Why A Girls' School? Why GPS? | Girls Preparatory School

WHY GPS?

Things You Should Know About How a Girl Learns

From building curriculum to engaging with students, GPS teachers and leaders consider the unique aspects of how girls learn to ensure students are set up for success in the classroom, through graduation, and beyond.

Girls are highly relational.

In a school setting, a girl’s need for connection translates to strong peer-topeer relationships, as well as the need for positive interactions with her teachers and coaches. So you’ll often find our girls working in groups—conducting experiments in the lab, testing their latest makerspace creation, or discussing the works of poets.

And their teachers are typically right there beside them, encouraging dialog and challenging them to think deeply and respond thoughtfully. They’re prepared for collaborating in the real world while learning to support their beliefs and ideas.

In one study authored by UCLA educational researchers Young K. Kim and Linda Sax, girls were more likely to feel the positive effects of student-teacher interactions on their overall sense of well-being—emotionally, physically, and academically. Conversation can be central to their relationships. At all-girls schools, students spend more time talking with their teachers outside of the classroom than do those in a coed environment.

I found a home in GPS. I found friends, interests, and hobbies that I would never have discovered if not for this school.

Class of 2023

Ansley Giffin

The GPS Difference

GPS alumnae often reference the connections they made with their teachers as one of the most meaningful aspects of their education.

The GPS Difference

When you tour GPS, you’ll often witness teachers sitting alongside students, not lecturing from the front of class, to encourage open dialog and conversations.

According to author Carol Dweck, PhD, girls are more likely to have a fixed mindset—the idea that one’s intelligence cannot be altered, even with effort. Students with a growth mindset believe their intelligence can be expanded with effort. So GPS faculty realize that to get girls to persevere, to step out of their comfort zones, they need to encourage them to embrace the word YET. When a girl thinks she’s not good at something, her teacher steps in to say, “Well, maybe not yet, but ….”

Our teachers structure learning to help girls adopt a growth mindset. They engage their students with methods that provide social learning opportunities and collaborative work. In a collaborative learning environment, teachers use dialogic teaching—using discussion and conversation to further learning—that encourages students to explore together and reach consensus through thoughtful interactions.

I don’t think you know how good an all-girls school is until you are here. In classes, the teachers are on board with you—they talk with you.

Caroline Carpenter Class of 2026

Girls are more likely to have a fixed mindset.

Girls’ brains develop differently than boys’.

Girls have a learning advantage in the language arts based on their larger hippocampus and other factors, including stronger neural connectors in their temporal lobes compared to boys. This may lead to greater use of detail in writing assignments, according to educational researcher and author Michael Gurian.

To capitalize on this biological tendency, teachers at GPS adapt each subject to how girls’ brains learn best and look for opportunities for interdisciplinary work.

This approach to teaching all subjects has led to GPS alumnae excelling in humanities and across STEM subjects. In fact, according to our most recent alumnae statistics, 36 percent of recent GPS graduates obtain degrees in STEM fields as compared to the national average of 26 percent.*

GPS strives to create a learner-centered community in which students partake in experiences both in and out of the classroom, allowing them to connect authentically with the world outside of the school. Students find their voices while exploring their passions and engaging with faculty who also recognize themselves as learners.

GPS is a school built on sisterhood and strength in character. The faculty and staff engage and challenge us, inspiring us to grow as women. The innovative academics and enrichment programs prepare us for the future while providing a fun and exciting environment. My time at GPS has been the best years of my life.

Anya Parambath Class of 2023

The GPS Difference

“In a single-sex environment, the girls take the lead. They get to run the experiment, handle the microscopes, and run the chemical tests, without having to worry about being relegated to the notetaker that so often happens in a coed school.”

Kipton Lankford Tugman ’92

I love how Caroline says (under point number 2) that you don’t know how good an all-girls school is until you are here. That’s why it’s so uplifting to visit our campus, have your daughter participate in her Student Visit Day, and really attend any event here—a soccer game, a musical performance, an open house. There’s a palpable energy at GPS. Laughter, dancing, robotics, experiments, debates, hugs, competitions—the girls do it all while supported by the adults on campus who are fully invested in each girl’s success.

As a mother of two GPS students and a graduate of an all-girls school, I know firsthand that an environment focused on girls supports how they learn best. Our girls walk with their heads held high, respond in class with confidence, and take wide steps outside their comfort zones without fear of failing because they know they are supported here.

I encourage you to contact our Admission Team to learn more and to schedule time on our campus. Please be sure to also reach out to me directly if I can answer any questions you might have.

Here’s to the Girls!

Megan D. Cover Head of School

scan me!

To see firsthand how GPS celebrates our opening day of school.

So Much More to Experience

We recognize that selecting a school is a lifechanging decision. While there are many strong options for an education in our region, we believe that GPS is the best independent school for girls.

Inquire

Complete the form at GPS.edu/Inquire to receive correspondence from GPS and stay up-to-date on upcoming events.

Tour

Step on campus and see for yourself why we are best for girls. Tours are led by Admission Counselors and Student Ambassadors. Your daughter is welcome to attend. Visit GPS.edu/Tour

Visit

Experience GPS and discover the breadth of our programs by attending one of our upcoming Admission events. Visit GPS.edu/Visit for event details and registration.