New rule would help single-sex schools

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Posted 8:25AM on Wednesday, May 8, 2002

WASHINGTON - As its name implies, all 370 students at The Young Women's Leadership School are girls. They wear uniforms and call teachers by their first names. Last year, all 32 seniors went on to college. This year, all 34 are expected to do the same. But this isn't a private school - it's a public school in the Harlem section of New York City serving a mix of rich and poor students, almost all of whom are black, Asian or Hispanic. For all of its six years, the school has essentially been operating under the radar of federal regulations, which prohibit public schools from discriminating on the basis of sex. Advocates of single-sex education say things are about to change. New guidelines on the legality of single-sex schools and classrooms, to be issued Wednesday, could pave the way for other schools like The Young Women's Leadership School. Only 10 single-sex public schools exist now, with two more expected to open this fall, according to Dr. Leonard Sax, a psychologist and physician who heads the National Association for the Advancement of Single Sex Public Education. The Harlem school currently has a waiting list of 1,200 for three ninth-grade slots, said guidance counselor Chris Farmer. Congress' education bill, approved last year and signed by President Bush in January, clarified federal law on single-sex schooling, saying school districts could receive federal funding for single-sex schools and classes if comparable coursework and facilities are available to both girls and boys. What constitutes ``comparable'' is crucial - does it mean identical calculus classes for boys and girls, or simply the same amount of money spent on both boys' and girls' programs citywide? Observers say Education Secretary Rod Paige wants to broaden the meaning of ``comparable,'' allowing school districts to experiment more with single-sex schools and classes. ``He believes in trying to meet every child's needs in the public arena, so that it's not just the private sector that can afford this kind of option,'' said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who authored the measure on same-sex education. New provisions approved by Congress would let school districts compete for up to $450 million for single-sex programs - a far cry from the days when school districts feared such programs would actually strip them of federal funding. Several studies have noted the relative benefits of single-sex schools and classes, especially for teen-agers, but school districts have been slow to make them available. Since 1972, Title IX has forbidden public school districts from discriminating against any student on the basis of sex. A few school districts have gotten around that by creating separate and essentially equal schools for both boys and girls. Others, such as The Young Women's Leadership School, have operated with the blessings of local officials, who essentially challenged the federal government to close them down in the face of improved performance. For now, it looks as if Paige won't close The Young Women's Leadership School - to the contrary, he and Hutchison are scheduled to sing its praises during a visit later this month. Opponents of single-sex education include the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Association of University Women. In a 1998 report, AAUW said separating students by sex ``is not the solution to gender inequity in education.'' Schools should focus less on ``an easy fix'' and more on discipline, core academics, better funding and professional development for teachers, said Nancy Zirkin, AAUW's director of public policy and government relations. ``Work to improve public education - don't look at the gimmicks that really divert our attention away from leaving no child behind,'' she said. Zirkin said the success of schools such as The Young Women's Leadership School have more to do with better discipline and funding than with its all-girl student body. ``It's not a fix, because most kids go to public schools that are coed,'' she said. ``Our job is to improve those public schools.'' Supporters, such as Young Women's Leadership School founder Ann Rubenstein Tisch, say giving girls time and space to take advanced math and science classes without the social pressure of male classmates makes all the difference. ``There's a camaraderie, if you will, that prevails in single-gendered schools that's different,'' she said. ``For a lot of girls, it builds confidence and leadership. ... When a young woman can pay attention to her studies and not be accused of being an egghead, I think that's incredibly important for academics.''