THE power OF All-Girls

"We’ve learned how to raise our hands, as simple as that may seem. The confidence instilled in us inside the classroom and beyond is sometimes easy to overlook. Of course we feel free to speak our minds, to slice through a lecture with our open palms, actively grasping at new information. But the fact that we’re so comfortable doing so, that its alternative actually seems strange, is really telling. This confidence is not the norm, especially among girls our age. Stone Ridge imparts the deep understanding that mistake and confusion are part of learning—a process that only really begins when we take the first step, when we choose to reach out and reach up."

~ Excerpt from the valedictory address delivered by
Nora Gosselin, Class of 2015

New Study: Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University
Author(s): Tiffani Riggers-Piehl, Kyungmin Lim, Karen King
Institution: Higher Education Research Institutue
Year of Study: 2018

Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University focuses a lens on how graduates of all-girls schools today compare to female graduates of coed schools in terms of their academic characteristics and readiness for university. Drawing data from the well-known Freshman Survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles, the researchers used multilevel analyses to separate the effect of an all-girls education from other influences including socioeconomic differences, race/ethnicity, parent education, and the characteristics of the high schools attended. The data reveals a consistent portrait of girls’ school graduates who are more engaged academically and socially than their coeducated peers.

In summary, the researchers concluded that when compared to their female peers at coed schools, girls’ school graduates:

• Have stronger academic skills
• Are more academically engaged
• Demonstrate higher science self-confidence
• Display higher levels of cultural competency
• Express stronger community involvement
• Exhibit increased political engagement

At Stone Ridge, girls occupy every role: every part in the play, every club leader, every position on every team. Not only does she have abundant avenues for self-exploration and development, she will develop strong, lifelong female friendships, and will always be a part of a special community that lasts a lifetime. Our girls collaborate, lead, mentor, and learn from each other, and our faculty has developed rich curricula and practices pedagogy based on research that shows how girls learn best.