Coeducation at Episcopal High School: Overview/Timeline

In 1991, Episcopal High School, the Oldest High School in Virginia, decided to open its doors to girls. Considering the school's 150-year-old tradition of male-only education, the decision to go coed was highly controversial. The school engaged heavily with the concept of coeducation, created a committee to specifically study it, and reached a decision by January of 1991. In the end, most would agree that the school made the right decision, but in the wake of the decision there was much opposition and backlash. In order to understand the general series of events that unfolded during this critical period in the school's history, I created a timeline that generally explains the schools transition: 

In the school's 1993 magazine, there were numerous pages analysing and explaining coeducation in depth. Attached below are several excerpts from the Spring '93 feature which include an overview of coeducation and a timeline. 

Headmaster Lee Sanford Ainslie Jr. was an important figure when it comes to coeducation at EHS. Mr. Ainslie supported coeducation and was in charge of informing the students, faculty, and EHS general community once the decision in favor of coeducation was made. He first began by sending out a letter on January 29th, 1991 to EHS alumni, parents, and community members regarding the decision: 

Directly after the letter was sent, Headmaster Ainslie arranged a speech that he would deliver to the Episcopal boys that were enrolled at the time. His speech was given at morning chapel on January 30th, 1991. Below is an excerpt from said speech: