Ashley Hall Viewbook

Possunt quae volunt Name of Student

“The true spirit of the Ashley Hall family is the ability for a single girl to join others and feel welcomed and acknowledged.�

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t Ashley Hall, each student’s first steps on the path to higher achievement continue a journey begun a century ago by other young women who dared to dream beyond the boundaries of the world they knew.

“I don’t want to lose any part of who I was at Ashley Hall. It’s an essential part of who I am now. I don’t ever want to forget sitting high up in the limbs of a live oak tree and reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.”

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t Ashley Hall, each student’s first steps on the path to higher achievement continue a journey begun a century ago by other young women who dared to dream beyond the boundaries of the world they knew.

“I don’t want to lose any part of who I was at Ashley Hall. It’s an essential part of who I am now. I don’t ever want to forget sitting high up in the limbs of a live oak tree and reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.”

I

n the spring of 1909, Mary Vardrine McBee, an iconoclastic pioneer in women’s education, determined to create an independent college preparatory school exclusively for girls, purchased the old Spring -Witte estate at 172 Rutledge Avenue in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. The school she envisioned would challenge students with rigorous and innovative academic curricula while honoring long-standing local traditions of civility and community service.

Over the course of Miss McBee’s forty-year tenure as the school’s founding director,Ashley Hall grew from a small nucleus of students in grades ten through twelve to a comprehensive program embracing girls ranging in age from two to eighteen. Upon that solid foundation the school has continued to grow and to mature.Yet never in its century of commitment to educating young women has Ashley Hall lost sight of the radical faith that sustained Miss McBee: her unshakeable belief that girls who dare deserve and are worthy of every possible educational advantage and that, thus prepared, those same girls will become the women who lead by example in the home, the community, the nation, and the world.

“As a student at Ashley Hall, I received a solid foundation with great emphasis on Latin, Math and Shakespeare, which helped prepare me for the future.”

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n the spring of 1909, Mary Vardrine McBee, an iconoclastic pioneer in women’s education, determined to create an independent college preparatory school exclusively for girls, purchased the old Spring -Witte estate at 172 Rutledge Avenue in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. The school she envisioned would challenge students with rigorous and innovative academic curricula while honoring long-standing local traditions of civility and community service.

Over the course of Miss McBee’s forty-year tenure as the school’s founding director,Ashley Hall grew from a small nucleus of students in grades ten through twelve to a comprehensive program embracing girls ranging in age from two to eighteen. Upon that solid foundation the school has continued to grow and to mature.Yet never in its century of commitment to educating young women has Ashley Hall lost sight of the radical faith that sustained Miss McBee: her unshakeable belief that girls who dare deserve and are worthy of every possible educational advantage and that, thus prepared, those same girls will become the women who lead by example in the home, the community, the nation, and the world.

“As a student at Ashley Hall, I received a solid foundation with great emphasis on Latin, Math and Shakespeare, which helped prepare me for the future.”

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

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S. Eliot’s questions remind us of the obligation we face as educators and as students to bear always in mind that what we seek in all our studies is not the mere accumulation of facts, but the understanding that brings order, clarity, and purpose to that inchoate collection of “information.” “Facts are stupid things,” the great 19th-century scientist, Harvard professor, and sometime Adjunct Professor at the Medical College of Charleston Louis Agassiz remarked,“until brought into order by some governing principle.”The end and aim of education is to insure that each student is capable of transforming the disparate knowledge experience gives her into the wisdom needed to act purposefully in the world.

The mission of Ashley Hall therefore is clear, and the means to achieve that mission, though flexible and subject to constant refinements, remain fundamentally the same: we question, we listen, we lend a hand.We seek intellectual understanding by interrogating experience, by subjecting to close scrutiny everything that comes our way.We seek emotional understanding by attending closely to the responses our questions elicit, by listening patiently to the voices of others – our contemporaries and our predecessors. And with the understandings thus gained, we lend our hands – and hearts – to the never-ending enterprise of creating a world in which the humane values we cherish can flourish from one generation to the next.

“I can assure you that the difference in the quality of education is phenomenal.”

T.

S. Eliot’s questions remind us of the obligation we face as educators and as students to bear always in mind that what we seek in all our studies is not the mere accumulation of facts, but the understanding that brings order, clarity, and purpose to that inchoate collection of “information.” “Facts are stupid things,” the great 19th-century scientist, Harvard professor, and sometime Adjunct Professor at the Medical College of Charleston Louis Agassiz remarked,“until brought into order by some governing principle.”The end and aim of education is to insure that each student is capable of transforming the disparate knowledge experience gives her into the wisdom needed to act purposefully in the world.

The mission of Ashley Hall therefore is clear, and the means to achieve that mission, though flexible and subject to constant refinements, remain fundamentally the same: we question, we listen, we lend a hand.We seek intellectual understanding by interrogating experience, by subjecting to close scrutiny everything that comes our way.We seek emotional understanding by attending closely to the responses our questions elicit, by listening patiently to the voices of others – our contemporaries and our predecessors. And with the understandings thus gained, we lend our hands – and hearts – to the never-ending enterprise of creating a world in which the humane values we cherish can flourish from one generation to the next.

“I can assure you that the difference in the quality of education is phenomenal.”

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shley Hall produces an educated woman who is independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence.

And we begin with

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shley Hall produces an educated woman who is independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence.

And we begin with

Questioning

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eal learning, for student and teacher alike, begins with a question.With the question we reach outward, extending ourselves into the world beyond the familiar, into the unknown.

And on this fundamental act of inquiring Ashley Hall bases both its academic curricula and its governing pedagogical philosophy.

The educated woman is a questioning, questing human being.

An independent woman who thinks for herself knows how and whom and what to question. Inquiry-based learning is training in the art of asking essential questions and seeking, compelled by one’s own appetite for knowledge, essential answers.

Questioning

R

eal learning, for student and teacher alike, begins with a question.With the question we reach outward, extending ourselves into the world beyond the familiar, into the unknown.

And on this fundamental act of inquiring Ashley Hall bases both its academic curricula and its governing pedagogical philosophy.

The educated woman is a questioning, questing human being.

An independent woman who thinks for herself knows how and whom and what to question. Inquiry-based learning is training in the art of asking essential questions and seeking, compelled by one’s own appetite for knowledge, essential answers.

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s a logical extension of that essential questioning,Ashley Hall’s independent young woman actively seeks out opportunities to explore the world and all its offers to enlarge our perspective and enhance our understanding. Programs such as Spoleto Study Abroad,The Spirit of South Carolina Leadership Course, the South Carolina Aquarium Project, Junior Internships, Senior Projects, Community Action Initiative, language immersion programs in France and Spain, voyages of cultural, historical, and artistic discovery in Greece, Central America, Canada and elsewhere enable students to pursue experiential learning in entirely new and surprising environments. Such journeys provide a global context for the work done each day in classrooms and laboratories, and so better prepare students for the challenges of our world in all its infinite variety, even as they exemplify the transformation of the desire to learn into the will to act – or as Ashley Hall’s motto more succinctly puts it: Possunt quae volunt.

“Thanks to my Ashley Hall education, I’ve now graduated a semester early from one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country.”

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s a logical extension of that essential questioning,Ashley Hall’s independent young woman actively seeks out opportunities to explore the world and all its offers to enlarge our perspective and enhance our understanding. Programs such as Spoleto Study Abroad,The Spirit of South Carolina Leadership Course, the South Carolina Aquarium Project, Junior Internships, Senior Projects, Community Action Initiative, language immersion programs in France and Spain, voyages of cultural, historical, and artistic discovery in Greece, Central America, Canada and elsewhere enable students to pursue experiential learning in entirely new and surprising environments. Such journeys provide a global context for the work done each day in classrooms and laboratories, and so better prepare students for the challenges of our world in all its infinite variety, even as they exemplify the transformation of the desire to learn into the will to act – or as Ashley Hall’s motto more succinctly puts it: Possunt quae volunt.

“Thanks to my Ashley Hall education, I’ve now graduated a semester early from one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country.”

Listening

Listening

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n classes which encourage continuous student engagement and participation, the spirit of inquiry necessarily fosters in each student a ready willingness to listen to the thoughts, observations, and concerns of others. Such a conversational context nurtures the individual’s powers of attention – for to attend a class means being attentive to the presence of others, whether they are there in the flesh or embodied in vital texts or works of art or the reasoned arguments of seasoned scholars.The work we do in the classroom prepares us for more advanced studies by expanding our intellectual understanding even as it cultivates a sympathetic understanding that transcends all disparate academic disciplines. In the fullest and therefore truest sense, to be educated is to be drawn forth out of the isolated self into the companionship and collaborative promise of others whose knowledge, abilities, and aspirations complement rather than contradict our own.

Thus, at every turning of our intellectual evolution – whether we are in a third-grade reading group or a senior seminar on Anna Karenina, whether we are installing our hand-made bird feeders outside the first-grade classroom windows or we are working with the AP Biology team to construct new genetic materials, whether we are skipping rope on the playground or serving for match point in the state tennis tournament, we are constantly attuning ourselves to the questing and questioning of others, constantly attending to the always tentative, always provocative responses of others.

“What we learned at Ashley Hall played a part in who we were then and who we are today.The quality of and standards for learning were high, and we were the beneficiaries of a dedicated and caring cadre of teachers.”

I

n classes which encourage continuous student engagement and participation, the spirit of inquiry necessarily fosters in each student a ready willingness to listen to the thoughts, observations, and concerns of others. Such a conversational context nurtures the individual’s powers of attention – for to attend a class means being attentive to the presence of others, whether they are there in the flesh or embodied in vital texts or works of art or the reasoned arguments of seasoned scholars.The work we do in the classroom prepares us for more advanced studies by expanding our intellectual understanding even as it cultivates a sympathetic understanding that transcends all disparate academic disciplines. In the fullest and therefore truest sense, to be educated is to be drawn forth out of the isolated self into the companionship and collaborative promise of others whose knowledge, abilities, and aspirations complement rather than contradict our own.

Thus, at every turning of our intellectual evolution – whether we are in a third-grade reading group or a senior seminar on Anna Karenina, whether we are installing our hand-made bird feeders outside the first-grade classroom windows or we are working with the AP Biology team to construct new genetic materials, whether we are skipping rope on the playground or serving for match point in the state tennis tournament, we are constantly attuning ourselves to the questing and questioning of others, constantly attending to the always tentative, always provocative responses of others.

“What we learned at Ashley Hall played a part in who we were then and who we are today.The quality of and standards for learning were high, and we were the beneficiaries of a dedicated and caring cadre of teachers.”

Lending a hand

“What Ashley Hall…instill(s) in women is difficult to obtain elsewhere…not only competence and confidence, but also without pretension…allowing us to appreciate other people and our differences, and acknowledge our equality.”

“We are always comforted with that sense of community that surrounds every activity.”

Lending a hand

“What Ashley Hall…instill(s) in women is difficult to obtain elsewhere…not only competence and confidence, but also without pretension…allowing us to appreciate other people and our differences, and acknowledge our equality.”

“We are always comforted with that sense of community that surrounds every activity.”

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hat awareness of personal responsibility we cultivate in our studies and in our cocurricular endeavors inevitably leads to the desire to act beyond the boundaries of the campus.

To that end Ashley Hall’s Community Action Initiative establishes close connections with charitable and service organizations throughout the larger Charleston community, enabling students to lend a helping hand where it is most needed. Focusing on the needs of women and children, on environmental issues, and on improving educational opportunities for all children, the Community Action Initiative supports a wide array of projects and programs, ranging from Habitat for Humanity to providing student tutorials at a neighborhood elementary school to cleaning up the litter on local beaches. Further afield,Ashley Hall students travel to Africa and Guatemala to work with children in orphanages in those countries. Annual events such as Jump Rope for Heart,The Race for the Cure, Breast Cancer Awareness Week, as well as on-going fund-raising efforts for local, regional, and national charitable organizations and for unexpected emergencies services keep us reminded of our obligation to help those in need.

The tradition of service as a concomitant privilege of learning lives on at Ashley Hall.

“What Ashley Hall and my parents gave me was the desire to learn.�

T

hat awareness of personal responsibility we cultivate in our studies and in our cocurricular endeavors inevitably leads to the desire to act beyond the boundaries of the campus.

To that end Ashley Hall’s Community Action Initiative establishes close connections with charitable and service organizations throughout the larger Charleston community, enabling students to lend a helping hand where it is most needed. Focusing on the needs of women and children, on environmental issues, and on improving educational opportunities for all children, the Community Action Initiative supports a wide array of projects and programs, ranging from Habitat for Humanity to providing student tutorials at a neighborhood elementary school to cleaning up the litter on local beaches. Further afield,Ashley Hall students travel to Africa and Guatemala to work with children in orphanages in those countries. Annual events such as Jump Rope for Heart,The Race for the Cure, Breast Cancer Awareness Week, as well as on-going fund-raising efforts for local, regional, and national charitable organizations and for unexpected emergencies services keep us reminded of our obligation to help those in need.

The tradition of service as a concomitant privilege of learning lives on at Ashley Hall.

“What Ashley Hall and my parents gave me was the desire to learn.�

“I learn by going where I have to go.”

Theodore Roethke

“The Spirit of South Carolina Leadership Program puts Ashley Hall at the forefront of the experiential education movement.

I was so proud to see the pictures of my daughter climbing out over the water onto the head-rigging of the bowsprit.

That’s an independent young woman!”

“I learn by going where I have to go.”

Theodore Roethke

“The Spirit of South Carolina Leadership Program puts Ashley Hall at the forefront of the experiential education movement.

I was so proud to see the pictures of my daughter climbing out over the water onto the head-rigging of the bowsprit.

That’s an independent young woman!”

Ashley Hall

Ashley Hall

“Ashley Hall distinguishes itself as one of the few schools in the country that offers a traditional Classics curriculum, one in which all students; beginning in the seventh and eighth grades, study both Latin and Greek. Homer,Vergil, Herodotus, Livy, Ovid, and Horace – these are some of the greats to which students are exposed at the higher levels.All of this augments the phenomenal Humanities Program where all students in the higher levels study the history of Greece, Rome, and the Renaissance, and read the pertinent works of Sophocles, Dante, and Shakespeare. Outstanding.�

Girls with the will, have the ability.

Ashley Hall

172 Rutledge Avenue Charleston, SC 29403 www.ashleyhall.org