As we begin the 2010-2011 school year, we celebrate 145 years of excellence in the education of young women. As were our predecessor schools -- The Ward Seminary For Young Ladies and Ward-Belmont -- The Harpeth Hall School is committed to creating a challenging, enriching educational environment that encourages every girl to realize her highest intellectual ability, become fluent in the sciences, the humanities, and the arts, and discover her creative and athletic talents.

Our strong college preparatory school for girls and young women in grades 5-12 is focused on how girls learn, how girls grow, and how girls lead. Research tells us what we already know from first-hand experience: Girls learn most effectively in a single-gender environment. In fact, the results of a study released last June by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and supported by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools validates our experience.

The study – based on survey data from more than 20,000 college women who attended more than 1,200 private high schools around the country – showed that women who attended single-gender high schools reported significantly higher gains in nine key areas when compared to their counterparts who attended coeducational schools.

The study showed that women graduates of single-gender schools expressed more confidence in their math, computer, writing and communication skills than did women who attended independent coeducational high schools. But most interesting to me was that graduates of all-girls’ schools, upon arriving at college, are more engaged in their academics and with the world at large. They speak up in class. They meet with teachers and professors. They ask questions, both inside and outside the lecture hall.

The major findings from UCLA’s nationwide study of women entering their first year of college reveal girls’ school alumnae assess themselves stronger across the academic disciplines. Graduates of all-girls’ schools demonstrate:

• Higher confidence in mathematical ability and computer skills
• Higher self-rated academic ability and intellectual confidence
• Stronger communication skills
• Higher academic engagement
• Higher SAT scores
• Greater interest in graduate school
• Stronger predisposition towards extracurricular engagement
• Higher political engagement
• More likely to pursue a career in engineering

At Harpeth Hall, everything we do is focused on educating girls, from the way our programs and classrooms are designed to the nurturing environment provided by our teachers and administrators. Like other girls’ schools, we provide a safe place for young women to dream lofty dreams while searching deep inside themselves and discovering immutable truths. Each year, thousands of girls graduate from single-gender schools. They enter college – and eventually, the professional world – self-assured, inquisitive about the world, and prepared in every sense for the next phase of their lives.

Over and over again, our graduates tell us that Harpeth Hall provided them with a stellar education during their formative adolescent years that allowed them to develop their talents, their goals, and their dreams. Now we have the statistical data that proves the value of this experience for your daughter and our alumnae.

If you would like to read the full statistical study, please click here. Thank you for investing in a Harpeth Hall education for your daughter, an investment that pays dividends for a lifetime.