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Earlier this week, Archer was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 list of “The Best Private Schools in Los Angeles.” To curate its list of the top campuses shaping L.A.’s next generation, The Hollywood Reporter consulted parents and leading admissions experts, weighing factors such as selectivity, location, class size, and overall school culture.
Archer received praise for its wide range of offerings and dedication to its mission of educating the next generation of female leaders, quoting Head of School Elizabeth English: “I embrace the challenge of being a feminist institution at a time when women’s rights are being eroded. Our mission of empowering young women has never been more important.”
Manager and stylist Jeanne Yang was also quoted in the piece, saying of her daughters’ experience: “Their classes were conducted in an expository manner. They had to present and be very vocal and speak very coherently on what they were doing. The communication skills that they learned were so invaluable.”
As a special gift in honor of Archer’s 30th anniversary, Archer treated Upper School students to the Broadway musical SUFFS at the Pantages Theater on Thursday, November 20.
SUFFS explores a struggle for equality that’s far from over, and directly ties to our mission and this year’s theme of Purpose. As Head of School Elizabeth English described at our recent All School Parent Meeting:
“This time last year, I saw SUFFS in New York City. It is the incredibly moving story of the 80-year struggle that the suffragists undertook to gain the right to vote for women in this country. Your daughters need to know that story—that purpose isn’t always easily fulfilled.”
SUFFS won the 2024 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. It was written by Shaina Taub, the first woman to ever independently win those two awards in the same season.
Today, November 7, Archer celebrated Founders Day, the annual tradition that commemorates the day that Archer’s three founders came together over coffee at the Brentwood Country Mart and officially decided to start a girls’ school. In addition to speeches from Head of School Elizabeth English and two of Archer’s three founders, Dr. Diana Meehan and Megan Callaway, distinguished alumni were honored with Diana Awards, and the Class of 2026 received roses during the Senior Recognition Ceremony. In honor of Archer’s 30th anniversary this year, members from the Pioneer classes of ’01–’04 were invited to join the festivities on campus. A full recap of the event will be featured in next week’s In Case You Missed It newsletter on Friday, November 14.
On Wednesday, November 5, The Eastern Star Gallery opened “Archer’s 30th Anniversary Show: A Celebration of Legacy, Community, and Purpose.” This vibrant exhibition draws from the Archer archives to present a dynamic journey through the school’s rich and enduring history. Through a curated blend of rare digital and physical materials—including archival photographs, student artworks, sound installations that evoke Archer's different eras, and alumni recordings sharing personal stories and memories—the show captures Archer’s evolution and community spirit.
Special features include a recreation of the original Eastern Star Home stained glass by Nora B. ’27, Valerie G. ’27, Alex B. ’27, and Olivia B. ’26, an installation of old uniform logos transformed by Liv K. ’26, a mini maypole made from the same type of ribbon used in all past ceremonies, and a showcase of the suit worn by Archer Co-Founder Dr. Diana Meehan when she met with the Eastern Star board members about purchasing the building.
On Thursday, October 23, Archer’s Advancement department hosted a Women in Leadership panel for 9th, 10th, and 12th grade students as part of The Force is Female: Archer Leadership Speaker Series. Two to four times a year, the Advancement department hosts student-moderated panels with impactful industry leaders so students can connect, learn, and feel inspired to discover their passions and realize their true potential. In her introductory speech at this week’s panel, Head of School Elizabeth English referenced tennis player Billie Jean King’s famous adage, “If you can see it, you can be it,” and highlighted that the panels are an opportunity for students to consider their “purpose,” which is Archer’s theme of the year.
This week’s panel of female executives was moderated by Olivia H.-G. ’26 and featured Marian Lee, Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix, Michelle Weiner, Co-Head of the Books Department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and Susan Ramaker, Executive Director of International Marketing at Panda Restaurant Group. In answering questions from the moderator and the audience, the panelists spoke about their unexpected professional trajectories and shared a wide range of insights, including the importance of self-advocacy for women in male-dominated spaces, the power of relationships, and the surprising ways their high school lessons have impacted their careers.
Archer is highlighted in “The Return of the All-Girls School,” a feature by Nicole LaPorte in the October issue of Town & Country magazine. In the piece, LaPorte describes her experience visiting Archer for the first time: “Pretty soon I was falling hard for the messaging: Here, only girls could be class presidents and robotics captains. Here, they ‘developed their voice.’ Here, they were free to just be.”
On choosing Archer for her daughter Katrina R. ’32, LaPorte writes: “Suddenly I saw a place where the transition from fifth to sixth grade felt gradual and nurturing, where, maybe, she could hold on to a few more moments of childhood before joining the iPhone-wielding, Starbucks-hanging world she was inevitably headed for.”
La Porte also interviewed Head of School Elizabeth English, who speaks to the increase in applications to Archer in recent years and our School’s no-phones policy in mitigating the impact of social media on girls: “It was not hard to execute because, as a girls school, we had a mission-serving decision before us.”
In The New York Times on Monday, September 22, Jeffrey Selingo (author of “Who Gets In and Why”) wrote about the increasingly challenging college admissions process and specifically how Archer is working to “flip the script.” Selingo shared a look inside Archer’s college counselors’ values-focused approach:
Instead of focusing ninth and 10th graders on building the perfect application, they spend those early years talking about what students want out of college. By junior year, students research colleges to present to their peers — but they can’t choose from the 75 most popular choices at Archer, and they don’t reveal the college’s name until the end of their presentation. The goal is to uncover hidden gems, shift the conversation from brand names to personal fit, and have students bring their insights to parents to begin a process that starts with a student’s values, not the rankings.
Archer is also featured in Selingo’s newest book, “Dream School,” which was published earlier this month and debuted at #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) has lauded the 2024–2025 Oracle, granting last year’s staff four marks of distinction and the highest rating possible: All-American. The judge, David Cutler, stated, “I see The Oracle as one of the best student news sites in the nation—a vibrant, well-run publication with strong reporting, a high volume of timely coverage, and a willingness to tackle challenging stories right from the start of the year.”
Additionally, Natalie L. ’26 and Oona S. ’26 have won national awards in NSPA’s Spring 2025 Clips & Clicks contest. Natalie won third place in the Feature Photo category for her photo “Apple of My Pie” in Archer’s yearbook, Hestia’s Flame. Oona won an Honorable Mention for her Oracle article, “Review: Mac Miller’s second posthumous release, ‘Balloonerism,’ embodies his lasting legacy.”
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The Archer School for Girls admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status in its hiring or in the administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, financial aid programs or other school-administered programs.
The Archer School for Girls’ mission is to educate students in an environment specifically designed for girls. As such, the school will consider any candidate for admission who identifies as a girl. Once admitted to Archer, all students in good academic standing who abide by Archer’s code of conduct and who meet requirements for graduation will be eligible to receive an Archer diploma, regardless of any change in sexual identity or other legally protected status.