St. Catherine's School

A leader in girls' education since 1890, St. Catherine's School offers an exceptional education for girls age 3 through grade 12. A Church School in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, St. Catherine's is an inclusive community open to all faith traditions. St. Catherine's School provides a rigorous education that prepares girls with diverse perspectives for a lifetime of learning, leadership and service in a global community.

At St. Catherine’s, we are girl centered. Every teacher, every lesson plan and every resource dollar aligns with the ways that girls learn best. We intentionally foster a culture of confidence that allows each girl to emerge as a strong, smart and confident woman.

We get to know each and every girl, and we foster a community that respects and celebrates each girl. We intentionally structure the daily schedule and classroom interactions to encourage relationship building, collaboration and hands-on learning.

Our faculty are experts in girls’ education.They know that girls and boys learn differently, and they’ve done their homework on the latest research about gender differences in brain development which informs their teaching. All new faculty members complete professional training specifically focused on teaching girls.

Since girls possess a natural inclination for purpose in everything that they do, we intentionally weave relevance into all aspects of teaching and learning. By doing so, girls develop a deeper connection to the subject matter that leads to higher-order thinking, analysis and the application of knowledge.

To capitalize on girls’ natural propensity toward reading and languages, we go beyond teaching English literacy to our youngest girls by introducing them to Mandarin Chinese and Spanish at an early age. Even the way in which we teach mathematics and problem-solving leverages language skills. It’s one more way that girls learn to articulate their ideas with confidence.

By giving a girl choices, she dives deeper into exploration that fuels future passions. We offer our students countless opportunities to explore, learn and grow across all divisions and all disciplines. A network of more than 5,000 alumnae across the globe stay connected to their alma mater providing mentorship opportunities and sharing their career experiences during annual Upper School Career Day. In addition, we bring experts and innovators to campus and into our classrooms to interact with and inspire our students. And with 100 percent of the leadership positions held by girls, our students quickly learn that there are no barriers to what they can achieve. To fulfill our mission and pursue our vision, we take these values as core:

• Pursuing academic excellence: We cultivate intellectual habits in which we take joy in learning through energetic inquiry, analytical and creative thinking, and continually striving to reach new levels.
• Developing character: We teach individuals to live with integrity, responsibility, confidence, compassion and respect for themselves and others.
• Nurturing spiritual growth: We enable each person to deepen her faith through worship, reflection, humility and the recognition of God in every human being.
• Celebrating individuals: We recognize the unique gifts and potential of each person and help each to recognize the strength that comes from differences.
• Building community: We build up community within and beyond the school through teaching social responsibility, inclusiveness and leadership to prepare each person to serve others and contribute to healing the world.

St. Catherine’s School is committed to providing an inclusive educational environment. We actively engage students, families, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our school community respects the differences in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Consistent with the School’s mission, St. Catherine’s fosters in our students, and expects from all others, respect for the dignity and wholeness of every person.

St. Catherine's is fully committed to providing girls with the skills and tools that they need to pursue lives of promise and purpose. We build upon our legacy of rigorous academics with a curriculum uniquely designed to equip girls to compete in a complex, ever-changing world. We emphasize skill mastery in critical thinking, advanced research and creativity – all essential skills for girls to become trusted leaders, dynamic innovators and engaged world citizens.

The world is becoming increasingly more interconnected and interactive every day. Technological advancements have enabled us to connect with great ease to others oceans away. Teachers in every class introduce lessons that expand each student’s worldview. They work across disciplines and grade levels to cultivate global awareness in profound ways. Our students develop the ability to identify interdependencies, to analyze different perspectives, to respect differences and to participate in meaningful real-world experiences and exchanges. It’s our responsibility to help our children develop a global understanding and build cultural competency that enables them to emerge as engaged world citizens.