Limitless: Redefining Possibilities - Unleashing Potential

L imitless Redefining Possibilities • Unleashing Potential

T H E

CA M PAIG N

FOR

NOT R E

DAME

PREP

“We are blessed at Notre Dame with a faith community where each person is cared for, respected, and loved. As the School Sisters of Notre Dame have demonstrated since our founding, we can affect change one person, one situation, at a time through education.”

—Sister Patricia McCarron, SSND, Ph.D., NDP Headmistress

• NOTRE DAME PREPARATORY SCHOOL (NDP) is a place where girls embrace their faith and grow into young women who meaningfully engage in relationships, serve in their communities, and transform the world.

Driven by our mission, NDP must prepare women of character who create solutions for the world’s most complex problems and make a positive difference in their communities. To maintain our superior learning environment and continue to attract students, we must build an Innovation Wing and increase scholarship aid.

Let us show you how you are a key player in fortifying our school and preparing young women for the careers of the future.

• “We both deeply appreciate the impact of the NDP mission in preparing our daughters for future leadership. Spending highly formative years as students at NDP, girls grow into young women who are compassionate, collaborative, and prepared to confidently enter college and the workforce. This campaign is positioning NDP to impact many future generations. We’re thrilled to pay our gratitude forward by supporting the school now.”

—Scott Wilfong and Dr. Lilly Mihm Hunter ’90, Campaign Co-Chairs

E nriched

Innovative Education for Women and Girls NOTRE DAME PREPARATORY SCHOOL’S VALUES HAVE ENDURED since its founding in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND).

NDP has fostered academic excellence, spiritual growth, and the practice of justice with more than 8,000 graduates, encouraging them “to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8) We are inspired daily by the faith and courage of our SSND foundress, Blessed Mother Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger, who devoted her life to educating and enabling people to reach the fullness of their potential. She embraced God’s call to transform the lives of women and children through education. Committed to the education of young women, she trusted God and dared to persist at a time when education for women was not a societal priority.

Notre Dame Prep works to ensure that Catholic education remains excellent in delivery and accessible to all. Our mission compels our exemplary faculty and staff to nurture students holistically. Every day, our girls are encouraged to apply themselves academically, think creatively, cultivate passions, grow spiritually through prayer, liturgy, and meaningful retreats, and practice justice both in the classroom and through charitable service and advocacy work.

Each year, our girls continue to excel and receive national, state, and local commendations for academics, extra curricular activities, and athletics. Every graduate attends college, and nearly 80% of each graduating class is awarded merit scholarships.

I nspired

Preparing for a Changing World IN THE EMERGING CYBER-PHYSICAL WORLD, technology is a part of all career fields. Information is abundant and readily accessible; automation has restructured job functions; and it is no longer realistic for today’s employees to anticipate spending their careers in one role. Students must now emerge from high school as adaptable, confident thinkers who have the creativity to solve problems, an ethical

Confident

foundation to make sound decisions, and an inclusive worldview from which to respond to a rapidly changing world.

Our society is experiencing a dearth (less than 30%) of women in STEAM professions.

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports “more than 50% of today’s jobs require some degree of technical skills… experts say that percentage will increase to 77% in the next decade.”i • Girls Who Code report 74% of students in middle school express an interest in STEAM

professions; however, only half a percent of high school-aged girls select computer science as their college major.ii • T he McKinsey Global Institute, in their 2013 “Disruptive Technologies” study found “five technologies—including mobile internet, automation, and cloud commuting will each be worth more than $1 trillion to the world economy by 2025. Without more women in technology leadership, we won’t be able to take full advantage of that opportunity.”iii

• I n 2016, women accounted for one-fifth or fewer of those employed in some of these jobs: —S oftware developers, applications, and systems software: 20.0% — Computer network architects: 9.7% — Aerospace engineers: 7.8%iv As the job market is changing, our students will be at the forefront of changing these statistics and impacting the STEAM professions.

We must ensure that our graduates are ready for the workplaces of the future.

60% OF COLLEGE GRADUATES ARE WOMEN 34% PURSUE A

STEAM DEGREE

v

v

NDP’s Response

D istinguished

NDP’S EMPHASIS ON GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP and enduring values distinguishes us from peer schools. To transform the world, our graduates must become experts in their

fields. However, to apply their knowledge

effectively, they must also develop the skills to communicate, collaborate, and innovate

as they work towards solutions for complex, real-world problems. Two distinctive

programs at Notre Dame Preparatory School help our students develop these critical skills.

The Bette Ellis O’Conor Humanities Program integrates curricula from different liberal arts disciplines, thereby enabling students to study in environments that elicit a passion for ideas and learning. Exploring interdisciplinary connections, the program allows students to consider the relationships among art, English, music, religion, and social studies. The examination of critical issues and ideas encourages students to dialogue and share diverse perspectives.

In Humanities courses, students examine complex social problems and are inspired to work to address them.

The STEAM Program creates awareness, sparks interest, and builds confidence in girls for STEAM subjects. Within the liberal arts, college preparatory curriculum, girls may choose individual classes of interest or pursue a STEAM certificate. Through the program, students learn real-life application by completing design-build projects and gain hands-on experience with tools and technology. They have the opportunity to learn about the technical disciplines and potential career paths in fields such as Engineering and Manufacturing; Computer Science, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity; Medicine and Biotechnology; and Environmental Sciences.

As our important STEAM-related curricular and extracurricular activities expand, we are running out of space, and we need space that will provide for production of large-scale projects. To continue delivering an unparalleled educational experience, we must enlarge our facilities to meet program demand and to provide our girls with the highest quality experiences. At the same time, we must increase student scholarships so that girls of all backgrounds can attend NDP and lead the way for women to engage the

Collaborative

STEAM professions and careers of the future.

Building an Innovation Wing

Floor 3 will gather our art and design classrooms 6,

THE QUALITY OF OUR BUILDINGS AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES set the stage for our faculty

related to entrepreneurship and other careers.

to deliver a first-rate educational experience. Now is the time to build an Innovation Wing to create

Students will study and apply architecture, geometry,

important departmental proximities within the STEAM and Humanities programs and to accentuate

and algebra to solve problems in the U.S. and abroad.

the prominence of these programs in the school’s curriculum.

They will also practice skills such as sketching flow

Floor 1 will provide our Bette Ellis O’Conor Humanities Program with two new classrooms 1.

The new construction will provide NDP with the space and flexibility needed to co-locate the Upper Level English, Religion, and Social Studies departments. This gathering of departments will allow our students to hone 21st-Century skills such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration,

charts, applying statistics, and honing their eye for product design. Finally, a project room gathering space

8

7 and a large

will facilitate presentations and

Additionally, our new wing will:

new humanities classrooms as girls wrestle with their individual abilities and obligation to respond to

• Create the largest enclosed courtyard on campus

global challenges.

(plus patio)—a space where students can safely

Floor 2 will house our Upper Level technical academic departments and spaces, such as Science 2,

gather and the school can host events;

3, Computer Science 4, and the two-story Design and Build laboratory 5. It is here

that students will develop a maker space mentality as they engage in real-time design processes, experience product development, and utilize computer-aided design tools. Additionally, with a medical suite, students will apply knowledge learned in biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology courses.

5

small group collaborations.

and communication.vi Our faculty looks forward to many meaningful conversations in our existing and

Engineering

2

our substantial internship program, and classes

• Provide additional classrooms facilitating small

6

class sizes; • Offer open areas for small group and studentteacher collaboration; and • Facilitate traffic flow throughout the school.

6

6

2

3

1

1

I nnovative 5

7

4

8 4 Notre Dame Preparatory School STE AM Addition • July 2018 Ziger/Snead Architects

Building Student Scholarships DIVERSITY SPEAKS TO WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE NDP COMMUNITY, while inclusivity addresses how we create a culture that is inclusive of the gifts of all community members. NDP is committed to becoming a more inclusive community—in every class and student activity, at every lunch table, and in every faculty meeting.

Committed to Catholic education and following the SSND charism of unity, NDP prepares students, regardless of economic resources, to participate in building our society in ways that will benefit communities. Our Gospel values demand that we work hard to provide financial resources to girls from low-income families who desire an NDP education.

We are equally committed to providing need-based aid to middle-income families who are struggling.

The need is real, as more than 40% of NDP’s Upper Level students receive need-based financial aid.

While we lead the way in competitive tuition costs, the number of students not attending NDP due to financial reasons is increasing. More than 50% of accepted applicants for the 2018-19 school year applied for financial aid. While tuition costs have risen, thanks to previous capital campaigns, the amount of financial aid we are providing has increased by nearly 20%! We need to remain competitive among our area’s independent schools in the scholarship support we award annually.

In addition to having relevant educational buildings, we need to grow available scholarship funds. By augmenting student scholarships, we will increase our bandwidth to welcome students whose families would otherwise be unable to afford an NDP education.

I nclusive

Focused on Outcomes In our new facility and with our new scholarships, we will: Prepare each girl to engage career fields where she may be the only woman in the room.

Alongside our dynamic curriculum, we will teach our students how to move beyond the glass ceilings and isolation that can be associated with blazing a new trail. We will teach our students to be bold in their career choices.

Teach connections between academic disciplines. We will teach facts and work toward answers and proofs while recognizing the world’s problems are rarely confined to a lab or spreadsheet. From poverty and disease to climate change, our girls will learn to apply STEAM subjects in ways that acknowledge broader human realities.

Point to women who pioneered STEAM

Creative

fields. From NDP graduate Dr. Lilly Hunter who has delivered thousands of babies to the NDP alumnae at Whiting-Turner who founded the NDP Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) club, we will share stories of NDP graduates in STEAM careers.

Through their stories, we will steward the gifts, talents, and abilities of our students so that they, too, can reach their full potential.

Foster Innovation and Creativity. More women learning and pursuing product research, design, and development will translate into innovative projects and fulfilling user experiences. From designing lightweight running shoes to advanced fighter jets, from creating energy solutions to acoustically designed opera houses, our graduates are the link to giving businesses a competitive advantage.

Challenge stereotypes.

By challenging stereotypes, we will open the door for our students to see themselves as capable, world-changing scientific and mathematic leaders.

Encourage positive attitudes about careers in STEAM professions. We will champion our girls’ scientific intuition and eye for design. Each girl can become the next chemist who develops lifesaving medicines, computer scientist who brings user-friendly devices with attractive graphic technologies to market, or engineer who solves city planning, piping, and infrastructure dilemmas.

Celebrate Art. The Arts encourage students to imagine, sharpen fine motor skills, embrace trial and error, and view “mistakes” as thinking outside the box and persisting in a task. Arts, humanities, and design intentionally complement our STEAM curriculum as the “secret sauce” positioning our girls to become

Engaged

exceptionally creative designers, engineers, and mathematicians.

Fortify school enrollment.

With leading faculty, curriculum, and facilities, NDP will be set

apart as the premier independent Catholic school for girls’ education in our region.

Full STEAM Ahead!

EQUIPPED WITH STRONG VALUES, A DEEP KNOWLEDGE BASE, AND PRACTICAL SKILLS, our

Mission growth of this magnitude is

graduates will be on the front lines of changing the status quo and transforming the world. Our goals

exciting, and we cannot do it alone. Your

in preparing the next generation of women leaders are ambitious. Driven by research that establishes

partnership is a vital component in taking

the need for high-quality educational experiences and more women in STEAM, it is not an option to

NDP to the next level of impact in the

wait to prepare girls for life beyond our gateway.

lives of our students and their families.

To maintain our superior learning environment and continue to attract students who have the ability to choose from a variety of independent schools, we must urgently raise $4,500,000 to build an Innovation Wing and $1,000,000 increase scholarship aid. As we look toward the future, we are keenly aware that NDP will be in an even stronger position by taking on less long-term debt;

We invite you to join in this important opportunity to make a profound and immediate impact on NDP’s students’ lives and in our school’s future.

therefore, we hope to surpass our challenge goal of $8,000,000.

Every girl who desires to attend NDP should have the opportunity. Pairing adequate financial aid with first-rate facilities will dramatically reduce a potential student’s decision to choose another school over Notre Dame Prep.

T ransformative

“ Professionally, I lived between technology, intelligence, and policy. Since these worlds don’t speak the same language, I relied on my ability to analyze, consolidate complex problems, and communicate articulately. My NDP teachers taught me these skills and they kept me in excellent stead throughout my career.”

—Sallie Mullen, NDP Class of 1964, Retired, U.S. Department of State

“ As parents of an NDP alumna, my wife and I still marvel at how exceptionally well prepared our daughter was for college, how many life-long friendships she made, and what a strong moral compass she developed as a result of her time at NDP. As a Board member, my family is committed to ensuring the opportunity to attend NDP is available to countless more remarkable young women for countless years to come.”

—Brad Chambers, President, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital and MedStar Union Memorial Hospital

Sources: i U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics: https:// www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/ SD/21103.pdf ii Girls Who Code: https://girlswhocode.com/ about-us/#section2 iii McKinsey Study: https://www.mckinsey. com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/ our-insights/disruptive-technologies iv Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages 2016 (2017). v World Economic Forum: https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/women-arestill-under-represented-in-science-mathsand-engineering-heres-what-we-can-do vi Thoughtful Learning. https://k12. thoughtfullearning.com/ FAQ/what-are-21stcentury-skills

“ I am pursuing the STEAM certificate at NDP and love my classes because they are challenging and hands-on. Thanks to this program, I hope to study biomedical engineering in college.”

—Abby Rudolph, NDP Class of 2020

“ Engineering has traditionally been a male-dominated field. There’s no reason for that.

I have three daughters, and long ago I realized how important it is for them and all women that the workplace be diverse. That requires outreach. Opening girls’ eyes to the possibilities. Teaching them not to be afraid and giving them experience that builds confidence. The new Innovation Wing at NDP is a good beginning.”

—Patrick Antkowiak, Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Northrop Grumman Corporation

“ Everyone at NDP cares—the teachers, the administration, your peers…It’s really exceptional. More and more the world needs places like NDP and I want to do my part to pass it on to others.”

—Dr. Victoria B. Chou, NDP Class of 1992, Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

“ With two kids in Catholic high schools, the small grant offered was a huge gift for us.

It means everything. Beyond the academics, [my daughter] gets tremendous spiritual and personal support every day, and that is invaluable to her NDP experience.”

—Lisa O’Connor, NDP Parent

P artnership

N O T R E D A M E P R E PA R AT O R Y S C H O O L 815 Hampton Lane, Towson, Maryland 21286 410.825.6202 • www.notredameprep.com

Sisterhood