With today’s focus on how women and girls are treated in our culture, the benefits of an all-girls education “is extremely relevant right now,” says Alissa DeJonge, president of Mercy High School in Middletown.
Mercy has put girls first and focused on their emotional and physical well-being since the Catholic school was established in 1963, President DeJonge says.
“Our girls can see themselves as leaders and they can see themselves become anyone they want to become and there are so many programs here that bear that out. Our girls aren’t held back by any preconceived notions about themselves. At Mercy, we provide girls with a safe space where they can see themselves as leaders. In fact, all of our leaders at the school are women and at Mercy it’s not strange to see women leading an event or a team.”
She points to both academic and athletic components of the school where girls have excelled.
“Our robotics team has really shown our girls’ strength. It’s the only all-girls robotics team in New England and has won countless awards over the 10 years of competitions. The girls just really know how to carry themselves and they really get right in there to program the robots and you just see them really striving and making their goals.”
Mercy also has a full athletic program and is part of the Southern Connecticut Athletic Conference.
The Catholic high school, located at 1740 Randolph Road in Middletown, has an enrollment of about 400 and draws its students from Hartford, Middlesex and New Haven counties. There are 12 Glastonbury students at the school, DeJonge says.
There are 55 faculty and staff and the school boasts a 14:1 student-teacher ratio. Other quick facts about Mercy include:
36 student clubs and activities
25 interscholastic athletic teams
8 honor societies
91 elected leadership positions
During Covid, DeJonge says, the school was able to maintain in-person schooling but was also able to accommodate anyone who wanted to take part in virtual classes.
“We were able to pull off a lot last year,” she says. “We had our traditions, proms and our sports programs in operation.”
The college preparatory school balances its commitment to excellence in academics with its Catholic mission to help students grow spiritually.
“The benefits of Mercy is that our mission is to have each of our girls grow academically, personally and spiritually through the values we instill and adhere to, such as giving back to others. That’s part of our mission and something the students take very seriously.”
