The Sad Fate of Girls’ Schools

Kari Jenson Gold:

Not that any of this is unique to Nightingale. Virtually every school in the country—public and private—is in thrall to the DEI gods and woke idealogues. Every day brings a new story of some atrocity in the schools. Brearley, Collegiate, Dalton, Fieldston, Grace Church, Riverdale—each has been the subject of recent articles about the takeover of New York’s private schools. Many were already headed that way in 1999 when we first visited them, but back then, Nightingale seemed immune, so it is doubly painful to watch it go the way of all the others.

What has happened? Well, of course, a great deal. But the seeds for all of this were planted decades ago. Activists have been marching though the academy and all our other institutions, winning battle after battle, while everyone else looks the other way, collaborates, or surrenders.

Which brings me to a moment in 2005, when my daughter was in Class IV. Morning coffee sessions for parents and the headmistress (as we then referred to her) were frequent, and we were attending one of these meetings, sitting in an informal circle and listening to her speak. When she asked whether we had any questions or concerns, I brought up the new photography exhibit on the second floor outside the cafeteria and library. Usually, the space featured art by the girls, but an exception had been made for this show, and it had generated a good deal of behind-the-scenes parental conversation.

The exhibit was titled “Love Makes a Family” and was sponsored by an activist LGBT organization committed to bringing about same-sex marriage. It featured a mostly benign group of portraits showing families with two fathers, two mothers, and a variety of other non-traditional combinations. But one photograph, in particular, had sparked interest. It was of two transgender men. To be clear, these were biological women who had chosen to become “men.”

Bear in mind that Nightingale is in the heart of deep-blue Manhattan. These were liberal parents, most of whom were in favor of gay parenting and wholly supportive of the anodyne statement “Love Makes a Family.” There was, however, some rumbling about the transgender photo, and there was a general feeling that the exhibit, if it belonged at all, should have been on the Upper School floor rather than next to the cafeteria. As I recall, not one of the parents thought the exhibit or its subject appropriate for Classes K-IV.