A private day school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for girls grades 6 through 12.
The Upper School at GPS consists of almost four hundred girls in grades 9 through 12 _ four hundred girls in search of their calling. They search everywhere: in the science lab, on the athletic fields, on the climbing tower, on stage, at the schools Habitat for Humanity project, in the dance studio, even in the student center affectionately dubbed The Ben.
Importantly, they search together, and this collaboration provides one of the great benefits of an all-girls' high school. Rich in the traditional canon but recognizing the new challenges that face graduates of the 21st century, GPS addresses the need to know the past, the skills needed to succeed in the world today, and the vision to predict those needed tomorrow.
The GPS mission statement drives the direction of the upper school. A GPS graduate is required to take four years of English and mathematics, three of World Languages, science, and history, one of Fine Arts or Computer Science, one of Physical Education, a semester of History in the New Testament, and additional elective credits for a minimum requirement of 21.5 credits. These courses, however, represent the latest pedagogy, including finely devised critical thinking and problem solving exercises as well as newly developed electives like Global Conflicts and Engineering Design & Application that propel our students into the world they will encounter as adults.
A laptop school for well over a decade, GPS represents the cutting edge of technological advancement with many of our courses implementing strategies that include the use of wikis and blogs, audio and video software, skyping and the use of the iPad.
Both within and outside the classroom, we allow our girls to lead _ they are officers in clubs, participants on faculty-directed committees, and visible in community and global outreach. A strong sense of spirituality permeates who we are as an institution and recognizes commitments to all faiths. Our goal is that each girl who leaves us at the end of her senior year leaves with an engaged mind, a stimulated spirit, a strong sense of self, and a commitment to the world that she will join.
