PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia High School for Girls, one of the city's most venerable high schools, marks its 175th anniversary this year.
Girls High was established in 1848 as the Girls' Normal School. "Normal" was what schools that educated teachers were called.
But over the years, Girls High has produced more than teachers – singer Jill Scott, former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin and former Penn president Judith Rodin among them.
"Philadelphia High School for Girls not only told me I could do anything but, also, I saw our alumnae and I saw what they did," said Azeb Kinder, President of the Girls High Alumnae Association.
The school is commemorating its 175th anniversary with a year of ceremonies and community service events, culminating in a gala in the fall.
Kinder said a misconception about single-sex schools is that they don't teach students how to work with all kinds of people.
She said being in that space actually increases their capacity to be in mixed environments and fosters bonds that endure well after graduation.
"We're able to develop these realty personal, intimate relationships with our classmates that often carry on outside of Girls High," Kinder explained. "From the moment I walked through the doors, it was the most nurturing environment I've ever been in. It's where I learned about what it meant to be a young woman."
Philadelphia High School for Girls is a magnet school with admission requirements.
"It's not just focused on academics," Kinder told KYW Newsradio. "It's focused on developing girls into being young women. And so I think that's part of our longevity."
