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“At Lincoln School, girls learn that their voices are important and their ideas matter. Because they see girls as the strongest students, the leads in the play, the best athletes, and the leaders of student government and clubs, they develop the confidence to become their best selves,” explains Head of School and alumna Sophie Glenn Lau ’88 about the advantages of a girls’ school education.

Since 1884, Lincoln School has offered a deep, holistic learning experience, rooted in Quaker principles, to girls in kindergarten through grade 12, the only girls’ school in the United States based on the values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship (SPICES). The school also offers a co-ed program for children ages six weeks through pre-K. These tenets guide their curriculum and community, and help ensure every student feels valued, empowered, and has a sense of belonging. Uniforms help reduce competition for status based on clothing, and there are affinity spaces for students to explore and celebrate their unique identities. Teachers develop inclusive curricula, so girls of all ages see themselves mirrored in the books they read and in the material they study.

“We work hard to support all our students when they are here,” says Sophie. “For example, thanks to a generous grant, students can participate free of charge in our Immersion Programs —new this year—which offer curriculum-based domestic travel opportunities to Upper School students.” To make a Lincoln School education accessible, significant financial assistance is available.

Lincoln is also home to the only dedicated space for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Architecture and Math) for girls in Rhode Island. Whether students are working in the STEAM Lab in Lower School, the Robotics Room in Middle School, or the STEAM Hub in Upper School, all are encouraged to create and iterate. Students learn basic coding, how to operate 3D printers and laser cutters, and explore how they might use these tools to deepen their understanding of all the disciplines they study.

Encouraged to tackle real world problems, STEAM Hub Marine Biology students are constructing a programmable buoy to collect oceanographic data, ultimately contributing to the broader data set used to study the impact of climate change on our oceans.

Another vital way in which Lincoln School offers a quality, dynamic, and real-world education to its students, is through the power of community partnership. Relationships with Save the Bay, Brown University School of Engineering, and University Orthopedics, to name just a few, provide for exposure to and study in fields in which women are traditionally underrepresented.

Lincoln School’s partnership with the Rhode Island Foundation began in 2011, through its first organizational endowment fund, and has continued with the establishment of many more, from those supporting scholarship programs for students with financial need, financial literacy education for girls, to the Steam Hub, faculty programs, and general operations.

This dedicated, long-standing philanthropic partnership, once more demonstrates Lincoln School’s lived Quaker values and its commitment to girls and to girls’ education, ensuring, through thoughtful stewardship and investment, that this ‘purposely small school that allows every student to be known and loved’ will continue to evolve, to innovate, and to provide expansive opportunities for learning and growth well into the future.