When Anne and Scott Deitz started thinking about schools for their daughter, Elsa, their initial focus was on some of the local Friends schools. It was Elsa’s teacher at Greene Towne Montessori School who first suggested The Baldwin School, because she thought an all-girls environment would be a good fit.

At the family’s first visit to the Bryn Mawr campus of the pre-K through 12th grade school, they met some middle school students, and came away impressed at the poise, charm, and smarts of the young women.

“We said, ‘Wow, we would love our daughter to be like that when she’s their age,’’’ Anne said.

After the visit, she said, “they were the one to beat. When we visited the other schools, they just couldn’t compete with what Baldwin had to offer her.”

At Baldwin, Anne said, students learn Mandarin, get hands-on science and technology work in the DREAM lab, and can eat in the dining hall — things that in many other schools aren’t part of the curriculum until middle school or later. Even the youngest students get a chance to mingle with the older girls, and see real-life role models on their own campus.

A critical part of the world-class education, the Deitzes said, is a caring environment. Elsa’s first grade teacher comes to her piano recitals, and other teachers have been equally warm and wonderful, Anne said.

“I wanted a place that would be academically challenging for my daughter, but at the same time they really nurture the girls to want to be at their full potential,” Scott said.

“To us it was no question almost, and the kicker was my daughter said the same thing — ‘I want to go to Baldwin.’’’

Since the Deitzes live in the Art Museum area of Philadelphia, their only real concern was about the distance from their home to Bryn Mawr. That quickly became a non-issue, they said, because of the school’s van service. It’s been easy to use, and because it’s run by the school rather than a contractor, they felt comfortable from the very beginning. It’s been another chance for Elsa to become friendly with girls outside her own class, too.

As a school and as a community, Anne said, Baldwin has been just right for the family.

“There’s quite a lot of diversity at the school, which we like, and a very inclusive parent community,” she said. “There are lots of opportunities for parents to get involved, and that also appealed to us.

“We all want the same thing for our girls, and that’s something that binds us together.”

Want to know more? Visit Baldwin online or register for an Open House.

Photographs by Casey Kallen.