Ursuline is All Girls

By President Dr. Andrea Shurley

Ursuline Academy is a school unified in focus and mission and able to do something that is unique in Dallas, and special regardless of location – we focus solely on educating girls in high school.

Ursuline education is strong in academics and extraordinary in extracurricular experiences for young women. It is also unique because it all happens through the lens of Catholic faith and living out our mission. Excellent academic formation for a young woman in high school is only complete when it allows her to develop fully as the individual that God intends her to be.

At Ursuline, students develop a sense of themselves and their value in the world, and they carry it with them after they graduate.

A study commissioned by the National Council of Girls Schools from the Higher Education Research Council at UCLA reviewed survey data from over 20,000 college students and found compelling evidence to suggest that women in college who attended private schools for girls, when compared with graduates of co-ed private schools:

• Have stronger academic skills and are more academically engaged.  
• Demonstrate higher science self-confidence. 
• Display higher levels of cultural competency, express stronger community involvement, and exhibit increased political engagement.

Research also strongly suggests that girls educated in an all-girls environment benefit across all academic achievement metrics when compared with girls who attend co-educational schools. In short, they benefit from each other.

All this research affirms what we observe daily at Ursuline, and what our graduates describe to us from their college experiences. Ursuline graduates tell us their top-choice majors are in Business, Health Sciences, and STEM, and they self-identify as more prepared in all areas than their peers in college.

Ursuline students also develop a profound and real sense of the importance of serving the world. They look outward to see how their gifts can be used to benefit others. They cultivate their faith lives. They grapple with societal issues and questions and learn to actively pursue solutions and seek answers.

Every student has her Ursuline experience. Our programs are broad, deep, and flexible enough to be customized to each girl’s needs and wants. Our students have an active voice and genuine choice in their experiences at Ursuline in and out of the classroom.