Elaine: Ellis was always a school we thought about because we live so close; when we passed by we would see the banners celebrating the students. 我们也知道澳门新葡新京官方参与了科学研究, which was a particularly compelling message to us before we even investigated the School. I don’t feel that my education growing up gave me as good of a relationship with science and scientific concepts as I would have liked, 所以当我看到澳门新葡新京官方对STEM的关注时, 这对我很重要. I want girls to be given the tools they need to feel confident in understanding the world around them and how it operates.

Michael: Ellis was always the front runner because of our proximity to the School. We also have friends who are parents 在艾利斯 and knew that they loved the School and so did their daughters. So that was something that we noticed and took into consideration when we were deciding.

迈克尔:因为这对艾拉很有效. 我从没想过我会把女儿送到女子学校, 主要是因为我脑子里根本就没有这回事. But I teach physics and see how women are only a fraction of our community and dynamic. There’s an opportunity 在艾利斯 for girls to learn from a young age that their voice is respected and should be 听到.

Elaine: I like the fact that when there’s something we have a question about 在艾利斯, 老师们 and administration are always so responsive and willing to work with us. 例如, we asked about piano lessons for 艾拉 and worked with the School to find a solution for her. Because it’s a small school, every kid is seen as a person and not just a unit. 每个孩子的需要都得到了满足. 我越是想起自己在女子学院的经历, specifically in today’s environment when we’re all so conscious about what it means to be a woman navigating the world, 女生对我来说更重要. 我回想起我的大学经历，那对我来说是多么的特别, and I don’t know if I would have had that same experience at a coed school. Having that foundation where you know your voice is 听到 and listened to takes away a complicating factor for women.  

迈克尔:今天早上我问艾拉这个问题，她说, “我喜欢和李老师一起去美术教室. Ceurvorst.“艾拉在这里很开心. 我们喜欢看到她和老师之间的那种互动, 我们喜欢特别节目对课堂结构的补充. To see teachers who are not only fond of teaching but who are experts in their field teaching our daughter is really unique.

Elaine: She’s in pre-kindergarten and she’s already talking about artists I haven’t 听到 of! 我很高兴她能继续教我新东西. I love how every time we come into the 较低的学校 and walk down the hallway her teachers know and have a special relationship with her. 不只是她的班主任, 但是那些特殊的老师每天都能看到很多不同的女孩. 他们把每个女孩当作一个独立的个体来庆祝. 关注社区是一件很棒的事情.

Michael: Right now, she’s at the cusp of learning that she can do things that take a little thinking. 作为一名家长，我个人对此感到非常兴奋. 我想她在一所大学校里会过得很好很开心, but chances are no one would notice that she was ready to engage at a deeper level. 在家里, 她有很好的想法和分析能力, 所以，在一所小学校里，这一点得到认可和看到是很有价值的. 也, I value that the faculty and staff truly seem like they want to be here and that makes a huge difference. 学校里有很多引以为豪的东西, 人们总是说, “我们怎样才能让学校变得更好??”

伊莱恩:我希望她成为一个好公民. Part of this holistic education experience is learning and promoting how to be kind, 虽然这听起来很简单, 我想鼓励她以正确的方式成长. The community emphasis on responsibility and independence from a young age is really important to me. 我觉得, 在艾利斯, 学校本身, 老师们, and the administration all try to do the right thing and that really helps me feel confident that the kids are going to learn that too.

Michael: We were beginning to see the indirect effect of how girls and boys were treated differently at school. All-girls wasn’t a huge priority for us, but we were seeing those differences implicitly.

Elaine: We had one moment at home when 艾拉 was playing with cars and she said, “哦,不, 女孩不会开车!“我们一定要告诉她，女孩子当然会开车. 这真的让我大吃一惊，让我想起了性别偏见是多么早开始的. 你需要非常有意识地努力去反对那种想法. I want her to accept the fact that she can like pink and be really excited about science!

Michael: I hope she’ll have the attitude and confidence to use her abilities and skills to do what she wants in the world.

伊莱恩:坚持做自己喜欢和关心的事情. I want her to know that if she works at something, she can get better at it.

Elaine: The very existence of an all-girls school is a statement on the importance of education for girls. In our society, it can be conveyed rather quickly that girls are not always the first priority. When you attend an all-girls school, you get the message every day that your education is important.

Michael: Because of the 女孩子们的环境 and the size of the School, 我觉得艾拉认为所有的学生都是独立的. 她没有做出明确的声明. 她知道自己在班上有一席之地，应该受到尊重.

伊莱恩:她喜欢待在澳门新葡新京官方, and what’s exciting to me is just how much she’s learned since she’s started. 她一开始学习就突飞猛进. That explosion in what she was able to do really became obvious soon after she started here.  

伊莱恩和迈克尔:好奇、体贴、适应力强.