FOCUS: SINGLE-SEX CLASSROOMS
Single-sex classrooms minimize distractions at two Buffalo schools
Principals separate boys and girls in grades seven and eight
Attending one of only two Buffalo public schools that feature single-sex classrooms presents a dilemma for Antonio Williams.
“The best part about this is that your grades will go up,” said Antonio, a seventh-grader at Houghton Academy School 69. “The bad part is you don’t get to talk to the girls.”
Adolescent boys and girls need their own space so they can concentrate on their studies and not on each other, said Elaine Vandi, the Houghton Academy principal. That’s why she instituted single-sex classrooms in grades seven and eight in 2004.
“Hormones are all over the place,” Vandi said. “There’s a real sexual awareness — boom — and they just don’t know how to handle it. With single-sex classes they can concentrate more. There are fewer distractions. It feels safer, especially for the females.”
When federal regulations in 2006 gave public schools far broader latitude to establish all-boys and all-girls classrooms, advocates predicted it would trigger the growth of single-sex initiatives here.
But that hasn’t happened. In fact, there were three Buffalo public schools that had single-sex classrooms two years ago, and now there are only two — Houghton Academy and Westminster Community Charter School. Harriet Ross Tubman School dropped the practice after a change of principals.
In contrast, single-sex initiatives have spread nationally, primarily in the South.
Just 11 public schools across the country had single-sex classrooms six years ago, and there are now 442, said Leonard Sax, executive director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education.
Ninety-seven of those schools separate boys and girls in all grades and all classrooms.
Sax cited the attitudes and backgrounds of many school administrators as one reason why single-sex classes haven’t grown even more dramatically.
“For many people educated in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, any talk about innate gender differences just sounds utterly reactionary,” he said.
Catholic and private schools have long employed single-sex education and describe it as a cornerstone of their educational philosophies.
But some opponents of single-sex education in public schools consider it a form of segregation that increases sexual stereotypes and hinders the ability of boys and girls to get along with each other,
Pupils’ mixed feelings
Interviews with pupils at Houghton Academy produced mixed feelings. Just four of 15 seventh-and eighth-graders who volunteered to discuss the issue said they think single-sex classrooms are — everything considered — a good thing.
“I would like them to put boys in the class because I’m tired of all girls,” said eighth-grader Keaira Aiken.
Marianna Vityk disagreed. “It’s much better, because when you want to say something, the boys aren’t putting you down or annoying you,” she said. “They goof around too much.”
Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams supports Houghton Academy’s efforts but has not embraced single-sex education like he has other changes such as school uniforms and a longer school day and school year.
“It’s not something I’m pushing,” he said. “It’s up to the principals. I think it’s working very well over at Houghton Academy. It’s a fabulous school, and I think they’re moving in the right direction. We’re going to monitor it and see if it’s working academically.”
Teachers at Houghton Academy said single-sex classes allow them to better accommodate the learning styles and needs of boys and girls.
Keith Wiley, a math teacher, is building a unit for his male students around NFL quarterback ratings.
“You can do that with the guys,” he said. “You can’t do that with the girls.”
Kevin Buchholtz, a seventh-and eighth-grade social studies teacher, said that the girls often take longer than boys to get their assignments done but that they are more likely to get them right the first time.
“It’s a completely different atmosphere,” he said. “The boys are always trying to establish who is the alpha male. It takes them a lot longer to adjust.”
At Westminster — a publicly funded charter school — single-sex classes in grades seven and eight have improved discipline and helped boost academic achievement, especially for boys, said Principal Yvonne Minor-Ragan.
“It has really settled down the distractions,” she said. “The classes are more calm. We think we are dealing with the needs of the boys better than we were in the past.”
Better test scores
Houghton Academy has seen a marked increase in student test scores over the last three school years, and Vandi credits much of that improvement to single-sex classrooms.
For example, the passing rate on the state’s eighth-grade math exam jumped to 60 percent from 30.6 percent. In eighth-grade English, the passing rate rose to 40 percent from 28.6 percent.
“Our goal is to educate students, to get them prepared for the future,” she said. “If you don’t have discipline you can’t teach, and your scores won’t go up.”
Several Houghton Academy pupils said that single-sex classes minimize distractions and create a more studious environment but that they miss the chance to be with members of the opposite sex.
“I don’t like it at all. I don’t feel the same being in a room with all boys,” said eighth-grader Miguan Gwathney.
“It doesn’t make me feel comfortable,” said eighth-grader Paul Dean. “It’s just weird. It’s wrong.”
Vandi acknowledges those concerns but said her responsibility is to help pupils learn.
“I can see that point of view, but I figure they’ve been socializing from prekindergarten through sixth grade,” she said. “We need them to focus academically.”
Buffalo students are able to select the schools they want to attend, so single- sex classes attract some families and probably cause others to look elsewhere, Vandi added.
“It’s not an answer for all,” she said. “Some children do well here, some wouldn’t. It’s another option, another choice for parents.”
