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Schools

Ga. district first to switch to all single-sex schools

Superintendent cites years of low test scores.

Greene County School District superintendent Shawn McCollough says the radical move to all single-sex education was necessary to combat low test scores and other problems.
	[AP photo]

GREENSBORO, Ga. - A rural Georgia county is set to become the first school district in the nation to go entirely single-sex, with boys and girls in separate classrooms.

Greene County's radical decision to overhaul the system next fall was born of desperation from years of poor test scores, soaring dropout rates and high numbers of teen pregnancies.

"At the rate we're moving, we're never going to catch up," superintendent Shawn McCollough told parents in an impassioned speech last week.

The School Board's decision angered parents, students and teachers, who say they weren't consulted. Leonard Sax, one of the nation's foremost proponents of single-sex education, warned that the board has gone too far and called the move illegal.

The measure, approved two weeks ago, applies to the high school, the middle school and both elementary schools. It exempts only the preschool and a charter school, which is public but operates independently.

"I am outraged," said Tammi Freeman, who has two children at the high school. "I am disgusted. It's making our county look like our kids are trouble when they're not."

The pine-shrouded county of about 14,400 people between Atlanta and Augusta is about 70 percent black, and more than three-quarters of the 2,000 students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Many county residents made their living at clothing and fabric mills until the industry disappeared. Now, the area has become a magnet for wealthy retirees in developments along the shore of Lake Oconee, with the big employers the Reynolds Plantation luxury golf resort community and the Ritz-Carlton lodge.

Last year, the students scored an average of 1,168 on the SAT, far below the state average of 1,458 and the national average of 1,495. The high school has been ranked 332nd out of 369 in Georgia.

McCollough pointed to research showing that boys and girls learn differently and said separating them will allow teachers to tailor their lessons. Also, boys won't misbehave as much because they will no longer be trying to impress the girls, and the girls will be more likely to speak up in class because they won't be afraid to look smart in front of the boys, he said.

Boys and girls will be in separate classrooms in the elementary schools. Boys and girls in grades seven through 12 will attend separate schools.

Sax, head of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, said that while single-sex schools and classrooms are on the increase, he knows of no other community that has converted its entire school system. Federal law allows single-sex classrooms or schools, but parents must also have the option of publicly funded coeducation for their children, Sax said.

"This is the worst kind of publicity for our movement," he said. "It misses the whole point. Our movement is about choice. One size does not fit all. Even a small school district needs to provide choice."

U.S. officials "do not have sufficient facts to determine if the district would be in compliance" with federal law, said Education Department spokeswoman Samara Yudof.

Districts across the United States have been switching to single-sex education since federal officials issued rules to ease the process in 2006. Nationally, at least 366 public schools are either entirely single-sex or have single-sex classrooms, Sax said. In the Tampa Bay area, schools in Spring Hill, Clearwater and St. Petersburg are among those offering single-sex classrooms.

The charter school, Lake Oconee Academy, will remain coed. Governed by a committee of parents and community leaders, it opened last fall amid protests from black residents who said it brings back segregation. The school has a fixed enrollment area centered on the mostly white, well-to-do lakefront area.

Not all parents and teachers oppose the move.

"Sometimes big changes are needed for big results. The teaching staff I talked to are willing to work hard and make it work," said Sherry Shutze, who has taught at Union Point Elementary for nine years.

Dwain Evans said he is thrilled his three children will have a chance to attend single-sex schools: "If we continue to do status quo, we can't expect any better outcome."

[Last modified February 25, 2008, 23:43:52]