TOWN AND COUNTRY — A new outdoor learning space at Visitation Academy gives girls the opportunity to study nature, conduct science experiments, make music, build structures or read while swinging in a hammock.
“What I love, love, love about this space is it’s a place where children can just come play, and learn through play,” said lower school principal Marlise Albert on Wednesday at the ceremonial opening of the Owl’s Nest on campus.
The concept is designed to boost girls’ confidence, risk-taking and independence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), fields with a persistent gender gap in education and the workforce.
The United Nations’ Gender Snapshot 2024 reports that less than one-quarter of STEM jobs worldwide are held by women. Their leadership opportunities in technology and innovation are limited by “ongoing gender barriers,” according to the report.
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The research suggests that increasing girls’ access to STEM education can boost economic development worldwide, particularly in critical fields like renewable energy.
Women hold 43% of all patents related to energy, but only 32% of the jobs in the field and 16% of the senior management positions. Women are also more likely than men to hold jobs that could be replaced by artificial intelligence.
“Closing the gender digital divide, education and training, and gender-responsive labor market policies and social protection are critical to address these risks and realize benefits for women and girls from the digital revolution,” the report states.
Research has shown that the underrepresentation of women in STEM starts in early childhood with the idea that boys are more interested in math and science.
Visitation and other local Catholic girls’ schools are helping to counteract that stereotype, leaders say. The schools are bolstering their STEM curriculum and facilities to meet demands of both their students and the future job market.
Ursuline Academy in Kirkwood has courses in coding, entrepreneurship, robotics and microeconomics plus an eSports team, which are now common in girls’ high schools. St. Joseph’s Academy in Frontenac recently added a department for computer science and engineering, and the school’s Weidert Center for Integrated Science opened in 2020. The STEM offerings at Incarnate Word Academy in Normandy include aviation, forensics, oceanography, astronomy, meteorology and plate tectonics.
This fall, the Frane Family STEM Center opened at Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves with nearly 8,500 square feet of labs and learning spaces.
“By fostering a supportive STEM environment, we not only address the gender gap in these fields but also provide our students with tools to break down stereotypes and contribute meaningfully to a diverse world,” said principal Molly Grumich.
Grumich and other school leaders said that investing in STEM is crucial for recruiting new students in a competitive Catholic high school market.
Three feeder grade schools closed this year — Little Flower in Richmond Heights, St. Monica in Creve Coeur and St. Roch in St. Louis — joining the dozens of parish schools that have shuttered amid declining numbers of Catholics in the region. As birth and baptism rates continue to drop, so does the pool of potential students.
Catholic families are also increasingly considering public schools as tuition continues to climb. Rosati-Kain was the last girls’ high school run by the Archdiocese of St. Louis before going independent in 2023. Annual tuition now ranges from $14,500 at Notre Dame High School in south St. Louis County to $28,820 at Villa Duchesne in Frontenac.
Notre Dame last week launched a $5 million fundraising campaign for campus renovations. The plan is to open a new, 16,000-square-foot STREAM (adding “R” for religion and “A” for art) building by fall 2025 “to modernize and bring our educational programming to the forefront and up to date,” said Mark Bayens, president.
Enrollment at Notre Dame peaked between 425 and 450 in the 1990s. Part of the goal with the updated campus is to build enrollment from the current 264 students to 300 in the next three to five years, Bayens said.
The new facilities will include science classroom labs for biology, chemistry and physics, a digital arts studio, a fabrication lab for 3D printing and other engineering technologies and a state-of-the-art dance studio.
“The kids are beyond excited,” he said. “We’re putting a focus on our students, giving them every opportunity to have the best facility and education.”
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