MIDDLETOWN — A group of Monmouth County parents has formed a High School Steering Committee to explore the feasibility of establishing an all-girls Catholic high school in the Lincroft section of the township.
The first step will be to conduct a survey from Sept. 12 through 28.
“The purpose is to see how much interest there is in the school, and how many families will continue to support the public schools or existing co-ed high schools,” said local coordinator Mairead Clifford.
The committee hired Wisconsin-based Meitler Consultants to conduct a survey, the first formal step in establishing the need for the school, said Clifford, Rumson.
“We hired consultants who have done numerous feasibility studies. They’re a nationally known firm and have done a lot of work within the Diocese of Trenton.”
The school is tentatively named the Monmouth Girls Academy, and according to the website www.monmouthgirlsacademy.org, the study will provide significant insight to the student body profile, sources of students, size of enrollment, best location, willingness and ability to pay tuition, transportation, and attitudes toward Catholic education.
The firm was hired in January when the committee first received permission from the Diocese of Trenton to complete the study for the school.
“While the public schools and the co-ed existing high schools are great options, we would love to have a CBA [Christian Brothers Academy] equivalent for our girls to attend,” Clifford said.
There is currently no all-girls Catholic high school in the county.
Clifford, who attended an all-girls high school in Essex County, said there is an advantage to learning in a single-sex school that is different in a co-ed setting, both academically and socially.
“It’s easier for girls to feel the pressure of a boy sitting in the classroom next to her,” she said. “There’s more leadership roles and more leadership opportunities at all-girls schools, and there’s more of a camaraderie, a sisterhood.
“They’re more able to raise their hand in the classroom and not be afraid to defend their answer or even to answer the question.”
Asked if this environment would hinder girls from being able to compete with their male counterparts in college and thereafter, Clifford said it is unlikely.
“From my own experience, after having gone to an all-girls high school and then gone on to college, I had no trouble transitioning and being back in the classroom with boys.
“If anything, I felt that I had an advantage because I was already quite sure of myself academically and socially, that I was assertive to learn right alongside them. Instead of sitting back and watching the boys do everything, I was able to jump right in there.”
The website provides research from the University of California at Los Angeles Graduate School of Education Higher Education Research Institute to support an all-female learning environment.
According to the data, girls who attend allgirls schools outscore their co-ed counterparts on the SAT by an average of 28-43 points, and nearly 100 percent of all-girls school graduates continue on to college, and three times as many alumnae plan to become engineers.
In addition to the statistical support, Clifford said there are social benefits that take away the pressures girls may feel in deciding what to wear to school, how they are going to do their hair, or what a person may think of them when raising their hand.
“Socially, I think they will grow as very good friends and form a bond and have a camaraderie,” she said. “Being one of the first few classes to come through this school will empower these young women to say they emerged as a pioneer, paving the way and setting an example for the girls that will follow.”
Clifford was aware that some parents might not be willing to send their daughters to a brand-new school.
“It’s not the school for every girl, but it should be an option for every girl,” she said.
The vision for Monmouth Girls Academy includes a rigorous academic program with competitive athletic sports teams and numerous extracurricular activities. The school will also apply for Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation, which would take approximately two years, said Clifford.
According to the website, enrollment is reasonably estimated to be 500-600 girls, with the first freshman class targeted to begin September 2013. The anticipated tuition cost is $13,000 per student, with financial aid available.
Clifford said the committee met with the Monmouth County Planning Board in May to go over location logistics for a future school.
“We all came up with the conclusion that Lincroft is the most centrally located spot in Monmouth County with easy access to the [Garden State] Parkway and Route 18. There’s talk that possibly we could use a temporary space, should we not be able to find an existing structure or land on which to build,” she said.
“But just because we don’t have a brandnew campus doesn’t mean the school won’t be able to start.”
Once the feasibility study is complete, the consultants will compile the data and present it to the study committee at the end of October, said Clifford. They will then meet with officials in the archdiocese to discuss the results.
“We can safely say 8,000 surveys will be going out. We wanted to have concrete data for potential families and for potential investors that there is truly a need for this school,” Clifford said.
A printed version of the survey was sent out to schools and churches upon request, and the general public can access it online. In order to fill out the five-minute survey online, registration is required at www.monmouth girlsacademy.org.