You'd never guess that the Young Women's Leadership School is public by physicalities alone. Occupying three floors in the same building that houses studios for the popular "106 & Park" video countdown show on BET [Black Entertainment Television], with heightened floor security and an elevator man, some would say that these girls have it made. There's a relaxed vibe to the school, as comfy couches are commonly spotted in the back of classrooms, and girls call teachers by their first names. Alternative to stentorian cafeterias, students eat lunch in what they call their "dining room," with round tables perfect for casual chat.

Classes provide an unsuspecting juxtapose of respective debate and dialect with a stout focus on writing. In humanities class, students study the likes of various Enlightenment philosophers, feminists, and other intellectuals in both historic and contemporary society. There's an apparent level of analysis of all studied class work; the YWLS teacher goes beyond asking you a question and simply accepting the correct answer. There's a following of "and why do you think that is?" or "and how has that come to be? What would you have done differently?" after a question is answered. Minds are encouraged to move in YWLS.

Despite the resistance that this school has received, it has also received a great deal of support. Media mogul, actress, writer, motivational speaker, and all-around inspiration for young women everywhere, Oprah Winfrey gave a commencement speech at the girls' graduation ceremony last year, telling them, "When I heard your stories, I saw my life in your lives."

In a time where tons of studies and statistics leave it as no secret that young women generally do better in single sexed environments, YWLS is setting a new standard for productive, alternative public school education. The school has inspired and set the model for another school in Chicago, called the "The Young Women's Leadership Charter School," which opened last year. The single sexed, public school structure does work; it's been proven now. YWLS has even been referred to and acclaimed for the passing of new amendments to the U.S. constitution.

"We want parents who might not be able to afford private school or might not have the option of parochial school to be able to go to their school board and [opt for single-sex education], such as some that have had wonderful results. I imagine my colleague, the Senator from New York, will mention this because one of the great success stories in single-sex public schools is the Young Women's Leadership Academy in East Harlem, NY, which just saw its first high school graduation...[This is the kind of school that has] weathered all the storms, faced the lawsuits, and [has] gotten over it.....Ones such as the East Harlem Young Women's Leadership Academy have prevailed, and they have done very well."

-Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Senate Floor Speech, June 7, 2001**
The Better Education for Students and Teachers Act

The Young Women's Leadership School in East Harlem exceeds what is expected from a public school, especially one in Harlem, NYC. It has gone above and beyond mediocre, average, or even "good." It exhumes excellence. The very ideology and unyielding existence of YWLS is a living epitome of success, triumph, and courage...the courage to excel, exceed, and believe in what you're standing for. The Young Women's Leadership School stands for chances, because it's given hundreds of inner-city, underprivileged girls the chance to catch up and conquer a world that has sped by so many of them with so icy of a gale. The YWLS gives these girls a chance to breathe. As one YWLS student told me, "It's a private school education...at a public school price."

For Further Information on YWLS write:
The Young Women's Leadership School
105 E. 106th Street New York, NY 10029
or call 212-289-7593
www.tywls.org

*New York Times, June 2001
**Senate Floor Speech, June 7, 2001 -- Page S5943, Amendment # 540 TO S. 1

| YWLS | Thea Bowman | Harlem School at Exodus |