The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) in Brooklyn is one of the few single-gender public schools in New York City. It provides education for girls in grades 6-12 and aims to help young women become strong and caring leaders who believe in themselves. Read more about it on brooklyn1.one.
Development of young women’s abilities
The school was founded in 2008 to develop the intellectual curiosity and creativity of young women. It supports them and helps to achieve maximum academic performance, social-emotional well-being and further success.
Girls with different identities and views, including those from traditional religious families and those who identify themselves as lesbian or transgender, study together here. The level of school graduates exceeds the city average. Many female students are taking college-level math and science coursework. As a result, they graduate from college at three times the rate of their peers across the city.
TYWLS of Brooklyn is led by faculty and staff who nurture intellectual curiosity in female students and work to empower young women. Here, they fruitfully cooperate with parents as partners in the development of each student for further education.
Teachers are concerned with building a strong academic foundation throughout all seven years of education. The institution does not require most high school subjects (Regents), as is practiced in some other American schools. The mathematics course is an exception. All female students must complete four years of math and science.
Dynamic and interactive learning
Learning at the school is dynamic and interactive. It allows students to achieve significant success at many levels, especially in STEM subjects, such as science, mathematics and technology. Lessons can take the form of lectures, group work or game activities. For example, 11th graders used their knowledge of the American Revolution to play a game about iconic battles. Schoolgirls played the roles of a king, members of parliament and tax collectors in colonial America. They also study Spanish language and literature for three years. In the 11th and 12th grades, students have the opportunity to undergo professional training, so they study at the college level.
Special attention is paid to aesthetic education, music, dance and traveling. The students learn to play the guitar in the 7th grade and attend acting classes. They can participate in the dance ensemble and the school orchestra. About a dozen students take international trips to Japan, China, Italy, France or London. This option is not available to all because of the high cost. Excursions closer to home are open to all, such as a trip to the New York Aquarium. Unfortunately, team sports are limited due to the compact size of the school.
After the lessons, communication continues. It includes tutoring, homework help, exam preparation, STEM and more. The school strives to work with families to instill in students a sense of community, responsibility and ethical behavior. These characteristics will help them become leaders of their generation.
A school with a purely academic program
The school is small, with less than 300 students. All girls receive academic, social and emotional support. Each girl attends small group counseling sessions to discuss their achievements, failures, values, feelings and needs.
Students are encouraged to celebrate their differences and share their backgrounds and cultures. The school has a black and Latino union, a gender and sexuality alliance, a Muslim student association and a restorative justice youth club for conflict resolution through discussion and accountability. The school psychologist conducts workshops on topics such as improving family communication, social media safety and sex education.
English language students attend separate classes where they work on reading, writing and speaking skills. An English teacher visits them in math, reading, science and other classes to provide support. Students with individual study plans (ISP) study in classrooms with personal teachers.
The school has a full-time college counselor who helps students register and prepare for the PSAT and SAT, choose a college, write essays, letters of recommendation, CVs and plan for financial aid. TYWLS of Brooklyn is supported by the Young Women’s Leadership Network and its College Readiness Initiative to replicate the best practices of private and independent girls’ schools. CBI provides college access and financial aid for every female student.
Research in the field of girls’ education defines the TYWLS model as a purely academic program combined with strong social-emotional support. This is the foundation of the TYWLS approach to education for all girls. Female students are encouraged to achieve their best both in and out of the classroom.