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TPS Single-Gender Schools Serve As Example of Education Reforms: Michigan Leaders May Allow Comparable Institutions

Posted on: Monday, 26 June 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Ignazio Messina, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Jun. 26--When Toledo Public Schools decided to transform two academically struggling elementary schools into single-gender buildings, officials knew the switch would be a challenge.

After three years -- the first two of which were a particular struggle for the all-male Lincoln Academy for Boys -- district leaders are seeing some increasingly positive results in test scores from this past school year.

"Our preliminary test results for the year say we met the goals that we set for ourselves in the fall and we exceeded some goals," said Karen Sue Smith, assistant principal at Lincoln Academy.

Interest in the implementation of single-gender schools like Lincoln and the all-girl Stewart Academy, which has mostly occurred at urban schools like Toledo Public, is growing.

Michigan lawmakers now are considering giving schools in their state the option of having single-gender schools. Toledo Public officials say educators across the state line should consider Toledo's experience as a test case.

"Oh, I could share a lot with people from Michigan," said William Keaton, a 35-year educator who is principal at Toledo's Stewart Academy for Girls.

"I have found about 97 factors that are involved in the success [of single-gender schools], including knowing your community, marketing, information-sharing, and collaborating with government and religious organizations," Mr. Keaton said.

The Michigan Senate approved a measure earlier this month that amends the state's Civil Rights Act to delete a state prohibition against gender-separate schools, effectively opening the door for all-boys and all-girls schools like those in Toledo's central city.

The legislation, which requires "comparable" programs for both sexes, now goes to the Michigan House. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has indicated support for single-gender schools under certain circumstances.

The idea is likely to be explored in the state's urban districts where, generally, the poorest schools perform the worst and charter schools have attracted thousands of students away from traditional public schools.

Detroit Public Schools Superintendent William Coleman III publicly has supported single-gender schools as one of the tools that could be used to battle declining enrollment and high dropout rates.

Whether a same-gender school would begin operating somewhere in southeast Michigan, however, is doubted by some local educators.

"I think that there is a place for single-gender education," said Jeff Humason, principal of Whiteford High School in Ottawa Lake, Mich.

"I think if it is done properly it can be a good thing ... if you look at St. John's Jesuit in Toledo, and that's middle school and high school, they have had great success."

But Mr. Humason added it probably was unlikely that suburban or rural districts like his would be opening an all-boys or all-girls school anytime soon, even if they could.

How boys, girls learn Most research supports the claims that boys and girls learn differently and perform better in different subjects.

"Boys need to have more hands-on, more manipulative activities, and more time to move and more space to move in," Ms. Smith said. "Boys are typically more visual learners. They are usually not word-oriented ... and boys should be noisier, and that does not mean they are misbehaved."

When former Toledo Public Superintendent Eugene Sanders converted Lincoln and Stewart to single-gender schools, there was an almost immediate improvement in academic performance and behavior at the girls' schools, said Suzanne Muggy, assistant principal at Stewart.

Stewart, which is temporarily at the former Warren Elementary on Woodruff Avenue while its building on Avondale Avenue is razed and rebuilt, made the greatest gains in its sixth-grade state tests.

During the 2004-2005 school year, 89.4 percent of the girls achieved a "proficient" rating or better in reading; 80.4 percent were proficient or better in writing, and 59.6 percent were proficient or better in math.

Those scores were a marked improvement over the 2003-2004 year, when only 17.2 percent were proficient or better in reading; 75.9 percent were proficient or better in writing, and 34.5 percent were proficient or better in math.

This past school year, Ohio schools took a new generation of state exams called "achievement tests" and not "proficiency tests."

Officials stressed it is wrong to compare the passing rates of achievement tests and proficiency tests.

However, this year 81.1 percent of sixth-grade girls at Stewart passed the reading exam, while only 35.1 percent passed the math exam.

Substantial gains Diane Irving, Toledo Public's assistant superintendent for elementary education, said Lincoln's test scores were disappointing the first two years, but the school's students did make some substantial gains this past year.

"I think the whole staff was able to focus on the necessary intervention strategies and I think they had a tremendous amount of support from the community," she said. "The research tells us the school needs consistent leadership and staffing for five years and we haven't had that. So until we have, I don't know if we can declare success or failure."

Ms. Irving added: "Right now we are on the upswing with them."

Fifty-four percent of third graders, for example, passed the third-grade math achievement test, according to preliminary results that will not be official for several weeks. Last year, 36.6 percent passed the same exam.

The fourth-grade writing achievement test showed the greatest gains. Just under 77 percent of the boys passed, according to the preliminary results, compared to 37.5 percent the previous year.

Some research suggests that students perform better -- both academically and behaviorally -- in a single-gender classroom, but skeptics say that research usually is based on private schools.

Lincoln, which ended the year with 186 students, is ranked in "academic emergency" by the state -- the lowest category and the equivalent of an F. It also missed a critical federal standard requiring it show "adequate yearly progress" among different subgroups of students.

Stewart is ranked as a "continuous improvement" school, which is the equivalent of a C on the state's five-tier ranking system, and met the adequate yearly progress goal.

The official ratings for the 2005-2006 school year will be released in August.

School officials from Columbus, Dayton, and even Japan have toured Toledo Public's two single-gender schools.

Mr. Keaton said he is so confident in the concept, he extends an invitation to any Michigan school official who would like to explore single-gender schools.

"We would love to have anyone come here," he said.

"We will show them what we've done to be successful."

Contact Ignazio Messina at: imessina@theblade.com or 419-724-6171.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Blade

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