By Percival Koontz
Roland Park Country School’s mission is to support, encourage, and empower young women through education. However, as more students come out as genderqueer (people whose gender identity does not align with their assigned sex at birth), the school’s “all-girls” identity is being challenged. This struggle is not uncommon for many same-sex schools around the country, and RPCS no exception.
Roland Park Country School was established in 1894 when education, while available to girls, was still far more accessible to boys. The appearance of a girls’ preparatory school greatly affected the surrounding community. It broke down barriers established by unfair societal expectations for women by providing a safe and encouraging atmosphere for its students.
The current head of RPCS, Mrs. Blatti, said that “an all-girls school is a place that empowers, supports, inspires girls and young women to become their best, most authentic, and fully realized selves.” To this day, the school’s commitment to the education of young women has had an immense impact on its students and community.
RPCS’s community makes up one diverse family that strives to support and accept the identities of its members. RPCS’s inclusion statement declares that “As a joyful, diverse community, we celebrate differences for the value and strength they bring to RPCS." Yet, despite these efforts to support diversity, there are still some who feel excluded. Dr. Owens, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, said, “I have heard and am aware of some students not feeling included and that doesn’t sit well with me.”
Changes have been and can continue to be made to better support and include the increasingly diverse student body. Dr. Owens adds, “We are working to find the best ways to respect, honor and uplift all students at RPCS.”
Ms. Fox, the RPCS librarian, also agrees that “there are ways to be a girls school that still loves and includes all of our students.” Along with other teachers and faculty members, she feels that the school can easily accomplish both.
When asked how the school may better support genderqueer students, Ms. Eisle, the Middle School Counselor, said that she would want there “to be more time dedicated in Wellness Classes or other settings to focus on discussing and processing identity development.”
In response to the same question, Ms. Pope, Gore Leadership Institute Program Coordinator, said, “I would want the school to directly ask students who don’t identify as girls what kind of support they need.”
The students themselves expressed interest in being reached out to for their thoughts and suggestions. Annabel Joice, a junior at RPCS, said, “I think that it is a good idea for the school to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community here at RPCS. It would definitely make them feel more included and accepted and would be one more step towards making this school more like a family.”
Some cis-gender students (students whose gender identity aligns with their sex at birth) state that they feel well supported by the school. However, they also think that the LGBTQ+ and genderqueer students receive less support than they could from the school. For example, Laila Caroll, an RPCS sophomore, said, “I feel [being a school for girls] supports me, but not everyone in the school. The language in slogans and on shirts aren’t very inclusive for some people.”
Recurring suggestions from students about further support for genderqueer students include: continue working on limiting the use of exclusionary language, emphasizing identities and diversity in an educational setting, and creating a connection between the school and LGBTQ+ students.
Same-sex schools often feel like each step towards supporting genderqueer students is a step further away from the school’s identity. In a research study published by the National Coalition of Girl’s Schools, many schools mentioned that they “struggle to do right by trans students on the one hand, and to remain steadfast in their commitment to preserve the unique character, culture, and mission of a girls school on the other.”
This mirrors the challenge RPCS faces. However, RPCS students and teachers alike agree that communicating with the faculty and the students will allow the school to explore ways of making genderqueer students feel accepted without straying from the mission.
Caroline Blatti expanded further with this statement: “We want all our students to feel known, seen and supported at RPCS. We are a girls’ school, but some of our students may not identify as girls or may be gender fluid. We are in the process of working through how we can support each student who may not be cis-gendered. That said, we are still a mission driven school, situated in our own identity as a girls’ school. Thus, our work is about how to balance “both/and”. We are a girls’ school and not every child identifies as a girl. For now, we continue to extend all manner of support to each child here and will endeavor to figure out the best way forward as we honor the integrity of each unique child on our campus."
What it means to be a school for girls is changing at RPCS and other schools around the country. RPCS will always be a school for girls, but that is not the same as being an all-girls school. To be a school for girls means that the school is committed to its mission, but it is also important to commit to the students, including those who do not identify as girls. Being all-inclusive and supportive does not mean that Roland Park Country School no longer supports and encourages women; it simply means that it does the same for others as well.
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