2 Middle Schools Plan Single-sex Classrooms

by Wayne Martin
The Birmingham News - August 4, 2004

If boys and girls at a couple of Jefferson County middle schools want to pass notes this year it will have to be from room to room, not desk to desk.

At Rudd and North Jefferson schools, boys and girls will be in separate classes for instruction in math, science, English and social studies.

The innovation, said Rudd Principal Jackie Dye, isn't a reaction to discipline problems, but a step that will show academic results immediately.

"Fewer discipline problems is a by-product," said Pam Horton, principal of the North Jefferson  school at Kimberly. "After all, they are middle schoolers, and their bodies are changing daily. But the reason for this move is that boys and girls learn differently, so they need to be taught differently."

Dye and Horton were introduced to the method in different ways, but came together to receive approval from the Jefferson County Board of Education for the change this year to single-sex classes in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Elective courses will still be mixed.

The concept is based on the teachings of psychotherapist Michael Gurian, who has written several books on the different ways boys and girls learn. One of those books, "Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide to Teachers and Parents" has been studied by teachers at Rudd and North Jefferson.

"I was at a workshop a couple of years ago and was exposed to the book," Horton said. "I came back and started a book study with my teachers." Horton actually tried the separated classes last year at Warrior School where she was principal. "We saw fewer discipline problems, and we saw higher grades," she said.

Dye, whose school is in Pinson, said she heard that the method was being used at Odenville. "I and my assistant principal visited," she said. "We saw great results."

Dye and Horton received approval to try the program, then Dye enrolled in the Gurian Institute for a week of study in Colorado Springs, Colo. "One thing I learned is that separating the classes in just a first step. It does no good unless teachers meet the specific needs of their class, whether it's boys or girls."

An example of the difference in learning, she said, is that girls tend to sit quietly and study, while boys need something in their hands, and need to be up and moving.

For teachers to teach correctly, training sessions will be held Thursday at the Board of Education office for Rudd and North Jefferson teachers. Leading the workshop will be Kathy Stevens, director of training for the Gurian Institute in Colorado Springs. She will then meet with Rudd parents that night at the school.

"This is not something I did, Dye said. "All our teachers worked to develop the plan, and we involved the parents of our students by sending out sheets to explain the process and to get their opinions."