All Girls’ Schools Can Help Students Achieve More

Did you know that a single sex school can help students achieve more? When it comes to choosing the right school for your daughter, these important developmental years can be greatly enhanced by attending an all-girls’ school like Villa Maria Academy Lower School, which is dedicated to the way girls learn.

Here a few things to consider…

All-Girls’ Schools Empower Girls to Excel

“The great mission of education is to enable every child to fulfill their potential. But what a girl needs to achieve is often different from what a boy needs to achieve,” says Dr. Leonard Sax of Why Gender Matters. Girls’ schools create a culture of achievement.

In an all-girls private school environment like Villa Maria Academy Lower School, students are encouraged, and expected, to try new things, participate and work together. They live up to high expectations by becoming as responsible as they are independent.

Students report feeling more free to speak and express themselves in an all-girls’ school, which leads to more confidence and a stronger development of a lifelong love of learning.

All-Girls’ Schools Foster Emotional Intelligence

When evaluating a girls’ school, it is easy to be swayed by the numbers, classroom technology, facilities, etc., and overlook qualities that will play a key role in determining how well the child will succeed in life.

Many schools emphasize their academic strengths and students’ test scores. However, an individual’s happiness and success is determined by her emotional intelligence. In elementary school, a student develops foundational emotional and interpersonal skills, attitudes, and habits that parents hope will support the child later in life.

Emotional regulation skills along with communication, social and stress management skills are all different pieces that help children become more empowered and resilient adults.

“When you teach kids emotional intelligence, how to recognize their feelings, understand where they come from and learn how to deal with them, you teach them the most essential skills for their success in life. Research has shown that emotional intelligence or EQ ‘predicts over 54% of the variation in success (relationships, effectiveness, health, quality of life).’” – Lisa Firestone Ph. D. from Pyschology Today “Compassion Matters” blog.

The advantage of having your daughter at an all girls’ school is the strength and support in the bond of sisterhood. “Each girl derives strength from the intimacy of the friendship. When a girl is under stress, she looks to other girls for support and comfort,” says Dr. Leonard Sax of Why Gender Matters. Villa girls support one another, because of the organizational culture of which supports reverence and respect for all.

All-Girls’ Schools Lay Foundations for Leadership

It is important for girls to see themselves as leaders from the beginning.

Girls’ schools like Villa Maria Academy Lower School empower students to be bold leaders. At Villa, students are taught that leadership is primarily related to the power of their influence. Leadership and joyful service are visible signs of our commitment to selfless relationships characterized by respect, reverence, empathy, compassion and concern.

Skilled teachers who understand girls and the way they learn can help to spark a girls’ interests and support emotional development. At Villa, our teachers know girls and know each girl well. When girls feel known, understood, and challenged, they have the power to be their very best selves.

93% of girls’ school grads say they were offered greater leadership opportunities than peers at coed schools and 80% have held leadership positions since graduating from high school.
*Source: National Coalition of Girls’ Schools ncgs.org