When I came to Foxcroft as a young teacher, I knew nothing about independent schools, boarding schools and/or girls’ schools. Even more directly, I had preconceived notions – myths as I have grown to call them – about both. You know the ones: schools for students with discipline problems, schools for students whose parents don’t want them, bastions of elitism, “not the real world,” etc. On the other hand, as a fourth-generation teacher, I was passionate about education, about students, and about English. I wanted to teach English; Foxcroft needed an English teacher and so I arrived in rural Virginia, expecting to stay no longer than two years.

 

By the end of the first year I had found none of the myths to be true, and I had experienced a depth and breadth of meaningful connections and relationships both inside and outside my classroom that astounded me. I found a living and learning environment that addresses, in a comprehensive way, the special strengths and needs of girls. At Foxcroft, everything we do is curriculum and every opportunity is for girls; and in the process lives are transformed – teacher and learner, learner and teacher.

 

The research validates what I have observed, supporting two axioms we see here every day: there is a girls’ school advantage and boarding schools offer value-added opportunities for all their students. To wit:

• A 2009 UCLA study documents that girls’ school graduates have a definite edge on their coed peers in mathematics, in computer skills, in public speaking and in writing to name a few.
• A 2005 National Coalition of Girls’ Schools Alumnae Study found that 95% of recent girls’ school graduates say going to a girls’ school inspires a “can-do” attitude. Some 93% reported they were very or extremely satisfied with the individualized attention they received and fully 88% would repeat their girls’ school experience. Concurrently, Foxcroft surveyed more than 500 of our alumnae and found more specific evidence of the “Foxcroft factor.” Ninety-one percent of those alumnae said they would choose Foxcroft again. Some 88% rated the academic experience and 90% rated the faculty as “excellent or very good.” Perhaps even more impressively, more than 95% said Foxcroft had a positive impact on achieving goals, on leadership skills and on community involvement.
• In “The Truth About Boarding School,” a study of public and private school seniors and graduates, 91% of the boarding school constituency said their school was academically challenging, compared to 70% of private day and 50% of public school students. Some 87% of boarding school graduates reported being very well prepared academically for college, compared to 71% of private day and 39% of public school graduates.

Our alumnae recognize the impact of their Foxcroft education on their success in the academic and professional arenas and in their lives of purpose and achievement. Foxcroft students excel and, increasingly, girls need the education Foxcroft offers.

 

Come watch us in action and see for yourselves!
 

Sincerely,

Mary Louise Leipheimer
Head of School