SHORTRIDGE PERSPECTIVES
Student:
“Shortridge has been my home for the past 16 months and I actually can say I had a lot of fun here. As odd as that may sound, it’s true. I have made some of the best friends I have ever had. I am looking forward to seeing everyone here again in the future. My family and I have never been closer and we have all come a very long way since starting this journey. Well, there’s only a few things I have to say about my time here. Dang it went fast. It really does, all I can say to people who just got here is keep your head up man. It gets better. Keep looking to the future. Be the change you want to see in the world. To my friends it’s not over I’ll be around. Keep in contact with me. After Shortridge I will be attending Cabrini College right outside of Philadelphia PA. I am really psyched to start my life there with all the knowledge I have gained and put it into use.”
Parent:
“We were initially attracted to Shortridge Academy among the schools we considered for the academic depth and inspired teaching that would challenge and engage our daughter, as she had always been a strong student. When we visited, we found that the students we met were kind and down to earth, with a clear sense of pride in who they were. We could easily see our daughter connecting with them, and we knew we had found the right fit.
There is a huge benefit to coeducation for girls at Shortridge. They learn to develop healthy friendships with boys and how to navigate and understand gender differences in a very safe setting. The leadership team also nurtures the unique emotional needs of girls by providing services that range from structured therapy to private time for the girls just to hang out together. Those tender moments were among our daughter’s favorite during her time at Shortridge.
Ultimately, it’s about outcomes. Beyond her restored health and confidence, we are most impressed with the resilience that the Shortridge experience imbued in our daughter. She was highly introverted and anxious, but now has the inner strength to regularly extend herself beyond her comfort zone. She is taking a “gap year” and works face to face with the public in a fast paced retail environment, where she has become much more socially competent, which will serve her well as she heads off to college next year. The work continues for our entire family, but we have regained our optimism about the future, thanks to a devoted and effective Shortridge staff that forged a continuing partnership with us in reaching our daughter and helping her believe in herself again.”
Faculty:
“I work at Shortridge because our kids are the best, and as teachers, we are encouraged to be creative and innovative in our curriculum development and teaching practices. We have tremendous autonomy. We can create and modify curriculum based on student interest. We can be spontaneous. Public schools talk about individualized instruction, but at Shortridge it is standard operating procedure. The focus is on promoting and supporting intellectual curiosity and meaningful learning. The students are our partners in this process, and the relationship-building aspect of the community positively affects our work in the classroom. We’re not teaching at our students, as though we, as teachers, possess and parcel out all the knowledge. And we’re not teaching to any test. It’s about engagement, connections, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.”