Whole Girl Education Conference Takes Time for Mental Health

The psychological health of young minoritized girls in rigorous academic environments took center stage on the second day of the Whole Girl Education National Conference at Barnard College, with a conversation featuring best-selling author Rachel Simmons.

This year’s Whole Girl Conference, bringing together school leaders, teachers, and all types of educators of girls and gender-expansive youth, is the first ever. The convening was organized by the Student Leadership Network (SLN), a nonprofit helping young people in diverse, underserved communities access higher education. It operates The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS), a network of public schools for girls and gender-expansive youth with thousands of students in New York City, as well as Young Women’s Leadership Network schools across the country.

TYWLS use what they call the Whole Girl Education framework, which has four main focuses: early college and career awareness, STEM, health and wellness, and leadership. But an environment of academic rigor can lead to a lot of pressure for young girls, which was the focus of last Friday afternoon’s plenary session.

Rachel SimmonsThe conversation featured Simmons, whose first book, Odd Girl Out, is based on research conducted at TYWLS’ East Harlem School. She said that it was crucial for teachers to make sure that young girls have, as she put it, a systemic lens—an understanding that a multitude of factors can shape an event. All girls will encounter struggle at some point, and it’s important that they realize that it isn’t all their fault: a failed test could have been caused by an after-school job or care-taking responsibilities.

“If you don’t have that consciousness, you lose that shield,” said Simmons.

Simmons also suggested that teachers be genuine with students so that students will be genuine with them.

“Don’t act like you have it all together,” she said.