In March 2004, Penguin Books published Where Girls Come First, a history of all-girls schools in the United States. The author is journalist Ilana Debare, who herself is a co-founder of the Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland, California. Her book is a thoughtful and provocative history, showing how all-girls education began as a subversive, countercultural movement in the early 1800's -- empowering young women at a time when the larger culture was denying equal rights to women. Unfortunately, the movement ossified in the early 1900's, as many girls' schools became elite, exclusive bastions of privilege. Debare provides a thoughtful analysis of the "surprising revival" of girls' schools in the past 20 years.

DE BARE, Ilana: Where Girls Come First: The Rise, Fall, and Surprising Revival of Girls Schools.  2004. ISBN: 1585422894, Hardcover.