Four Stuart dads share the benefits of an all-girls education

It is well established that all-girls learning environments provide significant benefits to girls, and this journey is further enhanced when their fathers actively support and advocate for their education. Just before spring break, Stuart fathers were invited to share their perspectives with accepted families. Representing different divisions and grade levels, the fathers talked about their "why" in choosing Stuart, the transformation in their daughters, the importance of our faith-based institution, and their response to common girl's school myths. Our dads confirmed what we already know about schools that are designed just for girls.

Tim Gaughan (Siobhan, grade 1): As dads and parents, we can all appreciate that we feel our daughters are incredibly special and unique and we wanted to find a learning environment that could match her, will meet her where she is, challenge her and help her grow. After meeting Christine (Head of Lower School) and going through the assessment process with Christine and Amanda Rivenburgh (Learning Support Specialist) it helped us feel confident and comfortable that this place was going to provide Siobhan with the challenges that she needed to continue to grow.

The other benefit is that they get to interact with other grades. The Stuart community is such that Middle Schoolers and Upper Schoolers know the Lower Schoolers, and they take pride in that. That has brought [Siobhan] to a different level in terms of her maturity and ability to make friendships.

Paul Teti (Ava, grade 6; Nina, grade 5): I think it's really about how you act around other people, whether it's boys or other girls or your future employer or professor or whatever. That's where it really gets back to the preparedness. At its core, that's what an all-girls environment and education is about. [Stuart] is preparing girls for those experiences they're going to have in the future and the confidence that it brings.

Kevin Broughton (Azara, grade 6; Hadassah, grade 8, Trinity '22): I think girls in a school setting will lose their voice somewhere along the way. This school really offers a personal educational experience to each of these girls. It's a small school where the girls are really allowed to have their own voice and become the best women that they're going to be.

I have three godsons that went/go to a [boys' school in north Jersey]. What do they say about boys from an all-boys school? "They're dedicated, they're focused, they're just on point and everything." But when it comes to an all-girls school, it's a double standard. If you're in the Middle School ready to go to high school, stay here. That same thing that's that lead for boys, leads for our daughters as well.

Rafael Vergara  (Juliette, grade 10): I wanted my daughter to have a positive experience. If you take time to observe how the girls here interact with each other, you get the feeling that they are having a great time while being challenged intellectually and in whatever activities or sports they're involved in.

[Stuart] is also a place that shares our religious values. I think that in places where kids don't have moral guideposts, they become lost a little bit. That is important for kids to have a certain structure and a certain idea of moral compass from which to flow.

Mahmoud El Banna (Fatima, grade 8; Maryah grade 5): We heard about Stuart and we thought it was great because we wanted a school where we knew God has a place here. I'm a primary care doctor; I see a lot of depression and anxiety and it's starting to affect people at a much younger age than I ever expected. What I find is that in people's lives there is a lot less faith and more dependence on themselves, less dependence on a higher power. That's another reason why I thought it would be increasingly important to keep [our girls] in a faith-based school that shares the importance of this.
 

Click here to learn more about the science-backed benefits of girls' schools