walking the walk of women’s empowerment

With full rights for all women still a work in progress, Miss Porter’s School reflects on the importance of being an institution of consequence for girls.

In the ongoing social justice struggle to achieve true gender equality, Miss Porter’s School plays a vital role in empowering girls to become leaders who can positively shape our changing world.

Focused on educating young women to become informed, bold, resourceful and ethical global citizens, Porter’s provides its more than 330 boarding and day students with rich and diverse opportunities to advance their intellectual, athletic, creative and socioemotional growth. Learning in a progressive, inclusive environment that nurtures personal agency and values all voices, students develop the competencies and confidence to transcend traditional gender-based limitations and become engaged and impactful citizens of the future.

“ Our students feel confident in who they are and what they have to offer the world,” says Nelle Andrews P’22, dean of curriculum and instruction, English teacher and field hockey coach at Porter’s. “There are so many issues that negatively affect women, and so many ways the world still needs to change, that the value of a girls’ school is probably greater than ever.”

Today, girls’ education at Farmington is rooted in its competency-based mastery learning model, an innovative educational approach the school transitioned to in 2022 to better prepare students for our complex and globalized modern times. The model promotes students’ development of five core competencies: critical thinking and reasoning, communication and expression, problem-solving and creativity, global and civic engagement, and leadership and collaboration. The overarching goal of the model is to support students in applying knowledge and skills in real-world contexts.

Andrews says this model inspires interdisciplinary experiential learning across all academic disciplines. Classroom discussions, assignments and summative projects focus on pressing real world problems such as climate change, economic inequality, identity-based discrimination and threats to democratic institutions. The world at large is also a Porter’s classroom, as junior students enrolled in Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar courses study ecological conservation practices in Costa Rica, urban planning challenges in France and art as a driver of social change in Germany.

The content of education at Porter’s also aims to inspire thinking and action beyond the confines of gender barriers, Andrews says. Students learn about accomplished historical and current female leaders from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds who have made important contributions in science, writing, art, math and other fields. They also become knowledgeable about contemporary issues that directly affect how women live their lives, such as reproductive justice, socioeconomic inequality, discrimination against minority women and LG B tQ + rights.

“We are always encouraging students to think beyond their specific coursework and consider how the skills they are building connect to the broader world,” Andrews says. “They are gaining competencies that will serve them well when they move on to more complex levels of study.”

Andrews says the competency-based mastery learning model is fully integrated into Porter’s academic programming, and moving forward, students will also be able to document evidence of their learning and growth outside the classroom. Students have ample opportunities to develop their leadership, communication, collaboration, strategic planning and other vital life skills through cocurricular and extracurricular activities at Porter’s. These include serving in roles such as student head of school, student head of academics or athletics, junior advisor, or student council class representative. Students can also lead or participate in a cultural or religious affinity group, a sports team, or one of a few dozen clubs focused on diverse causes and interests.

Andrews is also the parent of Ancient Molly Andrews ’22, who she says was able to cultivate a wide range of strengths that are now enabling her success as a biomedical marketing student and Division I soccer player at Quinnipiac University.

“My daughter enjoyed many opportunities to use her voice, figure out how to communicate with people, manage projects and be part of a supportive sisterhood,” she says. “Molly and other Ancients know that Porter’s is always available to them as a resource.”

One such resource is Men of Porter’s, an affinity group for fathers of current and former students who are dedicated to providing Ancients with career support. The group is led by Ancient parent Michael Lech P’22, who says it is his way to give back to an institution that provided his daughter, Soleil Lech ’22, with a foundation to excel in all aspects of her life.

As a student at Porter’s, Soleil served as the head of student activities and the class of 2022 ambassador and also played on the field hockey team. The latter activity brings to mind Lech’s favorite memory of his daughter’s time at Porter’s: After a game that took place in heavy rain, Soleil entered his car cold and shivering, and when he asked why they bothered playing in such weather, she boldly stated, “I’m a daisy and I’m tough as nails.” Soleil is now a high-achieving junior studying international business at George Washington University and has interned for Richard Blumenthal, a U.S. senator for Connecticut.

“Porter’s did a fabulous job in shaping the character that Soleil possesses today,” says Lech, who leads a real estate firm operating in New England. “The school gives young women the ability to experiment and achieve in whatever field they choose. They become women of substance who have authentic confidence.”

Men of Porter’s is a still-evolving group that Lech says will provide Ancients with career mentoring and access to professional contacts. He envisions organizing mixers for Ancients to network with community leaders from diverse sectors. Lech is also collaborating with other members of the group to encourage more Farmington fathers to join and to make financial gifts to the school.

“It’s about creating another layer of community within the Ancients system to help support graduates,” Lech says, adding that as long as full gender equality is elusive, supporting Porter’s is “essential. It builds girls’ ability to advocate for themselves and be their own person.”

How Porter’s helps young women become their own person is something Monet Lewis ’98 can speak about firsthand as both a former student and the parent of Genesis Lewis ’26. Lewis’ own journey to Porter’s was enabled by the Wadleigh Scholars Program, a nonprofit organization that helps academically promising minority and low-income middle school students attend independent boarding schools in the United States. At Porter’s, Lewis thrived academically and socially, built her leadership skills in roles such as head of school and junior advisor, and cultivated her singing abilities as part of the Perilhettes, the a cappella singing group. The all-girls environment, she says, afforded her the freedom to grow into her best self.

“In coed classrooms, female students may not feel comfortable competing against their male peers. … We didn’t have to think about that. You are simply competing with yourself, and you learn to become comfortable in your own skin,” Lewis says. “That environment is so important at an age when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what your passions are.”

Lewis says she emerged from Porter’s with “a level of confidence the average teenager does not have,” which helped propel her next steps: pursuing a bachelor of fine arts at DePaul University and establishing a successful career as an educator. She currently teaches theater at a private middle school in Connecticut and is a public speaker who motivates people to live life with integrity and purpose.

Now Lewis is delighted to see her daughter enjoy the same opportunity to develop into a self-aware and empowered young woman at Porter’s. Having also been accepted to the school as a Wadleigh scholar, Genesis is a junior student who has found her stride academically, particularly in English she is an avid reader and writer and has developed several strong friendships. She often choreographs dances with friends on campus she has been dancing since age 4 and twice participated in school performances to celebrate Dr. MLK Jr. Community Day. She has also explored athletics such as basketball, track and field, and volleyball, the last of which has become her main sport.

Keen to support Genesis and all Porter’s students on their path of self-actualization, Lewis began volunteering on the school’s Parent Leadership Committee two years ago. She is proud to serve her first term as chair this year. The approximately 40 committee members organize events and activities to enrich the experiences of students and the connections among Farmington families. They also support the school’s fundraising efforts by promoting the Annual Fund and Farmington Give Day.

The way Lewis sees it, the more she can give back to Porter’s, the more she can help move the needle toward a world where women have just as many opportunities to succeed as men do.

“In society today, women are often two steps behind, not because of their abilities or experience, but because of the way the patriarchal systems are set up in almost every field,” Lewis says.

“It’s so important to make sure that an all-girls institution like Miss Porter’s is supported, because it gives young ladies a head start in life. … The school is doing a wonderful job of helping them become phenomenal leaders and great human beings.”