Separating Boys and Girls Can Work Wonders Separating Boys and Girls Can Work Wonders

By ROGER

LOOKING BACK, I was a bit of a nerd in high school.

I wanted to excel in the classroom, raising my hand to answer questions on “The Grapes of Wrath” or the Civil War. I completed algebra, chemistry and history homework, no matter how many hours it took. My report cards made my parents proud.

And I didn’t care if I lacked the newest clothes or best fashion sense (something I still fumble with today). Back then, the only person I had to impress was – me.

That’s what happens when you attend an all-boys high school, as I did in Washington, D.C. The college prep curriculum was intense, rigorous and expensive – without a scholarship, I would’ve gone somewhere else. The school had a dress code: shirt and tie or turtleneck, plus a sports coat, so there was no contest to outdo your classmates. At a time of raging hormones and fast-growing acne, in class, at least, I could focus on the lessons. The girls could wait until after school, at dances or other social events.

Decades ago, it was common for Catholic high schools to segregate their schools by gender. Nowadays, quite a few public elementary, middle and high schools around the country want to experiment with same-sex education, hoping it will dramatically boost test scores and discipline.

That push, however, has caused a firestorm in Greene County, Ga., where the superintendent wants to convert the entire district, not just a few schools, to the single-sex format. It would be the first systemwide change in the country.

According to a wire story this week, Shawn McCollough hopes to reverse poor test scores, high dropout rates and large numbers of teen pregnancies. He believes single-sex schooling will be a useful tool in meeting those goals. The school board agreed to the change for fall 2008. Parents, teachers and students are angry, saying the change is being forced down their throats.

It’s unclear whether such a radical switch complies with federal law. But Leonard Sax, executive director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, told me Thursday night he questions the legality.

Besides, converting the whole district should never be a goal, Sax said in a phone interview. Superintendent McCollough is “saying to parents, ‘I know better than you do what’s best for your children,’

” Sax said. “It’s ridiculous to say either single-sex or coeducational is the best choice. Parents are the best qualified” to make that decision.

Sax, of course, does tout the benefits of same-sex schooling. Certain studies suggest that girls and boys in single-sex schools scored higher than students in coed schools.

A November 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Education said, “… the results are equivocal. Sax says at least 366 public schools nationwide are either single-sex or offer some single-sex classes. (He’s not including schools that offer single-sex classes only for gym, health or sex education.) About a half-dozen such schools are listed in Virginia on his organization’s Web site, singlesexschools.org/home.php.

There’s no guarantee that single-sex schools will transform student achievement. For underperforming schools, however, it’s probably worth a shot. I know that for one nerdy, Afro-wearing teen, it certainly didn’t hurt.

Roger Chesley is associate editor of The Pilot’s editorial page. Reach him at (757) 446-2329 or at roger.chesley@ pilotonline.com.

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