klotz, Head of Laurel School and NCGS Trustee.
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Spring Sale on NCGS Publications
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Are you ready to make the case for girls' schools this fall? Replenish your supply of NCGS publications following the busy admissions  season!
Receive 10% off all orders placed by June 1, 2016, using the code NCGS10 on the order form.
Click here for the order form and to learn more about the current NCGS publications.
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Research Reports About Self-Esteem & Confidence
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How are girls affected by the fashion industry's unrealistic model of beauty? Do single-sex environments boost attitudes towards appearance and self-esteem in adolescent girls? 
Find answers to these questions and more on the NCGS website in our new Research Reports section, an online archive of studies related to girls' schools, education, and healthy development from the past 15 years. Reports are grouped by 14 different topic areas, including over ten reports related to Self-Esteem & Confidence in girls.
Click here to take advantage of this free resource.
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Highlights from the NCGS "Listening & Learning Tour"
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Olivia Haas, Director of Strategic Communications & Research, and Eliza McGehee, Program Associate, traveled from coast to coast during the last two weeks. Here's what they had to say from the road:
"On April 24, NCGS hosted its fourth Girls' School Advantage advocacy outreach program in Los Angeles. Held on the Chalon Campus of Mount Saint Mary's University (MSMU), nearly 175 prospective families and educators attended the event to learn about the unique benefits of an all-girls education. Dr. Linda Sax of UCLA and a MSMU trustee presented findings from her report, Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College. The event also featured a Q&A panel of student representatives from the following NCGS member schools: The Archer School for Girls, Girls Academic Leadership Academy, Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School, Louisville High School, Marlborough School, Marymount High School, Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus, Ramona Convent Secondary School, Vivian Webb School, and Westridge School.
The 2015-2016 sponsor for the Girls' School Advantage program is Girl Up, an innovative campaign of the United Nations Foundation."
While they were in California, Olivia and Eliza also had the opportunity to visit some NCGS member schools:
"I enjoyed a meeting with the entire Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus admissions team over breakfast. They shared many of the programs that make Mayfield unique, including its Conservatory for the Arts. The Conservatory offers a rigorous program that enhances each student's ability to awaken her distinctive artistic voice while advancing her skills and passion of the arts. I concluded my visit with a tour of campus, which houses a stunning Italianate Beaux Arts mansion built between 1914-1919.
At Ramona Convent Secondary School, I was hosted to a lovely lunch with President Sister Kathleen Callaway, Principal Mary Mansell, Director of Enrollment & Public Relations Veronica Puente-Smith, and Associate Director of Enrollment & Public Relations Veronica Fernandez. Following our meeting, I had the pleasure of touring campuses with the two Veronicas who are both Ramona alumna. I learned about Ramona programs and traditions such as the Acceptance BBQ where all seniors wear their college sweaters and burn any college rejection letters.
My time in LA ended with meetings at the Vivian Webb School nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. During a campus tour with Director of Academic Affairs Theresa Smith, I learned the Alf Museum of Paleontology is housed on campus. This one-of-a-kind science research institution is a nationally-accredited museum with 95% of its collection of over 150,000 specimens discovered by Webb students, teachers, and alumni dating back to the 1920s."
-- Olivia Haas
"While visiting Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School, students were busy preparing for Mary's Day, an all-school event that takes place each spring, which includes a mass, dance, and theater productions. I toured campus with President Maureen Diekmann and other administrators and learned about the extensive arts and integrated STEAM program at Immaculate Heart, which places emphasis on graphic design, coding, and urban art/design within the curriculum.
I had a lovely lunch with Elizabeth English, Head of The Archer School for Girls. Elizabeth told me about the Fifth Annual Archer Film Festival, a two-day event hosted and run by Archer students to address the lack of women in film and television, particularly at the producer and director level. The Festival began with a pink carpet gala at the ArcLight Cinema featuring Director J.J. Abrams and concluded the following day with a series of panels hosted on Archer's campus."
-- Eliza McGehee
The following weekend, Olivia, Eliza, and Executive Director Megan Murphy traveled to the Big Apple:
"NCGS hosted its second Girls' School Advantage advocacy outreach program in New York on May 1 at the New York Academy of Medicine. Over 250 prospective families and educators were in attendance despite the chilly, rainy weather. Megan moderated a Q&A panel of student representatives from the following participating schools: The Brearley School, The Chapin School, Convent of the Sacred Heart (NY), Fontbonne Hall Academy, The Hewitt School, Kent Place School, Marymount School of New York, The Nightingale-Bamford School, The Spence School, and the Young Women's Leadership Network."
Olivia and Eliza also had the chance to visit some schools in New York:
"I enjoyed meeting with Hewitt School Head Tara Christie Kinsey, Director of Admissions Amy Jablonski, and Director of Advancement Melissa Ritchie. We discussed how girls' schools are affinity groups that were founded with the purpose of leveling the playing field and the need for our schools to maintain that identity. I was pleased to learn that NCGS partner Rachel Simmons, a nationally acclaimed author and educator, has been named The Tylis Family Girls Research Scholar-in-Residence at Hewitt for the 2016-2017 academic year.
A short cab ride took me to The Brearley School where I met with Head Jane Foley Fried and several members of her administrative team. I was treated to a tour of the 12-story campus by sophomore Alexa, who has two younger sisters also attending Brearley. Alexa was excited to share with me all the aspects that make Brearley a special place, including the science floor Wall of Fame. Photos and bios of Brearley alumnae working in STEM fields are exhibited to encourage the girls, because they must see it to be it."
-- Olivia Haas
"While in New York, I had breakfast with Principal Mary Ann Spicijaric and Director of Admissions and Communications Veronica Prager at Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn. They shared with me some of the school's innovative initiatives in STEM, including a partnership with Brown University's Pre-College Engineering Program. This allows Fontbonne students to participate in an online course taught by Brown professors to explore engineering and its design principles, and work collaboratively on biomedical, materials science, and renewable energy engineering projects.
I also had the chance to visit The Young Women's Leadership School of Brooklyn (TYWLS), one of the five schools of the Young Women's Leadership Network. I toured campus with two students who told me about the support and dedication of their teachers as well as the strong community TYWLS builds through its Big Sister/Little Sister program. I also met with administrators who discussed the many ways TYWLS prepares girls for life after graduation through events like the Jumpstart to College program, which educates students and parents about the transition and expectations of college.
I concluded my time in New York at Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School, which is part of the Public Prep. Girls learn from a young age they have the ability to pursue all of their dreams, and all classrooms are named after innovative and inspirational female role models, including Marie Curie, Malala Yousafzai, and Oprah Winfrey. I enjoyed learning about the school's extensive health and wellness program, which includes yoga classes for all grade levels and after-school class opportunities for students and parents."
-- Eliza McGehee
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