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Single-Sex Schools / Schools with single-sex classrooms / what's the difference?
In March 2002, when NASSPE was founded, only eleven public schools offered single-gender classrooms. As of May 2009, there are at least 542 public
schools in the United States offering single-sex educational
opportunities. Most of those schools are COED schools which offer single-sex CLASSROOMS,
but which retain at least some coed activities.
In some cases, the only coed activities are lunch and one or two electives,
so the distinction between a single-sex school,
and a coed school with single-sex classrooms, can become a semantic quibble. From March 2002 through July 2007,
we tried to make a distinction between single-sex schools, on the one hand,
and coed schools with single-sex classes, on the other hand. We listed
single-sex schools on one web page, while coed schools with single-sex classes were listed on a separate web page. As
it became increasingly obvious that the distinction was often arbitrary, we decided in August 2007 to begin
listing all public schools offering single-sex classrooms on the same web page, which is this page.
By our count, at least 95 of the 542 schools below qualify as single-sex schools, meaning that students attending any of those schools have
all their school activities -- including lunch and all electives -- in a setting
which is all-boys or all-girls. Most of those 95 schools are single-sex campuses, such as the
The Ann Richards School for Young Women which opened in Austin, Texas in August 2007. Schools
which we count as being entirely single-sex in format are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Note: Schools which offer single-sex classes only in physical education and/or health
and/or sex education are NOT
listed here. In addition, correctional schools for adjudicated delinquent juveniles are not listed here.
Thus, single-sex public schools such as the Columbia Training School for Girls in Marion County, Mississippi,
the all-boys Birchwood High School in Columbia, South Carolina, the all-boys Mississippi Youth School in Raymond, Mississippi, or the all-girls Willow Lane School in Columbia, South Carolina,
are not included in any of our lists,
even though they are single-sex public schools,
because these schools are reserved primarily or exclusively for juveniles who have been convicted
of a criminal offense.
If you know of any schools
not listed here, or if you believe that any schools listed here should NOT be listed here,
please contact us.
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Alabama
Foley Intermediate School, in Baldwin County, was honored by the State of Alabama in 2006. The state recognized Foley Intermediate
as being one of the most successful schools in the state in closing the achievement gap
between Black and White students after adopting
the single-sex format. In 2007, the school received an even higher honor, including a $20,000 cash prize, for its
tremendous continuing success in closing the racial achievement gap. Faculty from Foley Intermediate gave a presentation at the
NASSPE conference in October 2008 to share the secrets of their success.
In part because of the inspiration provided by Foley Intermediate School, two other schools in the district have adopted single-sex programs: Bay Minette Intermediate School and Bay Minette Middle School. Bay Minette Intermediate provided
us with this summary of their experience as of December 2008:
Bay Minette Intermediate School began offering single-sex classes for fourth graders in August 2006. Prior to beginning, administrators and teachers at BMIS participated
in extensive professional development on single-gender education led by Dr. Sax, director of NASSPE.
The intermediate school is currently in its second year of single-gender implementation which is now offered in grades 4 and 5. Approximately one third of the students at BMIS are a part of the single gender education program.
Fourth grade all-girls teacher Shelly Stewart says, "It allows the girls to 'shine' and they feel more free to express themselves." Shannon Garrett, another all girls teacher, shares
"I have seen that the girls are more comfortable sharing their ideas in Science." Danielle Watson, fifth grade all-boys teacher exclaims, "Teaching the all boys class has allowed me to experience a positive learning community . . . We now have gentlemen."
Administrators and teachers have seen that overall for students in the single gender classes, daily attendance is high, discipline is lower, and achievement was improved.
The residents of Wilcox County, Alabama, take pride in the small-town feel of their county seat, Camden, which has a population
of just over 2,000. The population of the entire county is only about 12,000. Ervin Elementary, in Pine Hill, began offering single-sex classes for grades 5 and 6 in the 2005-2006 school year.
The Wilcox County middle school, formally known as the Camden School of Arts & Technology, began offering single-sex classes for grades 7 and 8, in the 2005-2006 school year.
The district leadership arranged for Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE, to visit the county in March 2006 and again in April 2006 to lead a professional
development seminar for teachers involved in the single-gender programs. In May 2006, Dr. Abigail James, a member of NASSPE's
Advisory Board, met with Wilcox County teachers to share more techniques and strategies for single-gender classrooms.
East Lawrence Middle School, in northwest Alabama, began offering single-sex classes in January 2006. "The biggest surprise
to us has been what a non-issue it was this year," Principal Cindy Praytor said in 2007. "The students just accepted it, and I've not gotten
any complaints -- from students or parents." Praytor also observed that the boys in the all-boys classrooms "are really well behaved, especially
in the female teachers' classrooms. There's a respect there, and it's magnified when they're all together."
The Maplesville School in Maplesville began offering single-sex classrooms in grades 4, 5, and 6 in the 2004-2005 school year. The students' achievement
on DIBELS testing showed immediate and dramatic improvement. The 4th-graders had benchmarked at 21% prior to the introduction of single-sex classrooms: when those same students
were tested the following spring, they showed a dramatic increase in performance, now scoring at 75%. "By separating the kids, they are able to learn better and achieve their goals, while
behavioral problems have decreased," said teacher Jacqueline Sullivan.
Davis Hills Middle School, in northwest Huntsville, began offering single-gender classrooms, for 6th- and 7th-graders, in January 2005.
Fayette Middle School, in Fayette County, began offering single-sex classes in math, science, English, and reading, in August 2004.
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Alaska
Gilson Junior High in Valdez began offering single-sex classes
in 2006-2007 in reading, language arts and social studies, for 7th-grade girls and boys.
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Arizona
Andersen Junior High School, in Chandler, began offering single-sex classes in 2006. Initially
the gender-separate format was used only in physical education. "The physical education teachers loved it,"
said principal Jim Anderson (no relation to the school's namesake, which is spelled differently).
"We've really noticed significant improvement with [more] participation by both boys and girls. Their energy
levels are higher, and we've had fewer discipline problems." The good results with physical education led
the administration to expand the program to math, science, and social studies for the 2006-2007 school year.
In the spring of 2007, principal Jim Anderson announced that the girls-only
classes scored 11 percentage points higher than the girls in the mixed classes, even though all classes shared the same
teachers and resources and all had comparable class sizes. Likewise, the boys in the boys' classes scored on average
10 points higher than boys in coed classes, again with the same resources and teachers. The number of single-sex classes
has been increased for the 2007-2008 school year.
The success of the program at Andersen Junior High inspired
administrators at Desert Shadows Middle School in nearby Apache Junction to start their own
single-sex classes in the fall of 2007.
Cactus Middle School in Casa Grande (about 25 miles south of Phoenix) began offering single-sex classes in all grades
(6, 7, and 8) in the fall of 2005.
Roadrunner Elementary School, in the Washington Elementary School District in Phoenix,
began offering single-sex classes for mathematics in 2006.
The Westwind Middle School Academy in Phoenix is a dual academy,
i.e. girls and boys are taught in separate classrooms.
"Boys are working harder
and helping each other more," according to teacher Joshua
Jordan. "Just being able to address the class as 'ladies'
or 'gentlemen' made a class bond," Jordan said. Teacher
Sara Lyon said that girls -- especially those who are usually
timid -- participate more in the girls-only classes.
Sahuarita Middle School in Tucson
began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007.
Cholla Magnet High School, in Tucson, has been offering
single-sex classrooms since 2001-2002.
Tucson Magnet High School has offered single-sex classes
in math and science for seven years. Tucson High teacher Virginia
Bohme, who has taught math for 25 years, is a strong believer
in the single-sex classes based on her first-hand experience.
Girls thrive in the girls-only classes, Bohme says. "They're
not afraid to appear stupid," she says.
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Arkansas
In Jacksonville (a suburb of Little Rock), the school district opened a pair of middle schools in the fall of 2005: one for girls, one for boys, referred to respectively as
*Jacksonville Middle School / Girls and *Jacksonville Middle Schools / Boys.
These are two separate schools, with separate building facilities and separate administrative staffs.
NASSPE director Leonard Sax led a professional development workshop on best practices for single-sex education, for teachers from both of these new schools,
in August 2005. You can read local press coverage of the developments in Jacksonville at this link.
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California
Compton Avenue Elementary School, in Los Angeles, began offering some gender-separate classrooms in the 2007-2008 school year.
Thompson Middle School, in Murrieta, began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007.
*The San Francisco 49'ers Academies were one of the six single-sex
academies opened in 1996 and 1997 under the short-lived California
program to establish single-sex public schools, and the only
one of the six still remaining in operation today (the others
closed after funding for the program lapsed in 1999). There
are a total of 90 girls and 90 boys enrolled, in grades 5
through 8. The Academies take their name from the fact that
the San Francisco 49'ers (the NFL franchise) is a sponsor
of the school, and football players from the NFL team occasionally
visit the school. You can visit their Web site here.
*New Village Charter High School in Los Angeles is an all-girls college prep school.
The focus of the school, which opened in the fall of 2006, is on girls from low-income neighborhoods.
North Woods Discovery School is a charter school in Redding. The school offers grades K-8.
Single-sex classes are offered in grades 6, 7, and 8 in math, science, and language arts. More information
about the school is available at www.nwds.org.
Jordan High School, in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, has offered an all-boys class
since 2005. The extraordinary success of these boys was the feature of a front-page article
in the Los Angeles Times published November 2, 2006. The success of this program has inspired the
nearby King-Drew Medical Magnet School to begin offering single-sex classes for 2007-2008.
The Excel Charter Academy is a middle school northeast of downtown Los Angeles which offers
single-sex classes to 6th-graders.
Franklin Elementary School, in Modesto, began offering gender-separate classes for 4th-graders
in the fall of 2006.
*Tierrasanta Campus of the Charter School of San Diego (CSSD)
opened in July 1994. This school includes grades 7 through
12, spread over 19 storefront sites. The roughly 90 students at the
Tierrasanta Campus are educated exclusively in single-sex classrooms.
Burbank Middle School, in association with the Triad
Alliance (a cooperative program run by UCSF) is offering single-sex
classrooms in math and science.
Black Mountain Middle School, near Poway, began offering single-sex classes in
science and physical education in 2004-2005 and has subsequently expanded the program.
Theresa Williams, who teaches science both in an all-girls class and in a mixed class, notices differences between the classes.
In the all-girls classroom, "The girls are more focused, they are ready to learn, they have less distractions, they are willing to help each other
and they are willing to as questions," Williams said. "I think my quieter girls are more apt to speak out" in the all-girls classrooms, she added.
Boys also are benefiting from the new format. "With girls in a class, boys want to show off in front of them," says student Myles Amitin, age 12.
"When you're around other boys, you can just act normal."
Academically, the program is clearly benefiting both girls and boys. The average GPA for girls in the single-gender science class is 3.67; for girls in the
coed science class, it is 3.05. Boys in the all-boys science class have an average grade of 3.22, while boys in the coed class have an average grade of 2.44.
San Ysidro High School San Ysidro High School in Otay Mesa (near San Diego)
introduced single-sex classes in just 8 (out of 320) of the school's classes in 2003-2004.
Results that year were encouraging, so the program has been expanded in subsequent years
to a total of 36 gender-separate classes, serving 900 students, in single-gender algebra, science, and physical
education classes.
Samantha Jaramillo, a 16-year-old junior, said "I've noticed that I've learned
more in all-girls [classrooms] because I speak up and I'm not shy and the guys don't make fun of me if I screw up."
Woodcrest Elementary School, in Riverside, launched a single-gender program for sixth-graders in the spring of 2006.
"We've been very satisfied with the results we've had," Principal Hayley Calhoun told local reporter Robert Mayer of the Press-Enterprise.
"In the [all-]girl classes, I've heard voices from girls I've never heard before," said math teacher Renee Pierce.
Student Dallas Mihalik, age 12, also approves of the new format.
"It's much more quiet. You don't have as much noise," says Mihalik. "You don't have boys interrupting you and stuff."
Pierce has observed similar improvement among the boys. "I'm finding the boys much more willing to ask questions," she says.
"Before, they weren't willing to do that because they didn't want to look dumb in front of the girls."
"When there [were] girls in the class, I wouldn't want to say something and get it wrong," agrees Ryan Powers, age 12.
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Colorado
Arapahoe High School, in Littleton, began offering single-gender courses in the 2003-2004 school year in math, physical education,
science, and social studies. For the 2005-2006 school year, the single-gender format has been expanded to include English and reading.
Roncalli Middle School in Pueblo began offering single-sex classes for sixth-graders in the 2005-2006 school year. Fifty students were randomly assigned
to single-sex classes. So far, the all-girls class is doing the best academically; the all-boys class is next; and the coed classes are in the rear, according to a January 2006
story in Newsweek magazine.
The *James Irwin Charter Middle School,
in Colorado Springs, is organized as a "dual academy" for grades 6, 7, and 8: girls are in girls-only classes, boys
are in boys-only classes.
Sheridan Middle School began offering single-sex classes
in the 2003-2004 school year.
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Connecticut
The Beecher School in New Haven is a public elementary school which began
offering single-sex classes to 4th and 5th graders in 2006.
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Delaware
The *Prestige Academy in Wilmington is a public charter all-boys school enrolling boys in
grades 5 through 8. More information is available at www.prestigeacademycs.org.
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District of Columbia
*Septima Clark Public Charter School, an all-boys public elementary charter school, began enrolling boys in
grades K-2 in the fall of 2006. For 2007-2008, the school will enroll boys in grades K-3. All staff attended a professional
development seminar led by NASSPE Executive Director Leonard Sax
in July 2006. In August 2007, Dr. Abigail James, a member of the NASSPE
Advisory Board, led another full-day professional development seminar for school faculty.
The Hope Community Charter School, located at 2917 8th St. NE, offers single-sex classes
for students in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Teachers for the single-sex classes attended a professional
development seminar led by NASSPE Executive Director Leonard Sax
in July 2006.
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Florida
Westside Elementary, in Hernando, began offering single-sex classrooms in the 2007-2008 school year, in all grades (K-5),
for both girls and boys.
"Something magical has happened at Westside Elementary School . . .", according to an
article in the St. Petersburg Times. "Girls are coming out of their shells. Boys are working hard. . . Chalk it up to single-sex classes."
In June 2007, half-a-dozen teachers from Westside Elementary School attended a two-day, 14-hour workshop on best practice for gender-separate classrooms,
hosted by Stetson University and led by Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE.
Now those teachers are seeing tremendous benefits from the strategies they have employed in their single-gender classrooms --
benefits for both girls and boys. Click here to read the full article.
James Elementary School in East Tampa began offering gender-separate classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
Ballard Elementary and Oneco Elementary, both in Manatee County, began offering single-sex classrooms
in the 2007-2008 school year.
Forest Grove Middle School, in Fort Pierce, began offering single-sex classes in math, history, reading, and science
for 8th-graders only, in 2006-2007. Kerri Walukiewicz teaches the all-boys 8th-grade reading and language arts class. She points
to an essay by one boy, Ramon: "I worry about my sister. I cry when someone dies in my family. I am Ramon." Ms. Walukiewicz suggests
that in a coed class, Ramon would not have been comfortable expressing this emotion.
Inspired by the success
of the program at Forest Grove, Fellsmere Elementary, also on the Treasure Coast, began offering single-sex classrooms
for 5th-graders, in 2007-2008.
*Young Women's Preparatory Academy in Miami opened its doors to girls in grades 6 thru 10 in
the fall of 2006. For 2007-2008, the school is enrolling girls in grades 6 through 11; in 2008-2009, the school
will enroll girls in grades 6 through 12. The *Young Men's Preparatory Academy, also in Miami, opened in the 2008-2009 school year with an inaugural enrollment of just 84 boys.
Odyssey Middle School, in Boynton Beach, began offering
single-sex classrooms in August 2003. The success of the program in the 2003-2004 school year was such that the district decided to expand to include the majority of students in each grade for the 2004-2005 school year.
For the 2007-2008 school year, the majority of students in all three grades are in gender-separate classes.
There was a 52 percent reduction in discipline referrals among 6th-graders after the new format was introduced, according to principal Bonnie Fox.
Belcher Elementary School, in Clearwater, began offering single-sex classes to 2nd- and 3rd-graders
in the fall of 2006. In April 2007, parent Cheryl Peck commented on the change she has seen in her daughter in the time since her daughter
began in the single-sex program. "She's more determined. She knows what she wants, [and] academically I was so impressed with the big change
from one year to the next." For the 2007-2008 school year, every class in grades K-4 will be all-girls or all-boys. In June 2007, many teachers
from Belcher Elementary attended a two-day workshop on best practices for single-sex classrooms, led by NASSPE director
Leonard Sax.
Spring Lake Elementary, in Altamonte Springs, began offering single-sex classes in the 2006-2007
school year. Staff from the school attended a workshop led by Dr. Sax, executive director of NASSPE, and hosted by
Stetson University, in the spring of 2007.
Melrose Elementary, in St. Petersburg, began offering single-sex classes for 4th-graders in the fall of 2006.
Ribault Middle School in Duval County began offering single-sex classrooms in
the 2004-2005 school year. The program has since been expanded to all three grades.
Orangewood Elementary School in Fort Myers began offering single-gender classrooms for
5th-graders, in the fall of 2006. By the end of the 2006-2007 year, every boy in the all-boys
class scored proficient in both reading and math on the FCAT, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
That was a huge change from the previous year, when most of those same boys failed to score proficient in either
reading or math. The all-boys format allowed the boys to become "a team," according to teacher Hana Ahmad.
"They looked like a family," Ahmad said. "It wasn't about one person succeeding; it was about everyone
succeeding."
Woodward Avenue Elementary School offers single-sex classrooms in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades for 2005-2006. Core academic classes
all are single-sex, while lunch and physical education are coed. The extraordinary success of the program at Woodward Avenue
Elementary has attracted national attention, leading to feature stories in the Orlando Sentinel, People magazine,
and USA Today.
The Pace Centers for Girls are a group of eighteen public schools around Florida
which have achieved an extraordinary record of success with girls at risk. These schools, each
independently administered, are located
in the following locations around Florida (click on each link for more information):
*Alachua
*Broward
*Collier-Immokalee
*Escambia-Santa Rosa
*Fort Myers
*Hillsborough
*Jacksonville
*Leon
*Manatee
*Marion
*Orange
*Palm Beach
*Pasco
*Pinellas
*Polk
*Treasure Coast
*Volusia-Flagler
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Georgia
DeKalb County Public Schools (northeast of Atlanta) have two public schools offering single-sex classrooms for 2008-2009. Avondale Middle School offers
single-gender classrooms under the leadership of principal Dr. Bernetta Jones. Dr. Jones invited Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, to
lead a two-day training workshop for her teachers, in March 2008. Also in DeKalb County, Ronald McNair Middle School offers single-gender classrooms,
under the leadership of principal Susan Freeman. Ms. Freeman invited Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, to
lead a two-day training workshop for her teachers, in the summer of 2008 just prior to the launch of the new school year.
Atlanta Public Schools launched two single-sex schools in the fall of 2007. The
*Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy will enroll 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders in 2009-2010, adding one grade per year until the school is a 6-12 school.
Likewise, the *B.E.S.T. Academy at Benjamin Carson, will enroll 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders in 2009-2010, adding one grade per year until the school is a 6-12 school.
Curt Green, principal of the B.E.S.T. Academy, was a speaker at our 2008 NASSPE conference and will again be a speaker at the October 2009 NASSPE conference in Atlanta.
The *Ivy Preparatory Academy is a charter public school for girls which opened in Gwinnett County in the fall of 2008.
Like the Coretta Scott King YWL Academy and the B.E.S.T. Academy, the plan at Ivy Prep is to add one grade each year until the school is a 6-12 school.
Also in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Imagine Wesley International Academy is a public charter school which launched in 2008-2009,
offering single-sex classes in all core subjects. Coed classes are offered for art, music, theater, and Mandarin Chinese.
Wilkinson County Middle School began offering gender-separate classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
Garrison Elementary School, in Savannah, began offering
single-sex classrooms in the 4th and 5th grades in 1999. The
program is continuing under the leadership of Principal Karen
Grant. She says that discipline problems for both sexes decreased by "at least 50 percent" after the program
was introduced. Those are "the cold hard facts,"
says Grant.
King Middle School, in Atlanta, began offering single-sex
classrooms in core subjects (math, science, English, social
studies) for 6th graders, in 2003-2004.
Lewis Frasier Middle School, in Hinesville, began offering
a single-sex section (one girls-only section, one boys-only
section) beginning in 2003-2004. The success of the program prompted school leaders
to expand the program to the entire 6th and 7th grade for the 2004-2005 school year. "When you ask the kids if they like it, as a group together they'll say they want the other gender back," says school administrator Dr. Yvette Keel.
"But when I talk to each one of the students individually, they'll tell me they like it and they've seen their grades go up." Dr. Sax,
executive director of NASSPE, met with teachers at Lewis Frasier in 2005 to lead an all-day professional development workshop on best practices for single-sex education.
Marietta High School, in Marietta, began offering single-sex Algebra I classes in the 2003-2004.
Campbell Middle School, in Smyrna (Cobb County) began offering classes in single-gender format for the 2003-2004 school year.
According to Dr. Charlie Bowen, from nearby Bagwell College,
"the vast majority of responses from teachers and parents who have observed
the effects of the new single-gender classes have been overwhelmingly positive."
Dr. H. Earl Holliday, the school's principal, spoke at the ASCD conference
in Orlando, Florida in April 2005
about the success of the program.
He presented data showing that
students' performance on standardized tests had improved by more than ten
percentile ranks since introduction of the single-sex format.
Dr. Holliday has also informed us that three other nearby elementary schools began offering single-sex classrooms in 2005. Those schools are Teasley Elementary School,
Argyle Elementary School, and Harmony-Leland Elementary School, all in the Cobb County School District.
Winder-Barrow Middle School, in Barrow County, began offering single-gender classrooms in the 2007-2008 school year. In January 2009,
the district superintendent, Ron Saunders, directed the district's three other middle schools to offer some gender-separate programs, probably beginning
in the fall of 2009.
North Clayton Middle School in College Park, Georgia, began offering an all-male academy for sixth and seventh-grade boys in the fall of 2008. Clayton Schools superintendent John Thompson
announced in December 2008 that he was considering offering more single-sex programs in the district.
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Idaho
Middleton Heights Elementary began offering single-sex classrooms in 1st grade and 3rd grade,
in the 2006-2007 school year.
Lincoln Elementary School in Twin Falls began offering single-sex classes to 6th-grade students in the 2003-2004 school year.
Single-gender classes are offered in all classes except for music, physical education, computers, and recess.
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Illinois
*Urban Prep Charter Academy is an all-boys charter high school launched in 2006 on the site of what was formerly Englewood High School,
on Chicago's South Side. The mission of the school is empowering young African-American men from low-income neighborhoods. The key figure behind
Urban Prep is Tim King, a dynamic young (b. 1966) African-American philanthropist who envisions a network of schools modeled after Urban Prep. Mr. King and Urban Prep were featured in an
article in Education Week about the growing popularity of single-sex education specifically for
at-risk African-American boys.
The Benjamin Mays Elementary Academy, on West Marquette Road in Chicago,
has been offering single-gender classes for boys and girls for four years. In 2001, only 19% of students
met state proficiency standards. In 2006, more than 89% of students met or exceeded state proficiency
standards, according to Assistant Principal Richard P. Glass Jr.
Robert Frost Middle School and Warren Palm Elementary School, both in Hazel
Crest, began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007. Rich East High School in nearby Park Forest began offering single-gender classes to 9th-graders in the core subjects (math, science, English,
and social studies) in 2007-2008. Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, led a two-day workshop for teachers from Robert Frost Middle, Warren Palm Elementary, and Rich East High School,
in August 2008.
Nearby, in Alsip, Eisenhower High School also began offering single-sex classes to 9th-graders
in 2007-2008.
Gregory Elementary School, on West Polk Street in Chicago, began offering single-sex classrooms in 2005.
Barton Elementary, in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood, offers some all-boys classes for 3rd-grade boys.
Highcrest Middle School, in Wilmette, offers some all-girls classes for 6th-grade girls.
The Stephen Gale Community Academy , in Chicago, began offering single-gender classes for students in grades 6, 7, and 8, in the 2007-2008 school year.
All three middle schools in the East St. Louis School District began offering single-gender classes in math and science in 2005. Those three middle schools are
Lincoln Middle School, Clark Middle School, and Younge Middle School. At Lincoln Middle School, single-gender classes are also offered in English.
The same district began offering single-sex classes for high school juniors at East St. Louis High School in 2005-2006.
*The Young Women's Leadership Charter School , in Chicago, enrolls girls in grades 6 through
12. The school was launched in the fall of 2000. The school was modeled
on the Young Women's
Leadership School in Harlem, with the exception that the
Chicago school has an emphasis on science and technology.
More than 75
percent of the girls qualify for the free lunch program. Students
are selected by lottery and there is always a waiting list.
Margaret Small, one of the two directors of the school, observed, "We already
have girls in the ninth grade [at the Young Women's Leadership
Charter School] who are committed to becoming computer scientists
or physicists and really think, ‘I want to be an astronaut.'
Most of my ninth-grade girls at [coeducational] Lakeview High
School wanted to be cosmetologists. They like hair. They like
to do each other's hair. Well, our girls like to do that too.
But they're beginning to realize that that doesn't mean you
want to be a cosmetologist. That's just what you do on Saturday
afternoon. You want to be something much more than that."
You can read more about the Young Women's Leadership Charter
School at their
Web site.
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Indiana
Riverview Middle School, in Huntington, began offering single-sex classes in the 2006-2007 school year. The change
in format led to improved test scores and attendance, as well as decreased discipline referrals. "It's a joy" to be in the all-girls
classroom, says teacher Jill Spenner.
*Charles Drew Elementary School in Gary, was "re-invented"
as an all-boys academy, effective with the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
Edwardsburg Primary School, in Edwardsburg, began offering single-sex kindergarten in the 2006-2007 school year.
Smith Elementary, in Martinsville, has begun offering single-sex classes for 5th-graders in reading, language arts, and physical education.
"We were astounded" by the positive impact of single-sex classrooms, says teacher Janet Fendley. Fendley said that in the
physical education class, girls who had previously not participated now came off the sidelines to participate. For the 2006-2007
school year, gender-separate classes will also be offered in math, science, and social studies.
Harrison Hill Elementary, technically known as the "Harrison Hill School of Inquiry," offers
some all-boys classes in 2nd and 3rd grade. The school is located in Lawrence Township. Crestview Elementary, also in Lawrence Township,
will begin offering single-gender classrooms in the fall of 2009. In June 2009, teachers from both schools attended a two-day workshop led by Dr. Leonard Sax,
executive director of NASSPE, on best practice for single-gender classrooms.
Riverview Middle School in Huntington County, began offering single-sex classes in language arts,
for 6th graders, in the fall of 2006.
Clarksville Middle School began offering single-sex
classrooms for its seventh-graders in the fall of 2002. The
program was so effective in improving the academic performance
of both girls and boys that the program was expanded to all
three grades. When the school was coed, only 35% of boys passed the state's standardized language arts test, and only 54% of the girls passed.
After two years in the single-sex classes, 53% of these same boys now can pass the state's language arts test; 69% of these same girls now pass the test.
New Washington Middle and High School, in the Greater Clark County school district, began offering gender-separate classes in 2004-2005 for the majority of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in math, science, and social studies.
Principal Ben Ledbetter reported in the spring of 2005 that students in the single-gender classes showed improved academic performance and fewer disciplinary problems.
Parkview Middle School, also in the Greater Clark County school district, began offering single-sex classes for sixth-graders in 2004-2005. For 2005-2006, the program has been expanded to both sixth- and seventh-graders, with plans
to include all three grades beginning in 2006-2007.
The 21st Century Charter School in Indianapolis began offering gender-separate classes in core academic subjects, in 2003-2004.
Barker Middle School in Michigan City began offering gender-separate classes in core academic subjects, in the 2004-2005 school year, for 7th-graders only. For the 2005-2006 school year,
single-gender classes are available to both 7th- and 8th-graders.
*Duncan Elementary School in Gary, was "re-invented"
as an all-girls academy, effective with the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
*Edgar Evans Elementary School -- a.k.a. "School 11" on E. 42nd Street in Indianapolis -- was "re-invented"
as an all-boys academy, effective with the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
*Coleman Academy for Girls , in on E. 30th Avenue in Indianapolis, enrolls girls in grades 4 through 6.
The school opened its doors as an all-girls school in the fall of 2005.
*Julian D. Coleman Academy for Boys is the brother school, enrolling boys in grades 4 through 6 as well.
Huntertown Elementary School , in Allen County, has begun offering single-sex classes to 5th-grade boys. They're already seeing how the single-sex format can break down gender stereotypes.
The boys appear eager to work on their baking skills, including baking Rice Krispie treats for a fund-raiser.
Baker Elementary School in Wayland, began offering gender-separate classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
Roosevelt Middle School, in Monticello, began offering single-sex classes for sixth-graders in 2006 in language arts, science, math,
and social studies. "We found that with splitting up the boys and girls, both genders felt more comfortable asking questions
in class, and we were able to have some more interesting discussions than before," said language arts teacher Dana Hershey, according to a report in the
Monticello Herald Journal. "I can focus more," said student Allie Edwards. "I think a lot of times before, girls were too shy to ask questions because they were afraid of getting laughed.
They're not so much [shy] anymore."
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Iowa
The Cunningham School for Excellence
in Waterloo, has been offering single-sex classrooms since the spring of 2004.
The program at the Cunningham School involves students who are now in the second and third grades. The plan is to
continue the program with the same students, right through grade five.
The Logan Middle School, also in Waterloo, began offering single-sex math classes in 2004-2005.
Dr. Sax, executive director of NASSPE, has met with the teachers in Waterloo on two occasions to lead professional development workshops and
observe what's actually happening in the classrooms. He described some of his observations in an invited commentary for Education Week.
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Kansas
Banneker Elementary School and Quindaro Elementary School, both in Kansas City, Kansas began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007.
Twelve educators from the Kansas City Kansas school district attended the NASSPE
Midwest Regional Conference in October 2006.
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Kentucky
Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger began offering single-sex classes for freshmen and sophomores in the 2005-2006 school year.
The success of the program prompted Principal John Riehemann to expand the program to include juniors as well for the
2007-2008 school year.
Ludlow Middle School, in Kenton County, began offering single-sex classes in the 2005-2006 school year.
Cravens Elementary School began offering single-sex classrooms in August 2005.
Foust Elementary School began offering single-sex classrooms in 2004-2005 and has expanded the program
for the 2005-2006 school year. Foust Elementary now offers single-sex classrooms in the first, second, fifth, and sixth grades. Girls
and boys are separated in seven out of 18 classrooms.
Apollo High School, in Owensboro, began offering single-gender classrooms for 9th-graders in the fall of 2005. NASSPE
Board member Dr. Abigail Norfleet James led a workshop on best practices for single-sex classrooms for teachers at Apollo in August 2005.
Daviess County High School began offering single-sex classrooms in 2005.
Horse Branch Elementary School, in Ohio County (Kentucky) began offering
some single-sex classes for 4th- and 5th-graders, in August 2005.
Marshall County High School in Benton is offering two
sections of 9th-grade Earth/Space Science in which girls and
boys are separated. The girls-only class is taught by Mrs.
Dusti Lamb, and the boys-only class is taught by Mr. Stacey
Bradley. Mr. Bradley recently notified us that "Mrs.
Lamb and I have noticed increased confidence among students
who would normally be reserved when participating in classroom
discussion and projects." Dr. Robert Lyons, Associate
Professor at Murray State University, is assisting the teachers
at Benton in assessing the effectiveness of this teaching
strategy. Mr. Bradley also told us that "other teachers
are gearing up to offer sections of single-sex Geography and
Social Studies."
Beaumont Middle School, in Fayette County, has been offering
single-sex classes for reading, language arts, math, science, and social
studies since 2002-2003.
At Two Rivers Middle School, in the Covington Independent
School District, seventh graders are divided into one team
that's single-sex, and one team that's coed.
The *Southern Leadership Academies, in Louisville, adopted the "dual academy" format beginning with the
2002-2003 school year:
girls in girls' classrooms, boys in boys' classrooms.
In the 2008-2009 school year, Southern becomes an all-boys school, while *Iroquois Middle School becomes all-girls.
Cumberland County Middle School, in Burkesville, has been offering single-sex classes
since the 2003-2004 school year.
Harrodsburg Middle School in Mercer County, began offering
single-sex classes 2002-2003.
Jefferson Elementary School in Henderson, Kentucky,
has begun offering single-sex classes for their 4th-grade
students. Principal Dora Caton is hoping not only for an improvement
in classroom behavior -- and fewer discipline problems --
but also for improved academic performance. Teacher Jackie
Ashby has already noticed progress. "It's a dream class,"
she says. "The girls are more focused in wanting to get
busy with work."
Russell County Middle School began offering single-sex classrooms for seventh-graders
in the fall of 2005. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, the program expanded to the eighth grade as well.
Seebree Elementary School in Webster County, Kentucky,
began offering single-gender classes in the 2003-2004
school year.
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Louisiana
*The Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business is an all-boys public charter school which opened in the fall of 2008.
The challenges facing this school were chronicled in a September 2008 article in
Education Week.
Bayou Blue Middle School, in LaFourche Parish, began offering single-gender classes in 2009.
Gonzales Middle School, in Baton Rouge, began single-gender classes in all grades
(6, 7, and 8) in August 2005. Principal Charles Barbera reports that the program
has been very successful. Students are chosen by lottery to participate in the single-sex classes.
Parents "overwhelmingly" prefer the single-gender program, Barbera said.
Prescott Middle School, also in Baton Rouge, began offering
single-gender classes in math and science for eighth-graders
in 2003-2004. The success of the program led the
school to expand the single-gender format to science
and social studies in subsequent years, as well
as expanding the program to include seventh-graders.
Prescott Math teacher Andria Joseph says boys shy away from participating
when girls are present. In an all-boys class, the boys perk
up, she said. "They feel like they're all in this together,"
Ms. Joseph said.
Girls benefit as well. Prescott English teacher Margaret Anton says
the girls stay more focussed. And she has an easier time bonding
with her class without boys around. "I talked to the
girls yesterday and asked them if they thought we could have
this closeness if there were boys around, and they said, No,"
she said.
*Capitol Pre-College Academy for Girls, also in Baton Rouge
is an all-girls high school.
*Capitol Pre-College Academy for Boys is the brother school of the Capitol Pre-College Academy for Girls.
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Maine
Lyseth Elementary School, in Portland, began offering single-sex classes for both girls and boys,
in 4th grade core subjects, beginning in 2006-2007.
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Maryland
*The Bluford Drew Jemison Academy is a public charter boys' school serving middle school boys. More information is available at the school's web site.
Drew-Freeman Middle School, in Suitland, began offering single-gender classrooms in 2009.
Albert Einstein High School, in Montgomery County, began offering an all-boys "honors" class targeting African-American and Hispanic boys, in 2009.
Boonsboro High School, in Boonsboro, began offering a single-gender program in 2006.
The program, known as the Academy, offers single-gender math, English, and science classes to the academic
top ten percent of students in 9th and 10th grades.
Pangborn Elementary School, also in Boonsboro, has begun offering some single-gender classrooms as well.
Baltimore City Public Schools currently offers single-sex classrooms in three schools:
Glenmount Elementary #235, Harford Heights Intermediate, and Furley Elementary #206. In addition,
McCormick Elementary School in Baltimore County offers single-sex classes for 4th- and 5th-graders.
Baltimore Freedom Academy, a charter school on South Caroline Street in Baltimore City, began offering single-sex classes in the 2005-2006
school year.
*Western High School in Baltimore is an academically-oriented all-girls magnet high school
with an enrollment of over 1,000 girls. The student body is
racially and socioeconomically diverse. More than one-third
of the students qualify for subsidized school lunches. Nevertheless,
students' test scores consistently put Western High among
the elite of Baltimore high schools.
To go to Western High School's Web site, click here.
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Massachusetts
Smith Leadership Academy in Dorchester is a charter school enrolling grades 6, 7, and 8. Science and math classes are
gender-separate for "nearly all" girls and boys.
Note: State law in Massachusetts makes it difficult for public, non-charter schools to offer single-sex classes. The leaders
of the state Legislature's Joint Committee on Education have indicated that they will consider enabling legislation allowing public non-charter
schools in Massachusetts to offer single-sex classes. The State Board of Education also has endorsed such enabling legislation.
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Michigan
*Detroit International Academy is an all-girls school, part of Detroit Public Schools, for girls in grades 9 through 12.
*Douglass Academy is an all-boys public school, also part of Detroit Public Schools, for high school boys. It is the "brother school" to the Detroit International Academy. Both schools are schools of choice, meaning
that students choose to attend.
Baker Elementary, in Wayland, began offering single-gender kindergarten classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
South Lake Middle School in St. Clair Shores began offering single-sex classes in math and language arts for 8th-graders,
in the 2006-2007 school year.
*The Holmes Female Academy and the *Holmes Male Academy, both in Flint, were established in 2006-2007.
The schools serve grades 7 through 9. Although the schools have separate administration, NASSPE counts these two schools as ONE school
for purposes of counting schools, because the schools do share some facilities, although girls are in one wing and boys in another for
most classes. Cheryl Adkins, principal of the girls' school, says that both girls and boys have made academic gainst. "The boys did make
some improvements," she says, "but our girls took off." Erica Leverette is a member of the Flint school board. She sends her son Eric
to the Holmes Academy. She says Eric struggled to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average in other public and private schools. He carries a 3.29 GPA
at Holmes. How come? "Definitely the all-male environment," says Leverette.
Kenowa Hills Intermediate School, near Grand Rapids, began offering single-sex classes in the 2006-2007 school year. The
unanimous decision by the board of education to launch the program "wasn't controversial to us," according to school board trustee Joan Meyer.
Fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Willink said the girls are "more apt to risk answering questions knowing boys are not around to snicker at them
if they get it wrong." In addition, Willink said, the girls "love just being around other girls. The students are growing in confidence."
Berkshire Middle School in the Birmingham School District
has offered all-girl math and language arts classes since 1997. Because the program enrolls only
28 girls, and roughly 100 girls sign up for the class, girls
are chosen by lottery. Single-sex classes are available in math and language arts.
"This class is the highlight of my day," says teacher Karen Boyk. "More girls feel comfortable
being who they are. For some of them, it is a safe haven."
Pellston Middle School, near Traverse City, has offered
same-sex classrooms in its middle school since 1997. Parents
have the option of enrolling their children either in single-sex
or in coed classrooms. The program remains popular with parents,
although we don't have data on grades or test performance
for these students broken down by class type.
Pierce Middle School, in Waterford, began offering single-sex classes in 2002-2003.
Clarenceville Middle School, in Livonia, began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007.
Saginaw Public Schools began offering gender-separate classrooms in three elementary schools -- Haley, Longfellow, and Webber Elementary Schools -- in the 2004-2005 school year.
School officials invited Dr. Sax, director of NASSPE, to come to Saginaw in August 2004 to lead a professional development seminar for teachers involved in the gender-separate program. Dr. Sax
returned to Saginaw in April 2005 to conduct a follow-up workshop and meet with teachers. Leaders of the
Saginaw schools presented their findings at NASSPE's 2006 Midwest conference.
Star International Academy, a charter school in Dearborn Heights, offers single-sex classes as well as coed classes; parents choose whether their
child will be enrolled in the single-sex or coed classes. The school, which has an enrollment of 1,200 students in grades K-11 (K-12 beginning in 2006-2007), was
recently named one of the 15 best charter schools in the country by the Charter School Growth Fund, a non-profit organization which supports charter schools. Ninety
percent of the students are Arab-Americans; some families drive as much as an hour each way, every day, so that their child can attend this school.
Sherrard Elementary School, in Detroit, began offering single-sex classes for 7th-graders in 2006.
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Minnesota
*The Minneapolis Academy in Minneapolis is a charter school which opened in September 2004.
The school is a "dual academy" middle school, enrolling grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Girls are in all-girls
classrooms, boys in all-boys classrooms.
Nicollet Junior High School in Burnsville, is offering single-sex classes in science for 9th-graders. Early results were encouraging, so school officials have expanded the program to 8th-graders.
Cheryl Gores, who teaches both all-girls and mixed-gender classes at the school,
says that "What I've seen from the [all-girls] group and how they've changed
as students has been interesting and quite amazing. They've changed so much as students and become more confident." Ashley Biesemaier, a student in the all-girls class, says the
class has been a very positive experience. The previous year, when Ashley was in a coed class, she got an "F" in science. This year, in an all-girls class, she earned a "B."
She also made Honor Roll for the first time in her life.
Battle Creek Middle School, in St. Paul, began offering single-sex science classes for 7th-graders in the fall of 2005. The success
of the program prompted the administration to expand the single-sex format to English, math, and history in addition to science.
North High, in North St. Paul, offers single-gender classrooms for 9th-graders.
Valley View Middle School in Edina, began offering single-sex classes for eighth-graders in the fall of 2005.
Southview Middle School, also in Edina, began offering single-sex classes in the spring of 2006.
The Sunrise River School (formerly known as The Main Street School) in North Branch, Minnesota, began offering single-gender classes for 4th-grade students in the 2003-2004 school year.
Teacher Sue Howard told us that "the opinions of the parents and the students are overwhelmingly positive."
Central High School in Duluth began offering single-gender classrooms in 2009.
Top
Mississippi
Clarkdale Attendance Center, a K-12 public school about five miles south of Meridian, and literally straddling the border between Clark County and
Lauderdale County (hence the name 'Clarkdale') began offering gender-separate classrooms in the 2005-2006 school year.
In March 2006, Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE, led a professional development seminar for teachers involved in the program, as well
as for teachers leading coed classrooms. Single-sex classrooms are currently offered only for 5th- and 6th-graders, although Jan Miller, principal of the school, told Dr. Sax
that she is considering expanding the program to the K-4 grades.
Flowood Elementary School, northeast of Jackson, began offering gender-separate classrooms in August 2004.
At the invitation of the school district, Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE, led a professional development seminar for teachers involved in the gender-separate classrooms, in July 2004.
In its first year (2004-2005), students enrolled in the program improved compared to their performance the previoius year, and significantly better than
their 5th-grade peers at neighboring Northwest Rankin Middle School. All students in the single-sex program scored either proficient or advanced in reading; they also
made significant advances in language arts and math. The success of the program led Principal Barbara McCool to expand the program: for 2005-2006, both 4th-graders and 5th-graders
can enroll in single-sex classrooms. For 2007-2008, the program continues to enroll 4th- and 5th-graders.
Pearl High, also in Rankin County, began offering single-sex homeroom only, for 9th-graders, in 2005-2006. One rationale given by the
school for single-sex homeroom was to allow students to talk freely about important topics. Our comment: that sounds reasonable, but why just in homeroom class?
In the spring of 2009, we were notified that Oak Grove Central Elementary, in Hernando County (northern Mississippi), offers same-sex (single-gender) classes for 5th-graders in some subjects.
In the fall of 2007, Marianna Prather at the John C. Stennis Institute of Government, Mississippi State University, surveyed schools statewide which offered single-sex classrooms. She found
these additional schools which are offering single-sex classrooms:
Hunt Intermediate School, in the Columbus Municipal School District
Rowan Elementary School, in Hattiesburg
MaGee Middle School and Mendenhall Junior High School, both in Simpson County
Batesville Intermediate School, in the South Panola School District
Strayhorn Elementary and Strayhorn High School, both in Tate County.
Lipsey Middle School, in the Brookhaven school district.
Hickory Flats, in Benton County.
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Missouri
Carman Trails Elementary School, in St. Louis, began offering gender-separate classrooms in 2007. Teachers from Carman Trails attended two-day workshops
led by Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, in 2007 and again in 2008. You
can read a news story about the program at Carmen Trails at this link. The
success of the program led the TODAY show to do a segment on the school: you can watch streaming video of this segment,
hosted by Matt Lauer, at this link. Dr. Chris Raeker, principal at Carman Trails, notified us in March 2009 that other schools in her district are considering adopting the same-sex format.
The Imagine Academy of Academic Success, a public charter school, offers single-gender classrooms.
University Academy, a charter school in Kansas City,
began offering gender-separate classrooms in core subjects for 6th and 7th-graders in the 2003-2004 school year.
Field Elementary, in Columbia, began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007, for 5th-graders only.
Top
Nevada
Manuel J. Cortez Elementary School, Ruben P. Diaz Elementary, and Silvestri Junior High School, all in Las Vegas, launched single-gender classrooms beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.
Cheyenne High School, also in Las Vegas, began offering some single-gender classes in August 2003, for ninth-graders.
The program expanded in 2006-2007, to involve 9th- and 10th-grade students in math, science, English, and social studies.
Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, first led a professional development seminar for
teachers at Cheyenne High in August 2006. Dr. Sax returned to Cheyenne High School in August 2008 to lead another professional development seminar, this time
attended by teachers from Sunrise Acres Elementary, Monaco Middle School, Manuel J. Cortez Elementary, Ruben P. Diaz Elementary, and Frank Kim Elementary, all of which
are offering gender-separate classrooms as of the 2008-2009 school year. Although this full-day workshop took place on the campus of Cheyenne High, it was hosted by administrators from
Manuel J. Cortez Elementary and from Ruben P. Diaz Elementary. Cortez Elementary
and Diaz Elementary now both offer gender-separate classrooms in every classroom in every grade, in grades 1 through 5.
Marion E. Cahlan Elementary School, in North Las Vegas, is administered by Edison Schools. The school began offering
single-gender classrooms in 2007-2008.
Mannion Middle School, also in Las Vegas, has been offering single-sex classes in English since 2006.
Desert Heights Elementary School in Washoe County began offering single-gender classes in 2007-2008. Hug High School in Reno began offering gender-separate classrooms in 2008-2009.
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New Mexico
Pojoaque Valley Intermediate School began offering single-sex classes in 2007.
Staff from the school attended an all-day training led by Dr. Leonard Sax,
executive director of NASSPE, in the spring of 2007.
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New York
In Buffalo, the Harriet Tubman School offers ONLY single-sex classes
for students in the 7th grade. Also in Buffalo, the Houghton Academy
offers ONLY single-sex classes for both 7th and 8th grade students.
Please do not confuse Houghton Academy, P.S.69, with a private
school 75 miles away in Houghton, New York which is also called "Houghton Academy."
Also in Buffalo, the
Lincoln Middle School offers single-sex
classes for 7th- and 8th-grade girls and boys. Buffalo also has a charter school,
the Westminster Charter School, which offers single-sex classes.
*The Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant is an all-boys elementary school
located in a low-income neighborhood in Brooklyn. The school currently enrolls boys in grades K-3.
In 2006, the school moved into a 90,000 square foot facility and continues its expansion to an all-boys
K-8 school. Learn more at the school's web site.
*The Academy of Business & Community Development (ABCD) is an all-boys college preparatory school
which opened in 2005-2006 enrolling 6th grade boys. The school has added one grade each year, with the plan of
enrolling grades 6 through 12 beginning in 2011. More information is available at the school's web site.
*The Eagle Academy for Young Men opened in the Bronx (New York City) in August 2004.
The school targets at-risk African-American boys in grades 9 through 12.
*The Young Women's Leadership School of the Bronx (New York City) opened in August 2004,
following the model of the [original] Young Women's Leadership School across town, in Harlem. For 2008-2009,
the school will enroll about 350 girls in grades 7 - 11. In 2009-2010, the school expects to enroll about 400 girls in grades 7 -12.
*The Urban Assembly Academy for
History and Citizenship for Young Men,
located in the Bronx, opened its doors in the fall of 2005. The school now enrolls young men in grades 9-12.
*The Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women
is an all-girls high school which opened on the lower East Side of Manhattan in the fall of 2005.
*The Urban Assembly School for Criminal Justice for Young Women
is an all-girls high school which opened at 4200 16th Ave in Brooklyn in 2007. In 2008-2009, the school enrolls girls in grades 6 and 7, with plans
to add one grade each year until the school is a grade 6 - 12 school.
*Girls Prep is a charter elementary school on E. Fourth Street on the lower East Side of Manhattan. Girls Prep
opened in August 2005. For 2008-2009, the school enrolls about 170 girls in grades K-3. Ultimately, the school
leaders plan for the school to be a K-5 school serving about 300 girls.
*The Urban Assembly Institute of Math and
Science for Young Women
is an all-girls middle school which opened in Brooklyn in the fall of 2006.
*The Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and *The Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys are both
charter elementary schools located in Albany. Both schools were launched in 2002. The schools originally shared facilities.
However, effective August 2007, the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys is now in a completely separate facility
located several blocks away from the girls' school.
*The Young Women's Leadership School at East 106th and Lexington, in Harlem,
occupies an important place in the history of single-sex public education in the United States.
In the fall of 1996, Anne Rubenstein Tisch helped the New York Public
School System establish a public single-sex girl's school, enrolling grades 7 through 12. The school population is 99% Black
and Hispanic. Girls come from all across the academic spectrum,
including some who were formerly in remedial classes. Most
are from impoverished families. Nevertheless: Attendance rates,
above 90%, are higher than any other school in the district.
Eight classes have now graduated (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). Almost every girl
has been accepted to a four-year
college, and many of them have received full scholarships. Over 90% of the girls going to college are the first
in their family ever to go to college.
*The Young Women's Leadership School, Queens Campus began enrolling girls in grades 7, 8, and 9 in the 2007-2008
school year. The school will add one grade each year until it is enrolling girls in grades 7-12.
*The Young Women's Leadership School, Astoria Campus began enrolling girls in grades 7 and 8 for the 2007-2008
school year. Ultimately the school will enroll girls in grades 7-12, just like the other YWL school in Queens and the YWL Schools
in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Likewise, *The Young Women's Leadership School, Brooklyn opened in the fall of 2008, enrolling girls in grade 6.
The school will add one grade per year until it is a school serving grades 6 through 12.
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North Carolina
Rocky Mount Preparatory School, a public charter school, offers gender-separate classes in grades 6, 7, and 8. In June 2009, this school hosted a
two-day workshop for teachers leading single-gender classrooms. This workshop was attended not only by
teachers from North Carolina but also from Florida, Indiana, Nevada, and Ontario (Canada).
Kimberley Park Elementary began offering single-sex classes for students in grades 2, 3, 4, and 5, in the 2007-2008 school year. Melinda
Shrewsbury, curriculum coordinator at Kimberley Park Elementary, notified us that the teachers leading the single-sex classes all were reading the book
Why Gender Matters, written by NASSPE executive director Leonard Sax, to
help prepare for the challenge of leading single-sex classrooms.
Monroe Middle School in Monroe, began offering single-gender classes in 2009.
Elizabeth City Middle School, in Elizabeth City, began offering
single-sex classrooms in the spring of 2003 and has continued the program since then.
The success of the program in Elizabeth City led the Elizabeth City - Pasquotank Board of Education to introduce
a similar single-gender program at nearby River Road Middle School, also in Elizabeth City, beginning in 2006. "The message we got from Elizabeth City Middle School is that
the students [in the single-gender program] are more focused on academics," said River Road principal Carolyn Jennings.
The Sally Howard School for the Arts and Education in Wilson began offering single-sex classes in 2003-2004. In grades 4 through 6, there are three sections: one all-girls, one all-boys, and one coed.
In grade seven, most classes are single-sex; in grade eight,
all classes are coed.
*Middle College at Bennett
is the first all-girls public school in North Carolina. The school is located on the historic campus of Bennett College for Women.
Middle College at Bennett provides a unique opportunity for female students to maximize their academic and leadership potential.
Students who are disconnected from, dissatisfied with, or disinterested in the traditional high school setting are encouraged to become young aspiring women.
The school provides a learning environment which is characterized by small class size with warm and nurturing school staff.
Guilford County Schools (GCS) provides the teachers and the curriculum; the College provides classroom space.
The school offers access to all courses required for high school graduation. Students may enroll in college level courses with tuition paid by GCS. (This description was provided by GCS personnel.)
McDougle Middle School in Carrboro began offering single-sex classrooms for 7th-graders in January 2006, for math, science,
language arts and social studies. According to teacher Dorothy Works -- a veteran teacher with 31 years' experience -- "some students who had
never spoken up before have become frequent hand-raisers." The biggest improvements have been in the girls-only science classrooms and the boys-only
language arts classes. The success of the program has already prompted teachers at Chapel Hill's Phillips Middle School to consider launching
their own single-sex program.
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a public magnet school in Durham, began offering an all-girls computer science class
in the fall of 2005.
East Iredell Middle School in Statesville, began offering
single-sex classes in science, social studies, and advanced
math for 7th-graders, in 2003-2004. Five teachers, leading
a total of 12 classes, are involved in the single-gender program.
*Middle College at NC A&T, in Guilford County, is an all-boys high school
launched in the fall of 2003. The school is open to
high school boys who have failed two or more grades or have
dropped out of school. These are boys who in most cases are
unlikely to graduate without some special intervention. Classes
are taught by regular teachers employed by Guilford County
Public Schools, although the school itself is located on the
campus of North Carolina A&T. College students, serving as mentors,
are paired one-on-one with high school boys.
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Ohio
In the summer of 2003, Stewart Elementary School was reinvented as the *Stewart Academy
for Girls, an all-girls neighborhood public school in a low-income neighborhood in Toledo. In the
2002-2003 school year, only 19% of the 4th-grade girls scored proficient on the state test. Two years later
-- after the all-girls format had been in place for two years -- 91% of the girls scored
proficient. No change in class size, no change in funding. According to administrator Suzanne Muggy,
the school has maintained its high standing for the past four years. The success of this elementary school
clearly inspired Toledo Superintendent Eugene Sanders. When he became CEO of Cleveland
Public Schools in 2007, one of his first actions was to establish FOUR single-sex public schools
in Cleveland -- two on the East Side, two on the West Side -- opening in the fall of 2007. The four elementary schools
which opened in August 2007 are:
- *Douglas MacArthur Girls Leadership Academy, 4401 Valleyside Road
- *Kenneth Clement Boys Leadership Academy, 14311 Woodworth Road
- *Valley View Boys Leadership Academy, 17200 Valleyview Avenue
- *Warner Girls Leadership Academy, 8315 Jeffries Avenue
For more
background about the four new single-sex elementary schools in Cleveland, see this article from Catalyst Cleveland.
These four schools have received considerable press coverage, in part because of the
haste with which CEO Sanders has pushed the opening of these schools. One new school which has been
overlooked by the media is the *Ginn Academy, named after a former high school football coach.
The Ginn Academy is an all-boys high school which opened in August 2007 in a renovated school building at 1740 E. 32nd St.
*Athena: School of Excellence for Girls is an all-girls middle school in Youngstown.
*Alpha: School of Excellence for Boys is the brother school to Athena in Youngstown.
*Harmony Community School is a charter school in Cincinnati which enrolls students in grades 7 -12.
Although the school was founded in 1998 as a coed charter school, the leadership "reinvented" the school as a dual
academy: beginning in the fall of 2007, all girls are in girls-only classes, and boys are in boys-only classes, for
ALL classes and ALL activities, including lunch and physical education. Dr. Sax, director of NASSPE,
led an intensive two-day, 14-hour workshop for the school's faculty prior to the launch of the single-sex format in August 2007.
*The Chase Academy for Communication Arts launched in Columbus, Ohio, in September 2004.
The Academy enrolls both girls and boys, in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Students are in gender-separate classes for all subjects.
*Charity Adams Earley Academy for Girls is an all-girls neighborhood elementary school which opened
in Dayton in August 2005. The success and popularity of the school prompted Dayton Public Schools to open
*Dayton Boys' Prep, an all-boys neighborhood elementary school, in the fall of 2006.
Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE, led professional development workshops for faculty for the girls' school in the summer
of 2005 and for the boys' school in the summer of 2006.
Massillon Middle School in Massillon, began offering single-sex classrooms for
5th- and 6th-grade in the 2006-2007 school year.
About one-third of 5th- and 6th-graders, chosen at random, participate in the single-sex program.
Single-sex classes are offered in
math, science, language arts and social studies. Electives remain coed.
Then-Principal Diane Lukac remarked in November 2006 that the program
was "exceeding expectations."
"Participation levels are high, discipline problems are down, and teachers are enjoying [the format]," she said.
"You go into an all-girls math class and every hand is in the air. You go into a mixed class and you don't see that."
Math teacher Amy Lustig has observed that the girls' classroom is often very quiet. "Sometimes, you can come in
and hear a pin drop," she says. "Boys accomplish the same things," she says, "they just do it in a noisier environment."
Linmoor Middle School and Champion Middle School, both in Columbus,
began offering single-sex classrooms in most subjects in 2005-2006.
Edison Elementary School, in Dayton, began offering single-sex classrooms in August 2005.
The Harry Davis Middle School, a middle school in East
Cleveland, began offering single-sex classes several years
ago. Principal Sherree Ray told reporter Jennifer Smith that the result has been higher test scores and
fewer discipline problems. "There are no more shenanigans,"
she said. "It's really powerful for both sexes."
Sherwood Middle School in Columbus, is offering single-sex classrooms in core academic classes
for 7th- and 8th-graders.
Withrow University High School, in Cincinnati, offers single-sex classes in all subjects for 9th- and 10th-graders.
Lincoln Elementary School in Toledo was reinvented in the fall of 2003 as
the *Lincoln Academy for Boys.
The Africentric School, an elementary school in Columbus,
established single-sex classrooms for 4th- and 5th-graders
in 2002-2003. Teachers immediately noticed an improvement
in the classroom atmosphere. "Classroom disruptions have
decreased," said 4th-grade teacher Sandra Alexander.
"The male students are reading," she added. "You
have to peel the books out of their hands." Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year,
the program was expanded
to include the 3rd grade, so that all students in 3rd, 4th,
and 5th grade were in single-gender classrooms beginning
in 2003-2004 (and that is still the case as of 2007-2008).
Teacher Sandy Alexander said that the biggest thrill for her
was seeing the boys enjoy reading and writing. The boys'
interest in reading picked up after she brought in books that
were more interesting to the boys. With more reading came
stronger writing skills.
The most recent available test scores show a huge improvement. In science,
83.7% of 4th graders passed Ohio's proficiency test, compared
with a pass rate of just 35.6% when the school was coed. Reading
scores improved by 28 percentile ranks.
Principal Stan Embry has also noted a big improvement in discipline,
with fewer expulsions and suspensions since the introduction
of the single-sex format.
Arlington Park Elementary, also in Columbus, launched
an all-boys class in September 2002. The class was organized
by Principal Joyce Hackett primarily to address discipline
problems with eight boys. Hackett hand-picked both the eight
boys who were struggling, and the 16 higher-performing boys
who she thought would help to balance the class.
In June 2003, Ms. Hackett announced that the program had been
a success. "They have really made tremendous progress,"
Hackett said of the boys in the class. "The boys learned
to interact with one another. They said they enjoyed the opportunity
to talk about guy stuff."
Note: NASSPE does not endorse programs
such as those at Arlington Park, in which "troublemakers"
are sent to single-sex classes in hopes of improving discipline.
The California
experience 1997-1999 suggested that this approach may
be less effective, and is certainly less robust, than enrolling a more diverse population
in single-sex classrooms.
Southmoor Middle School in Columbus began offering single-gender classes in all grades in 2004-2005.
Arts IMPACT Middle School in Victorian Village (Franklin County) began offering single-sex classes, for seventh-graders only, in 2004-2005.
All three middle schools in Newark began offering single-sex classes in the 2005-2006 school year.
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Oklahoma
McClain High School, in Tulsa, has offered single-gender classrooms in math and English since 2008. In June 2009, Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director
of NASSPE, led a two-day training workshop for teachers at the school about best practice for single-gender classrooms. He also led an evening event for parents, at which time he answered questions such as:
"The real world is coed; school should prepare kids for the real world; therefore school should be coed, right?" His presentation for parents was featured in
an article in the local Tulsa newspaper.
Gilcrease Middle School, also in Tulsa (and a feeder school for McClain High) also provides some single-gender classrooms.
In Oklahoma City, both Roosevelt Middle School and Tulakes Elementary School offer single-gender classrooms.
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Oregon
*The Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women, in North Portland, launched in the 2007-2008 school year. The district also launched a boys' school at the same time, but
unfortunately they did not follow the NASSPE Checklist for launching a single-gender school. The district's recruitment efforts
were unsuccessful, and the boys' school was closed in the spring of 2009. We have learned a great deal at NASSPE about the importance of educating parents, particularly
about the benefits of the single-gender format for BOYS. If you fail to do that, your boys' program may fail due to lack of parent support, as happened in this case.
Gaston Junior High School, in Gaston, began offering single-gender classrooms in the fall of 2005.
"We have found that the kids get more involved if we segregate them by sex," said Mike Durbin, Gaston
principal, according to a report in 2006 by journalist Sophia Tareen in The Oregonian. "They seem more engaged."
The Community Schoolhouse, a charter high school in Salem, began offering
single-gender classrooms in the 2003-2004 school year. Students are in
gender-separate classes for math, science, history, and language
arts. Other classes are coed. Teachers use the same curriculum
for girls and boys, but they are able to customize their teaching
style to the gender of the students. "Boys are more questioning,"
teacher and school founder Molly Kellar says. "Girls
spend longer expressing themselves on a topic." School
director Tom DeJardin reports that he's already seeing improvement
in the areas of discipline and attention. More than 300 students are on a waiting list for the 30 to 40 slots that open each year.
*The Mount Scott Learning Centers are an alternative middle
school in Portland. In the 2002-2003 school year, the school
experimented with single-gender classrooms, with good results
-- especially for the girls. Their math and reading scores
were 30 to 40 percent higher than the previous year's scores.
And the girls at the top of their classes had test scores
that "went through the roof," according to teacher
Michelle Wagner Coniff. "When the girls and boys are
together, they're both psychotic," says Jackie Nagel,
a counselor at Mt Scott. Parent Jeanie Shaw saw a vast
difference in her eight-grade daughter. "It's been amazing,"
said Shaw of her daughter, Sarah Leckron. "She does her
work. She goes to school every day. She doesn't cuss the teachers
out, she doesn't fight with the kids [anymore]."
You can learn more about the Mt. Scott Learning Centers at
the school's web site.
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Pennsylvania
McKinley Elementary School, in Erie, began offering single-sex classes in reading and math for 5th-graders, in 2006.
Nine public schools in Philadelphia offer single-sex educational opportunities.
One of those schools, the *Philadelphia High School for Girls, is a selective school.
Two of those schools -- Wright and Pratt -- are coed schools which offer single-sex classes.
Two other schools -- *Pepper and *Bethune -- are "dual academies", i.e.
schools which enroll both girls and boys but in which girls and boys attend separate classes for all subjects.
*Boys' Latin Philadelphia Charter School, (formerly
known as the Southwest Philadelphia Academy for Boys), opened in the fall of 2007. This school is NOT operated by Victory
schools and is completely independent.
The *Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is another "dual academy" --
girls in girls' classrooms, boys in boys' classrooms -- which opened in the fall of 2007, initially enrolling grades K-3. This
school is operated by Victory Schools, which also operates Wright, Pratt, Pepper, Bethune, FitzSimons, and Rhodes, also
in Philadelphia, The Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is the only charter school operated by Victory in the city of
Philadelphia; the other Victory schools are all regular public schools. The remaining two schools operated by Victory Schools
-- *FitzSimons High School for Boys and *Rhodes High School for Girls -- have completely single-sex campuses.
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South Carolina
South Carolina leads the nation when it comes to offering parents
the choice of single-sex education within public schools. In the spring of 2007, State Superintendent Jim Rex
asked David Chadwell, a member of the NASSPE Advisory Board,
to help coordinate single-gender initiatives statewide.
Mr. Chadwell became the first person appointed
to any statewide office anywhere in the United States with the primary mission of promoting single-sex education in public schools.
As of February 2009, 215 public schools in South Carolina offer single-gender classrooms. For a complete and up-to-date list of those schools,
please visit the South Carolina Department of Education, Office of Single-Gender Initiatives,
which Mr. Chadwell directs.
Somewhat surprisingly, only two public schools in South Carolina -- the *Langston Charter Middle School, in Greenville,
and *Morningside Middle School in Charleston County -- count as single-sex schools,
with all students enrolled in single-sex classrooms. All the other schools on Mr. Chadwell's list are coed schools offering selected single-gender classrooms.
None of our counts include include the all-girls Willow Lane School or the all-boys Birchwood High (both in Columbia, South Carolina),
even though these schools are single-sex public schools, because both these schools are reserved primarily for girls who have been convicted
of a criminal offense or otherwise referred by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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Tennessee
Three middle schools in Sumner County began offering single-gender classes in the 2007-2008 school year: Hunter Middle School, White House Middle School,
and Portland Middle School.
Kingsbury Middle School, in Memphis, began offering gender-separate classrooms in 2007, in math, language arts, science and social studies. The principal at Kingsbury, Ronnie Mackin, spoke about
his school's experience at the 2008 NASSPE Conference in Memphis.
Robinson Middle School, in Kingsport, has been offering single-sex classes in all three grade levels
since the 2006-2007 school year. The school is using the book Why Gender Matters, by
NASSPE director Dr. Leonard Sax, as a guide for teachers in the single-gender classrooms.
Lanier Middle School began offering single-sex classrooms in the 2005-2006 school year, under
the leadership of principal Terrence Brown.
Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis, began offering single-sex classrooms for girls and boys
in 9th grade in the fall of 2007, for all core classes: math, science, English, math, and social studies. In July 2007,
Dr. Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE, met with school board members and district leaders
to explore the possibility of more Memphis public schools offering single-sex opportunities.
The Campus School is a Memphis public school for students
in grades 1 through 6. It's part of the Memphis school district,
but located on the campus of the University of Memphis and
operated by the University of Memphis College of Education
as a teaching laboratory. Gwen Hewitt says the single-sex
classes have helped her daughter Tori Roseman to improve her
grades. "The positive synergy can't be equaled. It offers
the girls an opportunity to give each other support. They're
more directed and more focussed." Another mother, Edith
Gholson, agrees. "Girls who were shy, meek and mild are
beginning to take their positions as school leaders. They
don't defer to the boys." The school is already shattering
gender stereotypes. "I thought the boys would be real
competitive with each other," says art teacher Mary Larrick.
"But if someone doesn't understand the directions, they
are very, very helpful to each other. Their kindness toward
each other has impressed me."
Caldwell Elementary is another Memphis public elementary
school (K-5) which also has some single-sex classes.
West Cheatham Elementary, northwest of Ashland City,
began offering single-gender classes to 4th-graders in the
fall of 2003. According to principal
Amber Raymer, "The girls seem not to be as shy when answering
questions. The boys seem to be cooperating more with each
other."
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Texas
*The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders opened in Austin in August 2007, enrolling 230 girls
in grades 6 and 7. The plan is to add one grade each year until the school becomes a grade 6 through 12 school.
Because of the great demand for places, a lottery was held to determine which girls would be allowed to attend.
No favorites: the granddaughter of Ann Richards herself applied for a spot, but lost out in the lottery. You can
read more in this newspaper
story about the launch of the school.
*The Irma Lerma Rangel School
opened in August 2004 with girls in grades 7 and 8, adding one grade each succeeding year.
The school now enrolls girls in grades
6-12, with a full complement of Advanced Placement course offerings.
Like the Ann Richards School in Austin, the Irma Lerma Rangel School is associated with the
Foundation for the Education
of Young Women, which also supports the *San Antonio Young Women's Leadership Academy (in San Antonio of course), and the *Lubbock School for Young Women Leaders (in Lubbock).
Dr. Leonard Sax, NASSPE executive director, has led professional development training for teachers at the Irma Lerma Rangel School.
Ozen High School, in Beaumont, began offering single-sex classes for 9th-graders, in the 2007-2008 school year.
Metzger Middle School, in San Antonio (Judson ISD), began offering single-sex classrooms
in the 2004-2005 school year, under the leadership of principal Dawn Brown, and has expanded the program subsequently.
The Lowery Freshman Center, in Dallas, began offering single-sex classes in 2007-2008.
*Pro-Vision is an all-boys public school in Houston.
The school was founded by Roynell Young, who continues to serve as CEO. The full name of the school, which serves
boys in grades 6 through 8, is the
Pro-Vision All Male Charter Middle School.
The *William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity Preparatory
Academy for Boys -- usually referred to as "the WALIPP
Prep Academy" -- is another all-boys school in Houston targeting at-risk African-American boys.
The *KIPP Polaris Academy is the third all-boys public school in Houston. KIPP Polaris
is a charter middle school which opened in the fall of 2007.
Janie Stark Elementary School, in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, began offering single-sex classrooms in 2007-2008.
Zundelowitz Junior High School, in Wichita Falls, began offering single-gender classes in math in 2009.
Poe Middle School, in San Antonio (SAISD), has been offering single-sex classes
for the seventh and eighth grades since the 2003-2004 school year, in all the core subjects: language
arts, math, science, and social studies.
DeSoto West Junior High in DeSoto (a suburb of Dallas), began
offering single-gender classrooms in the fall of 2004.
The Caney Creek High School, in Houston, began offering
gender-separate classes for 9th- and 10th-graders in the 2002-2003
school year.
Tennyson Middle School, in Waco, began offering
single-sex classes in 2006. In 2008, administrators reported that students in the single-gender classes were
achieving significantly better grades and test scores in the single-gender classrooms than they had achieved in coed classrooms.
Top
Virginia
Woodbridge Middle School in Woodbridge, Virginia, began offering gender-separate classes in the 2007-2008 school year. Dr. Leonard Sax,
executive director of NASSPE, led three training sessions for teachers at the school in the year leading up to the launch of the program. Dr. Sax also led a parents' forum
to address common questions and misconceptions about gender-separate education. The program appears to be off to
a good start, according to principal Skyles Calhoun. Teachers are adapting well, and students are thriving.
"I was surprised at how different it is," said Jennifer Peel, who teaches several all-girl language arts classes and one co-ed class this year.
"I find that my teaching's a little different, even though I picked girls to teach because of my teaching style." Principal Skyles Calhoun will give a presentation
at the 2009 NASSPE conference, sharing what he has learned about how to launch and sustain such a program.
Forrest Elementary School, in Hampton, began offering single-sex classes for 3rd-grade boys in the 2005-2006 school year,
primarily in hopes of decreasing discipline problems. The "results exceeded expectations," according to Principal Sherry Buchanan,
so the school added a 4th-grade all-boys class and a 3rd-grade all-girls class for the 2006-2007 school year. Buchanan recalls seeing
positive results within weeks. Discipline referrals plummeted. In the coed 3rd-grade class, Buchanan usually sees at least two discipline referrals
each week. She had only three referrals from the all-boy classes during the entire 2005-2006 school year. (Students were randomly assigned to the
single-sex or coed classes, so the lower rate of discipline referrals in the single-sex classes cannot reflect a selection bias.) Buchanan says that the school may expand the single-sex
format to the 5th grade and 2nd grade, as well as adding more all-girl classes. "Some parents alre already asking whether the boys will move up to 5th grade
together," she said.
Mechanicsville Elementary School, in Hanover County, launched single-gender classes
in their fourth grade, in August 2006. Principal Sammy Fudge said that his staff visited two other
Virginia schools which offer single-gender classes -- Patrick Henry Elementary in Richmond, and
Laburnum Elementary in Henrico County --
in preparation for the new program.
Under the leadership of principal Steven Parker, Cedar Lee Middle School in Bealeton began offering
single-sex classes in English and language arts, for eighth-graders, in the fall of 2005.
Culpeper Middle School in Culpeper, began offering single-sex classes for 8th-graders, only in English, in 2006-2007. "The girls
are much more willing to interact," says teacher Mindy McCallum. "They actually want to be in the class, which is huge."
Henderson Middle
School in Richmond has been offering single-gender classes
for 8th graders since 2003. Henderson Middle School has more
recently expanded the voluntary program to 6th- and 7th-grade classes. Core subjects
are in same-sex classes, while electives, physical education,
and lunch are coed.
Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington offers a "Science
for Girls" class for girls only.
Achievable Dream Academy in Newport News began offering
girls-only classes in the 2002-2003 school year, initially
just for math and science. "There's no doubt
it's better," says assistant principal David Creamer
of the single-sex format. "[The girls] are willing to
take risks and speak out" in the single-gender class.
Discipline referrals among the girls in the single-gender
group have dropped by 80% since the change in format.
Spratley Middle School, in Hampton Roads, began offering
single-gender classes for eighth-graders in fall 2003.
Patrick Henry Elementary in South Richmond has offered a boys-only class for several years.
(A girls-only class was discontinued because of lack of demand.)
Boys who are enrolled in the all-boys program usually begin in the third grade and stay through the end of fifth grade.
In the all-boys class, boys "are free to be themselves," teacher Greg Stallings says.
He drills the boys on the social graces, on behaving like gentlemen.
Stallings has observed that as the boys put his lessons into practice,
"they are getting noticed by the girls. . . The girls are gravitating toward my boys."
William Fleming High School in Roanoke began offering an all-boys American Literature class, and an all-girls
geometry class, in 2007-2008.
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Washington
Camas High School began offering single-sex classes in 2006-2007. For 2007-2008, single-sex classes are offered for students
in 9th and 10th grades. Not far away, Glenwood Heights Primary School, in the Battle Ground School District, began offering single-sex classes in 2007-2008.
Heritage High School, in Clark County, began offering single-gender classrooms in 2006-2007,
in science, English, and history. Teachers have documented academic improvement in all three sections
(two female, one male). Teacher Matt Johnson adds that "the guys are far less likely to put each other down"
in the all-male classroom. "They are a lot more compassionate because there are no females to impress."
Washington Middle School, in Olympia, offers single-gender classes in selected subjects for sixth-graders. The school has offered girls-only technology classes since the late 1990's. The success of that program led the school to expand the gender-separate format into other classes.
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West Virginia
The Stonewall Jackson Middle School, on Charleston's West Side, began offering single-gender
classes in core subjects for all grades in the fall of 2004. Results
have been positive. The number of students making A's jumped from 30% to 36%,
while the number receiving D's and F's dropped from 24% to 14%. Carol Thom, director of professional
development for Kanawha County Schools, notified us that the results led
East Bank Middle School and Dunbar Middle School
to launch single-sex classrooms beginning in 2005-2006.
When Leonard Sax, director of NASSPE,
led a professional development seminar for Kanawha County Schools in the fall of 2006, and again
in the spring of 2007,
his workshop was attended not only by faculty from Jackson Middle, East Bank Middle, and Dunbar Middle, but also from
Anne Bailey Elementary in St. Alban's and Glenwood Middle
in Charleston which have also begun offering single-sex classrooms.
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Wisconsin
Marshall Middle School in Janesville began offering single-sex classes for 6th and 8th graders in
the 2007-2008 school year. Both NASSPE Executive Director Leonard Sax as well as
NASSPE Advisory Board member David Chadwell have led professional development seminars at Marshall Middle School to help the teachers prepare for single-sex classrooms.
Robinson Elementary School, in Beloit, began offering single-gender classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
Tomah Middle School, in Tomah, began offering single-sex classes in pre-algebra, in the 2006-2007 school year.
Student Kayla Marnach approves. "You don't have the boys messing around," she says. "I just think it's a bit more relaxed
without boys in the room," says her classmate Adria Gebhardt.
John Long Middle School, in Grafton, began offering single-sex classes for 8th-graders in 2006-2007.
Plymouth High School, in Plymouth, began offering an all-boys literature class in 2008.
Arrowhead High School, in Merton, began offering single-sex classes in 9th-grade English
and 10th-grade biology in 2006-2007.
Kennedy Middle School, in Germantown, has been offering all-boys classes in reading and social studies
since 2001. This program is unusual in that the school has never offered any corresponding all-girls class. The program is now
in its sixth year.
*The Spectrum High School for Girls in Milwaukee targets at-risk high-school girls. The school
enrolls about 100 girls. Most of the girls have rejected or been
rejected by other Milwaukee public high schools. Most of the
girls are at least two years behind grade level in most subjects.
The school was originally launched as a non-profit private
undertaking in 1975, but became part of the Milwaukee Public
School system in 1992.
Fond du Lac High School began offering single-sex classrooms for 9th-graders in 2006-2007.
Osceola Middle School began offering some gender-separate classrooms in the 2008-2009 school year.
Burlington High School, in the Burlington Area School District, began offering biology as an all-boys or all-girls class
in 2007. Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of NASSPE, led a full-day workshop for all teachers at the high school
in 2007.
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