Some schools opting for single gender classrooms

Ledger photo / SCOTT POWELL Blacksburg Elementary fifth grade parents listen Thursday evening to state Department of Education employee David Chadwell discuss single gender education. The school is considering offering separate classes for boys and girls in the fifth grade. Blacksburg Elementary Principal Janice Keller might lead her school down a new path this year by experimenting with single gender education.

Keller held an informational meeting Thursday evening with parents of fifth grade students. The school is looking at offering an all-boys and all-girls class in the fifth grade.

Blacksburg Elementary is looking at single gender education as one option to help the school make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind, Keller said. Preliminary school test data indicates some of the school's students could benefit from being grouped in an all-boys or all-girls classroom.

"Single gender education is just one of several creative and innovative ideas we are exploring this year," Keller said. "We wanted to get parent input and give our parents an opportunity to ask questions before we make a decision."

State Department of Education employee David Chadwell was at the school Thursday to make a presentation for Blacksburg Elementary parents. Chadwell is in his third week as the new state director of single gender initiatives. He was hired by State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex to help schools develop various options for parents.

More than 50 South Carolina schools are teaching boys and girls separately to help them learn the same state standards and concepts. Teachers tailor their instruction to fit the different ways that boys and girls learn in the classroom.

Boys and girls see, hear and learn about information in differ- ent ways, said Chadwell, who started a single gender school program three years ago in Columbia.

For example, Chadwell said research on nervous systems has shown boys tend to learn more effective when moving around while girls can work on tasks at desks for longer periods of time.

"Single gender programs exist in elementary, middle and high schools," Chadwell said. "This is one of many strategies for optimizing the learning environment."

Two Cherokee County schools have already started single gender education programs.

Ewing Middle is starting its first full year of R.O.C.K (Renewed Opportunities Centered On Kids). Mary Bramlett Elementary has three fifth grade classes involved in a single gender program this school year, principal Audrey McClary said.

"We have one class of all boys and all girls in the fifth grade. We have a traditional fifth grade classroom so we will have data to compare and see how well single gender classes work at the end of the year," McClary said. "This year we have multi-age classrooms, learning communities, 3-year-old kindergarten, Montessori and single gender education. Our goal is to offer a variety of programs so we can best meet the needs of our students."