Educating Women of Faith, Vision, & Purpose

Visi girls are friends and fans, classmates and teammates, companions and confidants. While striving for their personal best, they collaborate and support one another, creating a tight community where all are embraced and each can shine. Here, optimism and compassion are contagious.

This positive tone is set by the Sisters and nurtured by teachers who are committed to understanding and educating girls in the ways they learn best—through relationships. Being in an all-girls school has distinct advantages. Visi girls are free to be whoever they want to be...and to be themselves. By trying new and difficult things, they learn how to navigate disappointment and develop the resilience that results in long-term success. They know that every girl can lead and achieve in her own way, boosted by newfound friends who become lifelong sisters.

My favorite thing about Visitation is the community - 100%. Girls supporting girls, women supporting women. On my Cub for a Day visit, I went to gym class and they were having a basketball rally and everyone was supporting everyone else. I thought to myself, "I want to be supported by all these strong women!"

Sarah ‘20

Students work together outside using their iPads

At Visitation, we are empowering the next generation of female leaders. The women who will lead us forward must have a strong moral foundation and know how to effectively collaborate and communicate in order to address and solve the real problems facing our world today.

A Visitation education is tailored to provide the training and preparation girls need to grow into leaders. Rooted in the Salesian Spirituality of St. Jane de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales, our program emphasizes virtues like perseverance, honesty, humility, courage, simplicity, generosity, patience, and optimism.

At Visitation, students learn about themselves, their strengths, group dynamics, goal-setting, and the importance of communication.

Girls’ school students are more likely than their female peers at coeducational schools to experience an environment that welcomes an open and safe exchange of ideas. Nearly 87% of girls’ school students feel their opinions are respected at their school compared to only 58% of girls at coeducational schools.
Dr. Richard A. Holmgren, Allegheny College, Steeped in Learning: The Student Experience at All-Girls Schools

Hospitality is a value lived each day in Visitation’s classrooms. Teachers foster a warm, welcoming environment that helps students feel at ease and, therefore, thrive. Here, young women feel empowered to engage in thoughtful - and challenging - classroom dialogue.

In discussion-oriented classes, I’ve noticed girls aren’t afraid to share their opinions. What I like is that discussion allows you to collaborate and share ideas. The teachers are always very available to give extra help to students who need it. You can tell that they love the subject they teach, which I think is really important. I especially see that in my English classes; the teachers love the books they teach. They make funny comments, and notice special details that someone who hadn’t really enjoyed the text wouldn’t have noticed.

Isabel ‘21

Teacher Luke O'Connell in class with students

At Visitation, faith is lived in relationship and our young women learn in relationship, receiving guidance and coaching not only from their teachers, but from their peers.

Being at an all-girls school, no one is afraid to ask questions. Everyone is collaborative. The teachers are approachable, so I always feel I can go to them if I need help. It’s interactive - it’s not a teacher talking at you. Everyone is participating in the class, both students and teachers.

Azure ‘21

The intimate environment at Visitation fosters strong bonds among teachers and students. In our small classes, every student is seen as an individual and is actively encouraged to participate, to speak her mind. Our teachers know that affirmation and encouragement are far more effective motivators than harsh criticism.

Art Department Chair Kelli Smith encourages a student as she explores her creativity

Leadership Development

Visitation strongly believes in empowering young women to lead and helps cultivate these vital skills at every turn, whether in the classroom, during Cub period, at the big game, on stage, or at the podium.

Visi girls become leaders in both the traditional and Salesian sense. We strive to help students understand that leading doesn't always mean being the loudest voice; it can mean quietly supporting what is right, serving as an outstanding role model, or providing a place for the voiceless to share their concerns.

Each August, we offer a free Leadership Lab, which provides more immersive study into topics like teamwork, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence.

My teachers are extremely helpful and accessible. It means so much to know that if I’m having difficulty with a subject, I can seek help. Our in-class discussions and Socratic seminars also create a comfortable environment for asking questions and exploring different perspectives, no matter what subject.

Mariana ‘21

Girls’ schools like Visitation develop collaborative, empathetic leaders: Programs at our schools focus on the development of teamwork over other qualities of leadership, while also promoting confidence, compassion, and resilience. Girls’ schools empower students to lead: 93% of girls’ school grads say they were offered greater leadership opportunities than peers at coed schools and 80% have held leadership positions since graduating from high school. At girls’ schools, girls demonstrate great confidence in female leadership and become increasingly interested in leadership positions themselves. Preliminary data from coed schools suggests girls become less interested in leadership positions with age.

Scientific research, daily experience, and feedback from our students clearly indicate the ways that an all-girl environment helps girls to hone their voice, pursue academic excellence, try new things, and learn to lead. Visitation’s mission is simultaneously timeless and vitally urgent. Our all-girls environment empowers Visitation women to be both attentive and responsive to our "rapidly changing and morally complex world."

As a proud member of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, our school community recognizes how the safety of an all-girls school nurtures students to become more confident and to take intellectual and social risks at the critical juncture of adolescence.

Our teachers understand girls learn best when closely connected with one another and their teachers. We intentionally create opportunities to lead, question, and collaborate inside and outside of the classroom. After four years with us, a young woman leaves 35th Street confident in her faith, herself, and her capacity to bring about change.

Empowered Women

Paulina '24

“I didn’t have much of a voice in middle school. Coming here, I am finally able to say what I want to say and everyone is listening and everyone cares. I have found friends here that I know I’m going to keep for the rest of my life.”

At All-Girls Schools Students Have

More

Focus

Higher

Confidence

Closer

Friendships

Greater

class participation

Salesian Spirituality

There are countless ways to lead and have fun through our wide variety of student activities, including arts, athletics, school government, publications, and more.

A Whole-Girl Approach

The challenges facing our young women are great, from social media to the pandemic to the normal stressors of adolescence. Likewise, her supports must be many and strong.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

In keeping with our mission of “Living Jesus,” Georgetown Visitation is committed to fostering an institutional culture which honors the dignity and sacredness of every individual.

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