I would like to express my appreciation to Tom Holmes for the well-researched and -written article, Feminism, Dominican style, that featured Trinity High School and appeared in the Journal’s Aug. 29 LifeLines section.
Rarely has someone, as Mr. Holmes has done, been able to capture the essence and spirit of Trinity High School so well — especially someone who has not attended an all girls’ school!
I would like to respectfully address two of the article’s cited quotes from the website Trulia and the inference that may be drawn from those quotes.
The parent/student quotes, which speak to singular personal academic experiences, date back to 2005 — seven years ago. Trinity High School has put much effort and taken great strides over the years to provide a rigorous academic experience for all its students, whether they are in our International Baccalaureate (IB) or college-prep programs. Our teachers receive numerous additional hours of continuing education instruction in order to meet IB standards. All our IB-trained teachers are also instructors in the college-prep program and incorporate IB instructional techniques into their college-prep curriculums.
These teachers are extremely dedicated to the job of instructing all of our students, and they make themselves available before, during and after school to provide additional help to students in need.
To that end, though we do understand that Trinity may not be a perfect fit for every girl, we take great pride and appreciate each and every one of our students. We have been educating girls for nearly 100 years and know firsthand that helping a young woman discover all she can be takes effort on the part of the student, parent and teacher as well.
As Trinity’s president for 20 years, I have seen how much Trinity High School’s academic curriculum has continually strengthened and am so proud of the achievements of our students — 100% college acceptance for 19 years and over 17.5 million in academic and athletic scholarships awarded to just last year’s graduating class alone.
I also know the commitment our teachers, staff and administration make to our students, and so I felt compelled to clarify.
Michelle Germanson, O.P.
President, Trinity High School, River Forest