GPS—The Best School For Girls

At GPS, we recognize the extraordinary privilege we have to partner with parents during these formative years of a girl’s life. That’s why we are committed to educating the whole girl—in mind, body, and spirit. Supporting each girl in becoming the best and most fully realized version of herself means inspiring her heart as much as her mind. Our approach to educating girls is embedded in our long history and the foundations and principles upon which our school was founded and by which we continue to uphold today. Prepared for school, college, life—as a student, as a person.

Our Mission

Girls Preparatory School inspires each girl to lead a life of integrity and purpose by engaging her mind, cultivating her strengths, and nurturing her self-confidence and respect for others.

Our Values

In partnership with parents, Girls Preparatory School pledges to integrate these values, not only in our policies but also in our daily lives.

» HONOR: At GPS girls develop strong character; they learn to take responsibility for their actions and understand the importance of keeping their word.

» RESPECT: At GPS self-respect and respect for others go hand in hand; girls treat others as they would like to be treated and learn to embrace their differences.

» CURIOSITY: At GPS each girl is encouraged to be curious about the world around her by asking questions, challenging assumptions, and thinking critically.

» INDIVIDUALITY: At GPS each student is unique, loved for who she is and for whom she has the potential to become.

» RELATIONSHIPS: At GPS friendships are built to last a lifetime, and respect and support are at the core of every relationship among students, faculty, and staff.

Our Three Founders: Misses Tommie Payne Duffy, Eula Lea Jarnagin, and Grace Eliza McCallie

Our Beginning and Founders

In the spring of 1906, two young Chattanooga High School teachers, Misses Tommie Payne Duffy and Eula Lea Jarnagin, petitioned the public school board to allow girls to attend for a fourth year in order to take college preparatory laboratory science and language classes. Seeing no need for girls to complete these courses, the board rejected their request.

Within weeks of that decision, the two convinced fellow teacher Miss Grace Eliza McCallie to join them in the creation of a school for girls and received a charter. Just four months after the announcement of its creation, Girls Preparatory School opened on September 12, 1906. More than 110 years later, the stories and the trajectory of the lives of thousands of girls have been written and shaped because of the tenacity of our three Founders.

Each year, every girl signs The Honor Code to affirm their commitments to the honor system.

On My Honor

Dear to the hearts of many GPS students and alumnae is the principle of honor. The Honor Code, developed around the belief that “a girl’s honor is her most valuable possession,” provides the guidelines for the community while allowing each student her individual freedom. Every GPS girl bears responsibility for abiding by and upholding the system, creating a solid foundation of honesty, trust, and respect upon which she and her classmates can build community.

I think the girls leave GPS knowing they were a part of something special—something you just don't get in other schools or in every workplace. They will strive to rebuild the sense of community they enjoyed here no matter what their vocation or profession.

—DR. RALPH COVINO, HISTORYAND SOCIAL SCIENCES/WORLD LANGUAGES TEACHER

A Culture of Sisterhood

At GPS, we recognize and appreciate that a vital part of girlhood is finding a place to belong. For girls, membership in a “tribe,” as Lisa Damour, Ph.D., states, is one of the most important and significant aspects of the adolescent girl’s experience.

Most girls’ social worlds remain in flux as their friend groups—tribes—might change over the years as they grow and discover and pursue new interests. Therefore, GPS cultivates an environment that celebrates and nurtures sisterhood—one that encourages and supports girls as they develop relationships with girls beyond their immediate tribes. As a result, girls find belonging in a unique tribe that spans generations and includes thousands of GPS girls, past and present.

While the GPS sisterhood doesn’t immediately blossom when young girls enroll here, it naturally develops over time as students share their school experience, mature, and are guided and encouraged to value and respect one another. Then, when they become alumnae, they will continue to cherish their lifelong friendships that began here.

Today, GPS alumnae span the globe and their personal and professional networks are made stronger by their GPS sisters. But the sisterhood principle learned at GPS—one of building each other up—is extended to other women as well. Our alumnae don't view other women as competition, but rather as valued partners in the betterment of their lives and communities.

The spirit of sisterhood is instilled in students even before day one, when each sixth-grader is paired with a senior buddy the week before school through our Cat-Rat program—providing her with a friend, role model, and big sister.

TRADITIONS THAT UPLIFT THE GPS SISTERHOOD | Cat-Rat, Opening Day, Chapel Talks, May Day, and more!