Ashley Hall proudly celebrated the Class of 2026 during the School’s 116th Commencement ceremony, held on the Senior Lawn on a beautiful spring evening surrounded by family, friends, faculty, staff, alumnae, and community.
Steeped in tradition and filled with joy, the ceremony honored the accomplishments of the graduating class while celebrating the lasting connections that make Ashley Hall such a special community. Dressed in white, the graduates processed onto the Senior Lawn, joining generations of Ashley Hall students who have marked this milestone before them.
The ceremony featured remarks from Second Honor Graduates Ella McCall ’26 and Grace Taylor ’26, First Honor Graduate Helen Kourtidis ’26, and Commencement Speaker Leslie Rowland-Yeh, Upper School English teacher. Together, their addresses reflected on the significance of the day, the relationships formed during their time at Ashley Hall, and the opportunities that await the graduates as they begin their next chapter.
A particularly meaningful moment came when Class President Clara Kirchner ’26 presented the Class of 2026 gift: a dedication of funds to restore the headstone of Ashley Hall founder Mary Vardrine McBee. The thoughtful gift honors the School’s history while ensuring that Miss McBee’s legacy continues to be recognized and cared for by future generations.
As diplomas were conferred and roses tossed into the air, the Class of 2026 officially joined the ranks of Ashley Hall alumnae. While Commencement marks the end of their time as students, it also represents the beginning of a lifelong connection to the School and to one another.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026. We are incredibly proud of all you have accomplished and look forward to seeing the impact you will make in the years ahead.
Ashley Hall proudly celebrated the Class of 2026 during the School’s 116th Commencement ceremony, held on the Senior Lawn on a beautiful spring evening surrounded by family, friends, faculty, staff, alumnae, and community.
Steeped in tradition and filled with joy, the ceremony honored the accomplishments of the graduating class while celebrating the lasting connections that make Ashley Hall such a special community. Dressed in white, the graduates processed onto the Senior Lawn, joining generations of Ashley Hall students who have marked this milestone before them.
The ceremony featured remarks from Second Honor Graduates Ella McCall ’26 and Grace Taylor ’26, First Honor Graduate Helen Kourtidis ’26, and Commencement Speaker Leslie Rowland-Yeh, Upper School English teacher. Together, their addresses reflected on the significance of the day, the relationships formed during their time at Ashley Hall, and the opportunities that await the graduates as they begin their next chapter.
A particularly meaningful moment came when Class President Clara Kirchner ’26 presented the Class of 2026 gift: a dedication of funds to restore the headstone of Ashley Hall founder Mary Vardrine McBee. The thoughtful gift honors the School’s history while ensuring that Miss McBee’s legacy continues to be recognized and cared for by future generations.
As diplomas were conferred and roses tossed into the air, the Class of 2026 officially joined the ranks of Ashley Hall alumnae. While Commencement marks the end of their time as students, it also represents the beginning of a lifelong connection to the School and to one another.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026. We are incredibly proud of all you have accomplished and look forward to seeing the impact you will make in the years ahead.
A Quarterly Reflection from Dr. Anne T. Weston ’73
At Ashley Hall, each day brings new moments of discovery, connection, and growth. In this installment of The View from the Head’s Office, Head of School Dr. Anne Weston offers insight into the thoughtful work underway at Ashley Hall as we consider our school schedule.
A Year of Connection and Growth
By Dr. Anne Weston
As the school year draws to a close, I find myself returning to the quiet, powerful accumulation of moments that define life at Ashley Hall. A conversation that sparks curiosity. A performance that reveals courage. A question that opens a new way of thinking. These are the building blocks of a year well lived—small in isolation, but transformative in their collective impact. They remind us that education is not simply measured by milestones but by the steady unfolding of each student’s voice, confidence, and sense of purpose.
This year, perhaps more than ever, I have been struck by the ways our community continues to lean into connection—across divisions, across disciplines, and across differences. Our commitment to knowing and supporting each student is not aspirational; it is intentional, lived daily in classrooms, on stages, on fields, and in the spaces in between.
As we celebrate the closing of another remarkable year, there is a deep sense of gratitude—for our students, who show us what is possible; for our faculty, who bring both expertise and heart to their craft; and for our families, who entrust us with this shared journey. Together, we are not only preparing students for what comes next but also helping them understand who they are and how they will contribute to the world around them.
Thank you for being part of this community and for the many ways you enrich it. I wish you a summer filled with rest, reflection, and renewal, and I look forward to all that we will discover together in the year ahead.
Dr. Anne T. Weston ’73 Ashley Hall Head of School
A Quarterly Reflection from Dr. Anne T. Weston ’73
At Ashley Hall, each day brings new moments of discovery, connection, and growth. In this installment of The View from the Head’s Office, Head of School Dr. Anne Weston offers insight into the thoughtful work underway at Ashley Hall as we consider our school schedule.
Supporting Students Through Schedule Design
By Dr. Anne Weston
At Ashley Hall, we believe that time is one of our most precious resources. How we spend it should reflect who we are, what we value, and how our students learn best.
Over the past many months, faculty, staff, and administrators have been engaged in a deeply thoughtful and research-informed process to reimagine student schedules across our divisions, diligently led by Naa-Adei Kotey, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning. This work is grounded in a simple but powerful goal: to ensure that our daily rhythms truly center our students—their intellectual growth, their health, and their overall well-being.
As a leading independent school, we are committed to understanding how children, and especially girls, learn best. Our approach draws on the strength of our academic programs—Reggio Emilia, the International Baccalaureate (IB), Harkness discussions, and experiential learning—while also recognizing that meaningful learning requires balance. Students thrive when their days include time to think deeply, collaborate, reflect, and simply be.
A well-designed schedule should have both rhythm and cadence. It should honor the focused time needed for academic inquiry while also creating space for social-emotional development, connection, and restoration. When students feel balanced and supported, they are better able to engage fully and define their own success.
To guide this work, Ashley Hall partnered with Dr. Shannan Schuster and Dr. Andrew Taylor, both experts in research-based scheduling. Dr. Schuster brings deep expertise and extensive experience with girls’ schools in particular; Dr. Taylor offers a global perspective and extensive experience within the IB framework. Together, they have helped us think expansively and intentionally about how our schedule can best serve our mission, which, at its core, calls us to know, value, and challenge each student, equipping her to lead a life of purpose. A schedule that is truly aligned—one that prioritizes time for deep learning, meaningful connection, and personal growth—is not just well-designed, but essential to ensuring our students thrive.
This process has included extensive reflection, conversation, and analysis, and has intentionally elevated student voice as a vital part of the work. Through conversations with students, we have gained meaningful insight into their experiences, needs, and hopes for how their days are structured. We have asked ourselves important questions: How do we make certain that our schedules align with our values? How do we ensure that our students are not only achieving academically, but also growing as whole, healthy individuals? And how do we continue to evolve as a School, boldly using research to improve how we operate?
What has emerged is a shared understanding that our schedule must be a living reflection of our vision—one that prioritizes our students, supports their growth, and prepares them to thrive.
We are excited about the direction of this work and look forward to sharing more details as our plans continue to take shape. In the coming weeks, Division Directors will provide additional information as specifics are finalized. While there will be meaningful enhancements to students’ daily experience, our start and end times will remain largely consistent. Our focus is on thoughtfully reimagining the time in between, when students are on campus, to better align with our mission and support their learning and well-being.
Thank you for your partnership and for entrusting us with your children each day.
Dr. Anne T. Weston ’73 Ashley Hall Head of School
Welcome to Panther Recap—your look at the latest moments, milestones, and momentum across Ashley Hall Athletics.
Spring sports are off to a powerful start at Ashley Hall, and the Panthers are building momentum across every level of competition.
For the latest on the Ashley Hall Panthers, click to view the video below, hosted by Felice Killian ’27.
Please join us to support the Varsity Soccer Team at the next PQV Night on April 21!
Thank you for following this month’s Panther Recap. Stay connected with @AshleyHallPanthers for ongoing highlights, announcements, and stories from across our athletic community. PQV, Panthers!
From their first days on campus, our youngest learners are thoughtfully connected to the life and work of Ashley Hall, invited into shared experiences that help them see themselves as part of something larger. Our work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provides a new lens, reminding us that even our youngest students can engage with meaningful global ideas. In this piece, Tyler Moseley, our Community Partnerships and Global Education Coordinator, offers a closer look at how these connections come to life through relationships, partnerships, and the everyday experiences of our Early School classrooms.
This year, our school-wide commitment to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals invited us to consider what it means to engage even our youngest students in work that is inherently global. Rather than simplifying these ideas, we grounded them in lived experience. Sustainability became something children could see, touch, and influence—from composting and conserving water to participating in food drives, exploring where food comes from, and caring for shared spaces. These were not isolated lessons, but meaningful contributions to a collective effort unfolding across the entire school.
This work is made possible through relationships. Partnerships with organizations such as the Lowcountry Food Bank, local parks, the Marsh Project, MUSC, and collaborations with other divisions like the Lower School Bee Club extend the classroom into the wider Charleston community. Equally vital are our families, who bring their expertise and passions into the school, helping children connect their questions to real-world contexts. In the Early School, learning is not contained within four walls—it is co-constructed through a network of relationships that expands what is possible.
One class’s study of airplanes offers a window into this process. What began as a spark of curiosity grew into model-building, conversations with pilots, and explorations of maps and global travel. Through community connections, an idea took flight—expanding from a single interest into a broader understanding of how people, places, and systems are interconnected.
These experiences are woven into the fabric of each day. From shared meals and conversations that build belonging, to collaborative inquiry and reflection, children are constantly practicing what it means to be part of a community. They learn that their ideas matter, that their actions have impact, and that they are connected to something larger than themselves.
By intentionally looping Early School students into the work of the broader campus, we cultivate more than knowledge—we nurture a sense of agency, empathy, and responsibility. Community becomes the classroom, and in that classroom, children begin to understand themselves as citizens of a shared and ever-expanding world.
Tyler Moseley
Community Partnerships and Global Education Coordinator
Ashley Hall is a K-12 independent school for girls, with a co-ed preschool, committed to a talented and diverse student population. We consider for admission students of any race, color, religion, and national or ethnic origin.
