Erica Corbin, Head of Cathedral School NYC, on how boys and girls are treated differently at New York's elite schools
“The expectations we have for girls are much higher than the expectations we have for boys.”
Erica Corbin has spent her career in some of New York City's most prestigious private schools. After leadership roles at Collegiate (boys) and Chapin (girls) – two titans of the revered Manhattan school scene – she now heads up The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine, a school tucked away behind a famous cathedral on NYC's Upper West Side. This year, she's experiencing the school from a new angle too: her own children are now students there. With board roles spanning NYSAIS , People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS-NY) and the Parents League of New York , few people know the city's educational landscape better than Erica.
In conversation with Henry Faber, Erica reflects on what surprised her most when moving from a boys' school to a girls' school, and why we need to extend girls the same grace we often afford boys. She explains what makes Cathedral different after 125 years: an emphasis on mattering, on being part of something bigger than yourself and on the idea that brilliance alone isn't enough. Erica shares her controversial take on teacher recruitment (people changing career instead of new grads), discusses the post-COVID NYC school landscape and reveals the truth about her experience of headship in New York.
🎙️ Episode highlights
The uncomfortable truth Erica noticed moving from boys' to girls' education: "With the boys, there was a lot of 'they'll get there eventually.' I wish we applied that lens to all children."
Why Cathedral's 125-year mission centres on "mattering", and why being brilliant isn't enough if your life doesn't mean something to others
Erica's controversial opinion: the future of teaching is career changers, not education graduates – people burning out at desks who'd be "re-sparked" working with young people
Why New York headship isn't the cutthroat culture she expected – and how a network of peers has made leadership far less lonely
The one thing every school should do tomorrow, and more educational musings!