{"id":21123,"date":"2014-01-13T10:02:41","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T15:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=21123"},"modified":"2014-01-13T10:19:25","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T15:19:25","slug":"why-florida-wants-to-expand-single-gender-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/01\/13\/why-florida-wants-to-expand-single-gender-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Florida Wants To Expand Single-Gender Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"These<\/a>

Gina Jordan\/StateImpact Florida<\/p>

These boys are part of the All Male E.A.G.L.E. Academy at Bond Elementary School in Tallahassee. The acronym stands for Extraordinary Ambitious Gentlemen Leading in Excellence.<\/p><\/div>\n

A handful of public schools in Florida have either all-girls or all-boys classrooms.\u00a0More could be coming.<\/p>\n

Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, is behind a bill that would have one school in each school district <\/a>offer only single sex classes. The proposed legislation would create a pilot project in designated districts for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the idea that children all learn differently, this is a way that we can provide those parents – that don\u2019t have the resources to send their students to a private school or a parochial school that has a gender specific setting – a local public school where they have access to it,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n

A handful of public schools around the state already have single sex classrooms.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The ACLU questions whether every school is following federal law, which requires that all children have access to equal educational programs.<\/p>\n

In May of 2012, the ACLU sent a letter<\/a> asking the Florida Department of Education to investigate whether those programs provide equal access.<\/p>\n

The state chose not to look into it.<\/p>\n

Now, the ACLU is campaigning against single sex classes<\/a> around the country.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrell<\/a>

John O'Connor \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p>

Ferrell Preparatory Academy eighth grader Destiny Jackson.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that parents should have the opportunity to give their students an inferior education,\u201d said ACLU strategist Allie Bohm. \u201cMany of the programs are based on and perpetuate gender stereotypes<\/a>, which limit opportunities for boys and girls alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s interesting because the research actually shows the opposite,\u201d said Dr. Lisa Damour, a psychologist who directs the Center for Research on Girls<\/a> at an all-girls private school in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She\u2019s written several books on education and child development and says more opportunities exist for both sexes<\/i> when they\u2019re separated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you put boys and girls in a classroom and you bring out science materials, consistently the boys will get their hands on those materials and start working with them and experimenting with them while the girls will stand in the background reading the instructions,\u201d Damour said. \u201cBut if the boys are not in the classroom, the girls are the ones with their hands on the materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also says the boys are more likely to be interested in foreign languages and drama when girls are not around.<\/p>\n

Students at Ferrell Girls Preparatory Academy, a public middle school in Tampa,\u00a0say they\u2019ve been able to do more in an all-girl setting, not less<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually went to a coed school last year, and I find that there was a lot more drama at the coed schools,\u201d said seventh grader Elena Postlewait.<\/p>\n

Eighth grader Destiny Jackson says she\u2019s grown from shy to outspoken.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrell<\/a>

John O'Connor \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p>

Ferrell Preparatory Academy seventh grader Elena Postlewait.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re able to go out and try new things and experiment with new sports and know that we can do the same things that boys can do,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to hold back because we\u2019re thinking that we can\u2019t do what boys can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Association for Single Sex Public Education<\/a> says students in gender specific classes score higher on standardized tests and are more likely to go to a four-year college.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Science magazine <\/a>says there\u2019s no good research showing better academic performance.<\/p>\n

At Bond Elementary School in Tallahassee, where most of the kids are minorities from low-income families, fourth grade teacher Brandon Clayton says the all male classes are about more than academics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things that our students need educationally, but there are some things that they also need socially,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cI believe at the school it\u2019s our job to do both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clayton says he\u2019s able to have conversations with the boys that wouldn\u2019t happen in a coed environment — about things like hygiene.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s nothing to walk into Mr. Dawson\u2019s (second grade boys) class sometimes and it smell like corn chips and feet,\u201d said Bond Principal Brandy Tyler-McIntosh. \u201cBut they\u2019re learning. They\u2019re engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bond hopes to offer all-girls classes soon, too.<\/p>\n

If the proposal in Tallahassee passes, the new schools would be open to anyone in the district.\u00a0But parents could opt to send their kids elsewhere.<\/p>\n

After two years, the state would look at whether or not the single sex schools are working.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A handful of public schools in Florida have either all-girls or all-boys classrooms.\u00a0More could be coming. Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, is behind a bill that would have one school in each school district offer only single sex classes. The proposed legislation would create a pilot project in designated districts for two years. \u201cWith the idea […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":21132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[913,1028,912,910],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21123"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21151,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21123\/revisions\/21151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}