A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex schools, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Radcliffe College was its sister school. The sister school concept as a single-sex school began to change as several institutions adopted coeducational environments starting in the 1970s due to the increasing awareness or consciousness about sex bias and discrimination.
Background
The term sister school (or brother school) has several alternate meanings:
- a definite financial commerce between two colleges or universities
- two schools that have a strong historical connection
- two schools which have social activities involving students from both schools
- two schools under the same management
- two schools built using the same floor plan/layout
- two schools in different nations that have established a collaborative international partnership.
Examples of Sister Schools (United States)
- The Seven Sisters (colleges) are a group of originally seven (now five) private liberal arts colleges that are in the Northeastern United States. The majority of them were chartered between the 1860s-1880s.
- Saint Mary's College (Indiana) is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Both schools are located in Notre Dame, Indiana. The schools have had a partnership for over 170 years.
