Breakout Session D — 2025 ICGS Conference

Breakout Session D
June 24, 2025
10:20-11:10 a.m.

Bolstering Resilience in Girls’ Schools by Building Supportive Relationships
Results from surveys administered to over 16,000 students and 3,250 educators at girls’ schools show that rates of clinically significant depression and anxiety among students continue to be concerning. Educators, as well, continue to struggle with high rates of burnout. In this session, we will examine survey findings to highlight the aspects of school life and belonging most linked to well-being at girls’ schools. Additionally, one innovative school will share how they have used data about their community to prioritize interventions, improve overall well-being, and build community cohesion.

Presenters: Neisha Payne, Director of Middle School; Julia Gentile, Assistant Head of School | Kent Place School; Nina Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO; Nicole Hager, Director of School Partnerships | Authentic Connections (United States)

Prompting Change: Girls Publish Breakthrough AI Research on Prompt Injections
Thirteen high school girls systematically researched prompt injection vulnerabilities across 36 large language models (LLMs), uncovering critical insights into AI security. Their AI research demonstrated a 56% success rate in exploiting model weaknesses and identified parameter-based susceptibility trends, culminating in a paper published on arXiv. This presentation showcases their journey, from creative prompt design to advanced data analysis, and emphasizes the global importance of safeguarding AI systems. Reflecting ICGS’s commitment to leadership, integrity, and innovation, this project-based approach equips students with skills to contribute to AI ethics, while inspiring educators to foster impactful, experiential learning in age of AI.

Presenter: Thomas Heverin, Cybersecurity and AI Teacher | The Baldwin School (United States)

Teaching with Disciplined Nonpartisanship

This workshop will equip educators to engage with the issues which impact them and their students most. Teachers will receive training, resources, and model strategies to help students deconstruct divisive rhetoric and uncomfortable topics through nonpartisan instruction and discourse. Teachers will leave this workshop prepared to help students recognize bias, earnestly explore differing perspectives, and develop the skills necessary to critically analyze the issues shaping their future.

Presenters: Blake Kohn, Executive Director of NNSP & Senior Advisor; Sante Mastriana, Director of Professional Development | Close Up Foundation (United States)

What happens when a high school eliminates cell phones completely?
It has been well established that screen time and access to social media have impacted the adolescent brain and teenage engagement in their communities. In an effort to prioritize distraction-free learning and genuine social engagement, The Agnes Irwin School piloted a policy that required students to surrender their cell phone for the entire school day for a four-week period. The full adoption of this policy went into effect earlier this school year. The session will share feedback and data points collected during the pilot period and insights and observations that will further guide implementation of the policy.

Presenters: Sarah Leonard, Upper School Dean of Students; Alison Monzo, Director of Programs, Center for the Advancement of Girls | The Agnes Irwin School (United States)

Assessing and Supporting Well-Being: A Rubric for Emotional and Academic Success
Miss Porter’s School’s Student Support Team plays a vital role in creating alignment between student needs and school requirements, monitoring and supporting students’ holistic well-being through a comprehensive Well-Being Rubric. Aligned with the CASEL competencies, the rubric addresses areas essential for girls’ development, including self-management, emotional health, peer relationships, and academic engagement. This session will explore how the rubric guides proactive interventions, improves communication among offices, promotes parent partnership, and fosters students’ independence and resilience. Participants will learn strategies to develop similar tools, helping schools create supportive, individualized environments that prioritize girls’ emotional and social well-being alongside academic success.

Presenters: Liz Schmitt, Chief Enrollment and Student Affairs Officer; Amanda Kice, Director of Counseling | Miss Porter’s School (United States)

No Good Girls Here
In this session, presenters will explore how their Junior School culture was transformed from a traditional approach to a progressive New Vision for the elementary years. This vision includes Dragon Explorer initiatives, such as an overseas tour for Year 2, and the Dragon Quest, a character-building journey, all rooted in the motto Love Grows Here, establishing a culture of kindness. Plus, learn how a stuffed toy called “Twiggle” can become a Rockstar and how student agency played a key role in shaping the new College Strategic Plan. At Penrhos, the goal is not simply to cultivate “good girls” if being good equals compliance. Instead, students are positive rebels and a force for good.

Presenters: Wayne Revitt, Head of Junior School; Kalea Haran, Principal | Penrhos College (Australia)

Engineering for US All (e4usa): High School Engineering Curriculum
This session will provide a general overview of Engineering for US All (e4usa), a national initiative that introduces high school students to the engineering design process through a hands-on, yearlong curriculum. Attendees will learn about the four distinct course offerings—e4usa Legacy, e4usa+Design, e4usa+Making, and e4usa+Programming—each designed to build students’ problem-solving, technical, and communication skills. The talk will also cover e4usa’s structured professional learning for teachers, the full curriculum framework, and the national community of educators and industry/university liaisons who collaborate to support implementation. The session will highlight how e4usa is helping to strengthen the future engineering workforce by engaging students early and meaningfully.

Presenter: Andrew Green, PhD, Director of Partnership Programs and Communications | Engineering for US All (e4usa) (United States)

“I, Enheduanna, wrote this”: Literature, Self-Agency, and High School Girls
Studies demonstrate a direct correlation between messaging received as teens and lifelong happiness. In their unique phase of development, teens are more inclined to internalize identity-related messages. Add the realities of social positioning and intersectionality, and messaging can have a greater influence on girls’ sense of self and their developing confidence. Female-authored narratives help us identify and unpack memorable messages. Using selected literary texts such as female-attributed and authored poetry from the ancient world and Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, students can be encouraged to build self-esteem, dismantle unhealthy messaging and self-talk, and take ownership of their work.

Presenter: Nikki Cirone, English Faculty | The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (United States)

Mammyfication of Black Women in Independent Schools
The goal of this workshop is to examine the challenges of women of color in leadership in schools with an acute focus on Black women/anti-Blackness in independent schools. The inspection and reflection of this reality is part and parcel to understanding the experiences of girls of color in independent school settings. Participants will hear a framework from COCo (the Centre for Community Organizations) adapted to independent schools and will begin a thought process on demammyfication of women of color in their institutions.

Presenter: Rev. Loris Adams, Head of DEI and Ethical Leadership | National Cathedral School (United States)

From Knowledge to Power: Teaching Consent and Inspiring Leadership in Girls
Join Academy of Our Lady of Peace Head of School Lauren Lek and I Have The Right To Executive Director Katie M. Shipp for an engaging and insightful workshop that highlights their transformative, multi-year partnership. This session will delve into their innovative approach to teaching girls about healthy relationships and consent, showcasing how this educational framework has not only empowered students but also sparked a powerful shift in their confidence, voice, and leadership capabilities. Attendees will gain an understanding of best practices, impactful strategies, and the positive outcomes that result when schools prioritize consent education as a tool for fostering future leaders.

Presenters: Lauren Lek, Head of School | Academy of Our Lady of Peace; Katie Shipp, Executive Director | I Have The Right To (United States)

The Superpower of Mentorship: Cultivating Agency, Self-Belief and Belonging in Girls—Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
Social pressures, anxiety, and the tendency to avoid situations perceived as challenging are growing concerns for girls in today’s classrooms. This session explores two action research projects demonstrating how mentorship can foster student agency by building confidence, nurturing self-expression, and cultivating a sense of ownership. The first project investigates how a Year 6 peer mentoring program supported younger students in navigating the social experience of transitioning to a new school environment. The second project infuses a STEM mentor programme with growth mindset messaging to promote self-belief in mathematical capabilities for Year 7 and 8 students. Both projects resulted in increased confidence, greater emotional resilience, and a stronger sense of belonging, contributing to heightened engagement and joy in learning.

Presenters: Nicky Young, Year 5 and 6 Phase Leader | South Hampstead Junior School (United Kingdom); Hayley Dustin, Head of Intermediate Faculty | Woodford House (New Zealand)

Empowering Every Girl: Student Agency in Diverse Classrooms—Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
When we hand over the reins to girls, we may anticipate varying levels of agency from high-achieving girls compared to girls with high academic support needs. However, findings from these two action research projects challenge this notion. A class of Year 9 high-achieving girls redesigning their history curriculum is juxtaposed with a class of Year 8 girls on high academic support using the Mediated Learning Experience approach during academic enrichment lessons. Through these two projects, discover how equipping girls with the necessary academic skills can unleash agency in all girls, regardless of their current level of academic achievement.

Presenters: Holly Webb, Head of Year 9, Head of Politics, Teacher of History | Wimbledon High School GDST (United Kingdom); Keamogetswe Mekgwe, Academic Support Specialist and Educational Psychologist | St Stithians College (South Africa)

From Safe Spaces to Bold Voices: How to foster girls’ agency through empathetic, collaborative, and risk-taking classrooms—Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
This session will explore how fostering psychological safety and self-reliance through student-led discussion, peer writing workshops, and low-stakes, ungraded activities can increase student agency, empathy, and intellectual risk-taking. The presenters will share classroom practices that shift students away from teacher dependence and toward collaborative, reflective learning environments where they feel safe to share ideas, support one another, and develop lasting writing and critical thinking skills.

Presenters: Tarra Stevenson, Writing Center Director & English Department Chair | Westridge School for Girls (United States) and Sam Duffy, English Teacher | Sheffield High School for Girls GDST (United Kingdom)