Single-sex education works. Generations of accomplished women are proof of that. Businesswomen, artists, scientists, athletes, political and civic leaders — the roster of girls' school alumnae who have gone on to make a difference in the world includes women in every field, every walk of life.

It is the combination of community, culture and climate that has made girls' schools so successful in transforming the lives of young women. Expectations are set high, opportunities abound, role models are plentiful and accomplishment is valued by everyone who chooses to be here.

Today we hear a great deal about brain science and new insights into how we think, learn and view the world. There are indeed differences in male and female brains — in how information is processed, for example, or the ages at which key brain structures like the frontal lobes develop and mature. But none of this is to suggest that girls and boys have innate, gender-based differences in their potential to achieve. The difference seems to be in how they access that potential. All children are capable of learning in all subject areas. It's how they're taught that counts. And teaching girls is what girls' schools do best.

Expect the best from a girl, and that's exactly what you'll get. Here, learning takes center stage, and a girls' accomplishments are what matters. What she believes in and how she puts her beliefs into action are more important than what she wears. Here, the scientists and singers, athletes and scholars are girls. All the doers and leaders are girls. Female mentors abound, whether faculty or fellow classmates. And that’s the key to real achievement: positive role models, abundant opportunities, personal practice and real-life experience.

All of this adds up to the very self-confidence that is the key to turning skills and knowledge into real-world success. When every girl is expected and encouraged to take on academic challenges, to express her thoughts and opinions, and to participate in new learning experiences — that's how girls acquire and hone the skills they need to become leaders throughout their lives.

"Making the Case:  A Shared Vocabulary for the Girls' School Community" has been provided by the National Coalition of Girls' Schools.

Learn more at www.ncgs.org