Advocating on Behalf of Our Own Girls

The United Nations declared October 11th as International Day of the Girl Child, an internationally recognized annual observance designed to “amplify the voices and rights of girls everywhere.” As a coalition of NativityMiguel-modeled, independent middle schools from across the country, we are united in the common purpose of educating girls in communities that have largely been excluded from economic resources and empowering them to become their best, most authentic selves. We recognize the vast potential of our female scholars, and… READ MORE

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‘Comeback’ for the Washington School for Girls as students return to campus for class and prayer

Sept 13, 2021 By: Mark Zimmermann Photographer: Andrew Biraj Original Article: https://bit.ly/3lmY4kW After pivoting to remote learning during the pandemic, the new school year at the Washington School for Girls has a special meaning. “We’re calling it a comeback,” said Dr. Beth Reaves, the school’s president. On Aug. 2, more than 100 girls returned to in-person classes at the school, which is a tuition-free Catholic school for grades three through eight primarily serving girls of color from Wards 7 and… READ MORE

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Washington School for Girls Welcomes Lina Permut as First-Ever Chief Development Officer

DC’s only All-girls All-Scholarship Independent Catholic School Seeks to Expand Fundraising Efforts to Support Future Growth [Washington, DC – July 14, 2021] The Washington School for Girls (WSG) has hired Lina Permut to serve as the organization’s first-ever Chief Development Officer. The expansion of the fundraising office comes as the all-scholarship school prepares for future growth and seeks to attract new support for its well-established programming serving Black and Brown girls in the Washington area. WSG is an all-scholarship independent… READ MORE

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Women in Education

By Dianna Murchison, Development and Communications Assistant As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I reflect on my new career path with Washington School for Girls. I am proud to join a team that has high expectations for girls, encouraging more advanced opportunities to learn and progress. I specifically reflect on women’s contributions in the classroom and the role they have played in shaping the education system at large. I think of the opening scene in the film Hidden… READ MORE

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How We’re Doing

The public conversation around schools returning to campus continues to frame current education options as a simple choice: on-campus or remote, with the further suggestion that on-campus is good and remote learning is not. The reality, of course, is much more nuanced and since March 2020, every school has been challenged to find the best educational model that meets the needs of their school community. Would we all like to return to pre-pandemic times when schools were open and social… READ MORE

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Opinion: Police in Schools

As our country and our city continue to wrestle with complex issues of race and racism we feel it is important, as a school serving Black and Brown girls, to be part of ongoing conversations that impact students. WSG supports the DC Board of Education’s resolution to reimagine school safety by removing police from schools, and DC City Council’s decision to return control of school security to DCPS instead of MPD. Research shows that Black students, and particularly Black girls,… READ MORE

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Small School Communities are Essential, Too

Shifting a school to distance learning has revealed an important truth: small school communities are essential too – to students, to their families and to all of the educators who comprise the community. I raise this now as our daily discussion is infused with conversation and knowledge about what are considered essential services as the country, individual states, and communities consider expanding services and access as stay-at-home orders are lifted. There is no disputing that our health care workers, first… READ MORE

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Lessons from a Global Leader

WSG students recently had the opportunity to meet and learn from an innovative and creative entrepreneur through our Leadership Series. The series brings in diverse women leaders from a wide range of industries to share their stories of success with our middle school students. February’s speaker was Abai Schulze, Founder of ZAAF, a company that produces luxury handbags and products based in Ethiopia. Ms. Schulze was born in Ethiopia and lived in a Catholic orphanage until she was adopted at… READ MORE

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WSG featured on NBC4

WSG was honored to welcome Barbara Harrison of NBC4 in November and to share our story with the Washington community. Looking back over our 20 years, the feature includes several of our founders, current students, and president Dr. Beth Reaves. Our success would not be possible without the dedication of those who believe in our mission. The segment beautifully captures the result of the collaboration, passion, and dream of a group of courageous women. Since starting in the basement of… READ MORE

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WSG Celebrates 20 Years of Courage

On September 29, the Washington School for Girls celebrated 20 Years of Courage with over 500 guests at Trinity Washington University. The evening program, emceed by Pinkie Dent Mayfield, featured students and alumnae and honored the dedicated service and commitment of Sister Mary Bourdon, RJM, to WSG for the past 20 years. This extraordinary event raised over $1,000,000 in support of student scholarship at WSG. All students at WSG receive a full scholarship to attend the school, which relies on… READ MORE

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