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Girls & Boys

Convent & Stuart Hall believes in the unique power of educating girls and boys separately and together. The fundamental value in this paradoxical school structure is the lived experience of our students, as they see possibilities in themselves beyond social norms.

“God never meant for us to be copies. If we imitate too closely the actions of another, we are not truly ourselves, and we cannot give the true, the real note that we should give when speaking with our own voice.”
-Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ

With an intentional suspension of the societal and cultural roles and behaviors assigned to boys or girls, our school environment provides a well-scaffolded framework for students to grow fully into all the dimensions of their being. In this context, girls and boys see themselves as physicists and authors, actors and athletes, thinkers and friends.

Developmental research shows that boys and girls generally develop sensory cognition differently. As an entry point for learning, research suggests that girls learn better when the instruction begins with words, either spoken or written. Boys, on the other hand, might engage new content with visual cues. With learning considerations like this in mind, we design customized, heuristic approaches to pedagogical delivery, providing a focused and direct path for boys’ and girls’ learning. This awareness allows for optimal instructional delivery and increases the depth and breadth of content. In every classroom, girls and boys equally embody expertise across all disciplines without prejudgement or a societal message that may constrain achievement or opportunity.

The majority of the academic experience is in a structured girls or boys environment. As students mature and develop through adolescence, we leverage the deeper complementarity of girls and boys learning together with increased coeducational offerings, providing expansive opportunities for our students to thrive. In our community, girls and boys interact with one another regularly. Performing on the stage together, literally and metaphorically, our students understand what it means to live in a coed world.