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The Girls' Middle School

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The Girls' Middle School
Location
Map
3400 W Bayshore Rd

Palo Alto
,
California
94303

United States

37°26′08″N 122°06′36″W / 37.43548764882713°N 122.10993940932696°W / 37.43548764882713; -122.10993940932696
Information
Other nameGMS
TypePrivate all-girls middle school
MottoFearless Learning. Boundless Joy. Endless Opportunity.
Established1998; 28 years ago (1998)
FounderKathleen Bennett
NCES School ID
A0100935[1]
Head of school
Christine Fairless
Grades6-8
GenderGirls
Enrollment200 (2025)
Average class size
18 students
Student to teacher ratio
6:1
Campus type
Suburban
Color  Blue   Yellow
AthleticsBasketball, cross country, flag football, golf, skateboarding, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball
Athletics conference
CIF Central Coast Section: West Bay Athletic Middle School League
MascotGryphon
AccreditationACS-WASC, CAIS
Tuition$52,500 (2026-27)[2]
Websitewww.girlsms.org

The Girls' Middle School, commonly known as GMS, is an independent nonsectarian middle school for girls located in Palo Alto, California, United States. The school educates approximately 200 girls in grades 6-8 and is one of only two all-girls middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Background

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GMS was founded in Mountain View in 1998 by Kathleen Bennett, with a focus on educating girls in a girl-centric environment, particularly in mathematics, science, and engineering.[3][4][5][6][7][8] A 2025 Town & Country article described the school as having an informal atmosphere with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.[9]

The school was originally located at St Athanasius Church in Mountain View, and later moved in 2011 to its current location in Palo Alto.[10]

Academics

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The student-to-teacher ratio at GMS is 6:1.[11] National averages are 13:1 for private schools and 15:1 for public schools.[12] In addition to Humanities, Spanish, Arts and Media, and Science, the school's math curriculum includes a High School Algebra I course aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and an optional Geometry class. The school teaches Computer Science across all three grades, and was cited in a 2020 Association for Computing Machinery and Computer Science Teachers Association report on gaps in K-12 Computer Science education in the United States.[13]

GMS assesses student performance through narrative evaluations rather than traditional letter grades. The school also has dedicated Social and Emotional Learning classes.[14]

The school is accredited by the ACS-WASC[15] and the California Association of Independent Schools,[16] and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools[17] and the International Coalition of Girls' Schools.[18]

Notable programs

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Extracurricular

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GMS offers extracurricular programs including:

Twice a year, the school suspends regular classes for a week-long "Intersession" experiential learning program offering activities including community service, rowing, debate, gardening, crochet, chocolate making, and songwriting.[20]

In eighth grade, students participate in self-defense classes.[21]

Entrepreneurial Program

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In the Entrepreneurial Program[22][23][24][25] during seventh grade, student teams form small companies with seed funding from the school, developing a business plan and designing, manufacturing, and marketing a physical product. Students learn about accounting, market research, and pitching to investors, with mentorship from members of the Silicon Valley business community.

Scholarship

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The school operates the Bennett Scholars Program,[26] which funds full three-year scholarships for ten students each year, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.

The school holds an annual Bennett Scholars Breakfast as a fundraiser and to celebrate the school and its many alumnae. Past speakers at the breakfast include Kamala Harris,[27] Barbara Boxer, Condoleezza Rice,[28] Cecile Richards, Sheryl Sandberg, Stacy Brown-Philpot, Mary GrandPré,[29] Diane Greene, Sylvia Acevedo, and Tara VanDerveer.

Future site

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In July 2025, it was announced that The Girls' Middle School will relocate to a new larger location at 3950 Fabian Way in Palo Alto, set to open in fall 2027.[30] The new site will feature dedicated spaces for the school's robotics, woodwork, ceramics, and art programs, and accommodate an increased student body.[31]

Notable alumnae

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References

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  1. ↑ "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for The Girls' Middle School". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Affording GMS". The Girls' Middle School. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
  3. ↑ Taaffe, Linda (October 22, 1997). "Girls' Middle School a boost for self-esteem". Los Altos Town Crier. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  4. ↑ Lehmann-Haupt, Rachel (October 24, 1997). "Girls School Seeks to Overcome Tech Gender Gap". Wired. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ Hafner, Katie (June 4, 1998). "NEWS WATCH; A New School for Girls Aims To Make High Tech Seem Cool". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ Breitrose, Charlie (September 16, 1998). "Girls Middle School ready for business". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  7. ↑ Hartigan, Rachel (April 1, 1999). "Girls Byte Back". EducationWeek. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ Hafner, Katie (September 23, 1999). "Girls Soak Up Technology in Schools of Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ Laporte, Nicole (October 7, 2025). "The Return of the All-Girls School". Town&Country. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  10. ↑ Veronin, Nick (August 26, 2011). "Girls' Middle School leaves Mountain View" (PDF). Mountain View Voice. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ "The Girls' Middle School". Niche. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Teacher characteristics and trends". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Cameron; Sudol, Leigh Ann; Stephenson, Chris; Stehlik, Mark (July 2020). Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K-12 Computer Science in the Digital Age. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). p. 11. doi:10.1145/3414583. ISBN 978-1-4503-8867-2.
  14. ↑ Newell, Traci (February 7, 2007). "Girls' Middle School offers social and emotional learning". Los Altos Town Crier. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  15. ↑ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  16. ↑ "The Girls' Middle School". California Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  17. ↑ "The Girls' Middle School". National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Our Schools". International Coalition of Girls' Schools. August 27, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  19. ↑ Weiss, Casey (March 13, 2008). "Dogtown and Z-Girls". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  20. ↑ Cleave, Amber (November 17, 2006). "Life lessons at Girls' Middle School". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  21. ↑ Haney Foulds, Matilda (April 7, 2024). "Los Altos High School, teach me to defend myself!". The Talon. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  22. ↑ Kenrick, Chris (January 29, 2011). "Feature story: Pitching their products". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Entrepreneurial Program". The Girls' Middle School. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  24. ↑ Wilson, Lauren (February 18, 2013). "Giving Girls a Startup Chance in Silicon Valley". AllThingsD. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  25. ↑ Wu, Vivian (February 5, 2007). "Next Generation Entrepreneurs Compete At Google HQ". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  26. ↑ "The Bennett Scholars Program". The Girls' Middle School. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  27. ↑ "I celebrated #WomensDay with students at the Girls' Middle School". Facebook - Kamala Harris. March 8, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  28. ↑ Stevens, Karen (March 2, 2015). "Be ready to ride the wave of history..." LinkedIn. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  29. ↑ Noe, John (March 16, 2010). "Harry Potter Artist Mary GrandPre to Speak at Scholarship Breakfast". The-Leaky-Cauldron.org. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  30. ↑ Moreno, Lisa (July 8, 2025). "The Girls' Middle School looks to grow in new 'forever home'". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  31. ↑ Martin, Asia (July 1, 2025). "Middle school buys Palo Alto office building for $18M". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Meet Our Alums". The Girls' Middle School. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
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