A: We have a lot of freedom in our AP classes. The mindset of the classroom is a group of girls who have chosen to take the hard class; they have chosen the passion or the challenge. They want the strong academic experience. It gives you the confidence and the freedom to care. The goal in these classes has to be to learn. Taking boys out of the equation removes the distraction and a pressure to be anything besides yourself. When people ask questions like, “will my daughter be prepared and empowered to be in a STEM field?” it brings up the notion of comparing men to women. When you remove boys, you remove that comparison barrier. It allows the classroom to be a room full of girls who are their authentic selves. The social aspect is gone, and school gets to be school.

A: The teachers at DSHA are amazing. We get to be with our role models every single day. Role models who can see your talent as a student and as a person. They care about us so much, and they are so well versed in their subjects. Seeing their passion has been inspiring. They get excited about what they are teaching, so we can’t help but get excited about learning. When you have great teachers like we do, you are empowered to work through difficult things. They have convinced me that I can go off to college and succeed in challenging work. Their confidence in me as a student has turned into confidence I feel about my own knowledge, comprehension, and abilities. It is so empowering as we get ready to go off to college. I want to work hard and do well because my teachers have taught me so well. I want to honor the work they have put into me by working hard on my own.

A: There are a lot of shared and challenging experiences that we work through together. It is empowering to see the passion of other girls. I am so amazed by them and the things they accomplish in and outside of the classroom. We bond in these classes and you become friends with girls you might not have known as well otherwise. It’s a second set of friends who are like family. These girls have taught me to be present and cherish the moments—whether hilarious or difficult. And to take that in to how you work with others. Having a community of girls who work hard together also gives our teachers flexibility to meet us where

we are at and make sure we know our material.

A: Sitting down and taking the time on my own to go back and learn or memorize things was challenging.

In BC Calc this was especially true as we were learning derivatives of the inverse trigonometric functions. Ms. Lundberg (Mathematics Faculty Rissie Lundberg, DHSA ’93) would ask us how we were doing and what we were doing to help us with this process. As we talked about it as a class, I realized there is a collective struggle. And that is when we came together the most as a community and decided we wanted to see everyone succeed. Ms. Lundberg did such a great job with pacing in this class and checking in on how we were doing with the material—what we were understanding, how we were feeling about it, where we needed extra time—all while staying on pace for the AP exam. A lot of BC Calc is abstract and it can be frustrating to learn. But she never gave up on us, and we learned how to put our brains together to work through difficult concepts.

A: Second semester, one of our tests in AP Calc was a group test where the whole class worked together. At first I thought, “oh no”. But everyone studied and brought something to the table. We set up a strategy where we decided to take the test by ourselves and then come back together and convene as a group. It was such an “aha” moment of how well that class collaborated. There was some push and pull, back and forth, but we talked about problems conceptually and the numbers, and came to a group consensus where we all felt confident about how we got there. We would whiteboard out, draw, and explain our thinking to each other. This is what it looks like to be in a community of people who are supporting each other—collaborating and problem solving together. Every single person contributed. It was difficult, but we ended up with a 100% on the test.

A: It is a lot about trusting the process. Our teachers have the experience and they will prepare you as long as you put in the work. In BC Calc, I wasn’t sure up until the exam, but I did what Ms. Lundberg told us to do and got what would translate to a (score of) five. I took the class, did the homework, and studied. I was prepared and it paid off. Our teachers want us to succeed so they prepare us properly. They are always willing to give extra help or practice impromptus—sometimes even more difficult than the exam so that the exam itself seems manageable. Our teachers prepare us by setting up a culture of success and support where we get to share our opinions, ideas, and questions. It doesn’t feel competitive or scary to do this. And it all translates to how we get to learn and be prepared for the exam, college, and what comes after that.

A: Being at DSHA has developed my mindset of leaning into challenges. When you achieve something you were unsure about—like taking BC Calc, and you choose to achieve versus taking an easier path, you learn how to lean in and push yourself. Figuring out how you work as a person and a problem solver is so valuable. It is not always smooth, and sometimes you can feel overwhelmed or that concepts are so difficult. But to have a culture where we support each other as our authentic selves, and where hard work is encouraged and supported, you can’t help but know you are prepared for college. The challenge is about the learning, but it is also about building character and coming out of the struggle on the other side.