Located just off the Baltimore Beltway in Stevenson, Maryland — a quick 45-minute drive from Annapolis and 1 hour from the Eastern Shore and Washington, DC — St. Timothy’s School remains dedicated to its nearly 200-year legacy of preparing girls for lives of purpose. The all-girls, grades 9 to 12 boarding and day school strives to “apply evidence-based practices grounded in scientific research to provide world-class education for girls,” says Head of School Randy Stevens.
View this video to hear straight from St. Timothy’s girls about what makes their school so distinctive.
St. Timothy’s faculty actively employ girl-friendly instructional strategies that are unique to an all-girls learning environment.
While there is no robust evidence of differences in cognitive ability between girls and boys, there are large differences in what motivates them, explained physician, psychologist, and author Leonard Sax in a recent professional development workshop for St. Timothy’s faculty. “It’s not what they can do, but what they want to do,” he said. Girls consistently raise the question of “why?” The most effective teachers of girls make eye contact, listen, and understand that girls need to dig deeper.
Indeed, girls who attend all-girls schools in the U.S. outperform boys in computer science and physics, according to Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores. Girls who graduate from single-sex schools are also six times as likely to earn degrees in science, technology, or math as girls who attend coed schools. The reason, said Dr. Sax, is that in coed environments we “teach those subjects using boy-friendly instructional strategies.” Not at St. Timothy’s!
The advantages of all-girls education are widely supported by neuroscience, too.
Current research suggests that women’s brains reach full maturity at about twenty-two years of age; men’s brains do not reach full maturity until age thirty. “It would reason that what is developmentally appropriate for a fifteen-year-old girl in the classroom would not be appropriate for a fifteen-year-old boy, who compared to a girl of the same age still has a long way to go,” says Mr. Stevens.
These days, it seems that girls can’t spare one minute before pulling out their phones to text their friends, “like” photos on Instagram, take selfies, or post a TikTok. And many of the role models presented on social media do not set the best examples for 14- to 18-year-old girls. “Girls are bombarded with these things daily in ways that boys are not,” notes Mr. Stevens. We know enough about girls’ still-developing brains to understand that age-related vulnerability renders them susceptible to their own powerful and unedited emotions and behaviors. “In our work, we focus on empathizing with girls and, when necessary, defending them.”
Studies comparing student attitudes and achievement in single-sex versus coeducation environments point to the many benefits of single-sex schools for girls.
For example, the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), administered by Indiana University, finds that in single-sex schools, girls…
- Have higher aspirations and greater motivation.
- Are challenged to achieve more.
- Engage in activities preparing them for the world outside of school.
- Report greater gains on core academic and life skills.
- Feel more comfortable being themselves and expressing their ideas.
Equally compelling, other research found that girls attending all-girls schools were less likely to be anxious when compared with girls who attended coed schools. While how they look was the most important factor in self-perception for girls attending coed schools, girls attending single-sex schools prioritized what kind of person or friend they are.
Small class sizes, personal attention, IB academics, a formal student life curriculum, an international student body, and award-winning sports, arts, farming, and equestrian opportunities all elevate the high school experience for St. Timothy’s girls.
“Everything we do is based on the knowledge that each girl will achieve and excel here, given the right support and inspiration for her,” says Mr. Stevens. “Our small size means we know all our girls extremely well, and we can build meaningful relationships with each of them.” It is also why every St. Timothy’s student in grades 9 through 12 participates in the world-renowned International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. “We believe the IB Program offers the best academic preparation for success in college — and life.”
Certainly, as standardized measurement tools like SAT and ACT testing have become optional in the college application process, admissions officers place great value on the rigorous IB Program as evidence of a student’s college-readiness.
Global perspective is another quality that colleges look for in an applicant. St. Timothy’s girls are known for their capacity to listen with respect, compassion, and an understanding that other people, with their differences, can also be right. With an international student body representing 12 states and 21 countries, girls gain global perspective at St. Timothy’s just by opening their eyes and ears.
Click here to learn more about St. Timothy’s School, reach out to the admissions team, or apply.
