Photo: Courtesy of Bravo

Parents and alumnae of the Nightingale-Bamford School were sent an e-mail recently from Head of School Dorothy Hutcheson addressing the publicity onslaught that will come later this month in the form of the Bravo reality show NYC Prep. Star Camille is a student at the all-girls' school, though it is not mentioned on air. Quoth Hutcheson, according to The Wall Street Journal:

The decision to participate in the show was made by the student and her parents without consulting Nightingale's administrators. We counsel our girls to avoid such exposure, knowing that the best intentions are usually subsumed by a media machine that too often simplifies the many facets of a Nightingale education into a shallow and stereotypical view of independent schools. (As with most series of this genre, the show is "reality" in name only.) Ultimately, though, these decisions reside with the families themselves. Our goal at Nightingale has always been to help each of our girls find her unique voice; it us up to each of them to determine how and when to use that voice.

Until that voice is caught smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol on national television, we'll wager.

Gossip Hurl: Real NYC Prepsters Scorn New Bravo Reality Show [Speakeasy/WSJ]