Why An All Girls School?
Single-gender schools provide students with the most powerful, transformative learning environments. Carrollton’s tradition of excellence in all-girls education dates back to the founding of the first Sacred Heart School in Amiens, France, in 1801. For more than 200 years, Sacred Heart students have been held to the highest expectations and encouraged to become confident learners, critical thinkers, and self-starters. Carrollton’s all-girls environment yields rewards that last a lifetime.
Current research points to the effectiveness of single-sex education for young women. Graduates of girls' schools account for a significant percentage of women in leadership positions in industry, academia, public life, and the professions. Students describe their experience at an all-girls school as demanding, exciting, and life-changing. Their voices are heard, they're given opportunities to lead, and their accomplishments are numerous. They’re encouraged to focus on developing the very best in themselves while pursuing challenging coursework. Students in all-girl classrooms confidently voice their opinions, ask thought-provoking questions, and embrace new learning experiences and opportunities.
A growing body of research during the past decade has documented what all-girls school educators have long understood: All-girls schools give young women the best education to succeed in college and the world beyond. An example of this research is the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies' report on single-sex schooling and the transition to college. Based upon their nationwide blind study of female first-year college students, the UCLA researchers found that girls’ school alumnae start college with several significant advantages, including:
Confidence
More than 10% of girls' school graduates rate their confidence in math and computer abilities high at the start of college compared to their peers from co-ed schools.
Engineering
Girls' school alumnae are three times more likely than their co-ed peers to consider pursuing careers in engineering.
Academic Performance
More than 80% of girls' school graduates consider their academic performance highly successful, compared to 75% of women from co-ed schools.
Public Speaking
45% of all women graduating from single-sex schools rate their public speaking ability as high, compared to 39% of female graduates of co-ed schools. 64% of girls' school alumnae assess their writing skills as high, compared to 59% of female alumnae of co-ed schools.
Outside of the Classroom
Female graduates of single-sex independent schools spend more time studying, talking with teachers outside of class, and tutoring peers.
Graduate School
More girls' school graduates consider college a stepping stone to graduate school.