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Outstanding Religious Elementary School

Support and Challenges for Growing Girls
Global and local connections at Marymount

Situated in a stately collection of townhouses directly across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Marymount School at first glance appears to be the toniest and most elite of prep schools. But once inside, the feel is homier—even if the home in question used to belong to the Vanderbilts. “Welcoming” and “inclusive” are the words many Marymount staff and students suggest when asked to describe this all-girls Catholic school in brief.

One active member of the parent association recalls her arrival six years ago. Dr. Tanya Williams, mother of two elementary-age girls, was guided by then-director of admissions Concepcion Alvar—who’s now the headmistress.

Marymount students work on art projects. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

“I remember the day I came,” Williams said. “Ms. Alvar—it was like she read my mind. She said everything I wanted her to say. I said, ‘This is clearly the school for me and my kids.’ Because it looks like a home, it feels like a home.”

Her sentiment is echoed by students, teachers—some of whom were once Marymount students themselves—and other staff members throughout the rooms and hallways of the luxuriant indoor campus. Perhaps the warmth comes from the school’s unusual mission: It was founded by a religious order that strove to educate women and foster social change.

Marymount’s underlying educational philosophy, according to Admissions Director Lillian Issa, is that, “women should be educated and vehicles of change, as powerful as men.”

This focus on nurturing and empowering women permeates every aspect of the lower school, which somehow manages to feel both peaceful and lively at the same time. Girls in pale blue jumpers trot in and out of classrooms, bend their heads over art projects, intently review their math for a quiz or, in the case of the kindergartners, clap in time with their cheerful teachers. It all seems brisk and orderly, but also friendly.

“I’m jealous of their ability to make everything work so well,” Williams jokes. “There’s also a spiritual quality to everything here.”

Inside the chapel, the school’s Catholic focus comes into play. While Marymount is only about 66 percent Catholic, according to Issa the weekly chapel services have an ecumenical feel and are designed to be welcoming to students of all faiths. Several times a year there are all-school Masses at St. Ignatius Loyola Church. Students who don’t want to take Communion can participate in other ways, through readings or singing, forexample.

Religion at Marymount is all about “building bridges,” according to Issa. Marymount is not a parochial school (i.e. run by a church), but it uses the Catholic tradition as a lens through which to study religion and spirituality in general and works at being inclusive as long as students are comfortable with the chapel services.

While these religious aspects may infuse the school with feel-good spirituality and community, the faculty and administration couldn’t be more serious about training girls for subjects that were once off-limits for women.

“They’re pushing girls to do things that traditionally girls have not done: math and science,” Williams said. The school is especially proud of its 3rd grade robotics program, and one kindergarten girl squealed with delight about making hot chocolate during a chemistry unit of science class.

Administrators at Marymount are passionate about the classroom. Eleanor Bedrash, head of the lower school, said she loves Marymount because the curriculum is “academically challenging and thoughtfully implemented.” Alvar, the headmistress, talked eagerly about differentiated learning in Marymount’s curriculum—how each student is mentored and taught according to her own strengths and weaknesses.

Part of what helps students excel is the school’s small size and emphasis on building self-esteem. Students are kept on track, even when they falter, with a vast support network and small 6:1 student-teacher ratio. The lower school—kindergarten through 4th grade—is housed in the same complex as the upper school (grades 7 to 12), which means that the littlest girls get mentoring and support from their “big sisters.” Middle-schoolers are in a building all their own around the corner.

Beyond the basics, Marymount’s extracurricular and enrichment offerings are boosted by its location. Faculty say students visit the Metropolitan Museum more than children at any other school, and with Central Park right across the street, vast fields, paths and groves create the biggest schoolyard imaginable.

Grounded by its distinctively New York location, the school still places a big focus on the international community. Manhattan’s Marymount shares a relationship with Marymounts around the globe, all of which were originally founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Network schools have exchange programs and pen-pal arrangements with schools from Paris to Zimbabwe. At an annual conference for Marymounts worldwide, several faculty and staff from New York’s branch get to learn and share ideas with global colleagues. From this conference, a special theme is chosen from the six goals and criteria shared by all Marymount schools. Goals have included “unity through diversity” and “to awaken a consciousness of social justice.”

A teacher works with a student in class. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

The school takes its commitment to such goals seriously. “It’s not like you just see signs,” Williams said. “Teachers talk the talk.”

The mission-oriented vibe extends to parents, too. There are regular crafts days for parents and students, and the Parents Association, William said, makes a point to stress that time, not money, is the most important gift parents can give.

Ultimately, though, Issa feels there’s a simple reason that draws parents to the school.

“Parents choose the Marymount environment,” she said, “because they

— Sarah Seltzer