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During the upheavals and challenges of the past year, I have often thought about the meaning of courage and its power to change our lives.

In 2020, Ashley Hall celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. We honored the indomitable suffragists, who faced overwhelming odds with steadfast courage and challenged our nation to see women as leaders and equal to men.

A committed suffragist who founded Ashley Hall a full decade before women had the right to vote, Mary Vardrine McBee was a strong, courageous woman who fulfilled her mission to create a place for the cultivation of female leaders. Her suffragist spirit is our living legacy, and I have never been more proud of the Ashley Hall community than this year. The courage I have witnessed on a daily basis, in the face of the pandemic’s daunting challenges and many hardships, is both humbling and inspirational. This courage is a fortitude that is built day by day and a way of loving that places others before self.

Every morning, our faculty members have come fully prepared to tackle the many challenges of the day, and such tenacity is a testament to both their devotion to our students and a deep commitment to their vocation. Our staff, often working long hours behind the scenes, has gone to extraordinary ends to care for the health and safety of us all. Our families, too, have entrusted their children to us and partnered to keep our campus open. Most of all, our students have shown great courage in the face of enormous difficulties, and I am so proud of their strength and resilience as they have continued their journey to becoming strong women.

Rising above the fears that isolate and paralyze us and finding strength in all the ways we can help one another, our Ashley Hall community unites with a shared mission and commits to living with purpose and compassion. No matter what the future holds, our shared courage will see us through.

With kind regards,

Jill Muti Head of School