Purnell is the premiere independent secondary girls boarding school for girls with learning differences. This has been our mission for forty years. In the past three years, Purnell has adopted Dr. Mel Levine's All Kinds of Minds® program. The program touches all aspects of our school. Additionally, we have created an enrichment program called the Affinities Program. This program has a distinct curriculum for each girl to discover her interests and strengths and turn them into talents.

Purnell emphasizes that all students are capable of learning. Our instructional methods allow students to discover their own learning styles and to become proactive in their learning process. Classroom requirements and activities are supportive of the development of effective study habits. Instruction is thoughtfully designed to help girls find their passions, and explore paths to learning that will lead to success in college and beyond. For example:

• Teachers participate in regular professional development seminars to further implement All Kinds of Minds® strategies across the curriculum.
• Purnell teachers work cooperatively to develop an extensive bank of lesson plans addressing each of the neurodevelopmental constructs in each area of the curriculum.
• Students and their parents participate actively in the process of demystifying their learning. With 125 students, we are able to do this for every student in the school.
• Each Wednesday, the entire school learns about and discusses the affinities of students.

Our English and history courses encourage students to develop critical reading, writing and thinking skills. A strong emphasis is placed on gaining a deeper understanding of the variety of human experience and communicating that understanding clearly.

Math and science follow a college preparatory sequence, but are taught with hand-on, collaborative approaches. Girls are encouraged not only to find solutions, but also to understand all the facets of the problems themselves.

The arts are not add-ons to the curriculum. Instead they are both integrated into other coursework and explored fully in outstanding studio and performing arts programs.