Here is an interesting quote from the June 19, 1996 Daily Report Card.
It is an interesting dilemma that through our efforts over the last
few decades to create equality for all, we have now, through a series of
legal decisions, backed ourselves into a corner such that, even when a
particular program may be of great benefit to a large segment of our
school population, we have difficulty to implement it without legal
repurcussions.
Sheila
*******************(quoted material begins)*************************
-> *2   SINGLE-SEX CLASSES:  A RETURN TO THE TURN OF THE CENTURY?
->    Public schools nationwide are experimenting with "sexual
-> segregation, in the name of school reform," writes NEWSWEEK
-> (Hancock and Kalb, 6/24).  However, the reporters ponder whether
-> same-sex classes will survive legal challenges and prove a
-> successful education reform.
->    The current trend toward single-sex classes came on the
-> heels of a report issued four years ago by the American
-> Association of University Women.  The report claims that girls
-> are being short-changed in schools and would benefit greatly from
-> single-sex classes geared to their learning style.  According to
-> NEWSWEEK, the report was "meant to help improve coeducation, not
-> dismantle it."  While research suggests that single-sex schools
-> foster confidence in girls, no long-term studies exist regarding
-> single-sex classes in coeducational schools, notes the magazine.   U
-> of Maine professor Bonnie Wood claims that an all-girl
-> algebra class offered at the high school in Presque Isle, Maine,
-> produces girls who are twice as likely to enroll in advanced
-> chemistry and college physics, reports the magazine.
->    Single-sex education also may benefit boys.  Marsteller
-> Middle school, in Manassas, Va., offers single-sex classes in
-> physics and English, claiming that separating the sexes
-> eliminates distractions.  Marsteller boys raised their average
-> language arts scores by one grade after a only one term, writes the
-> magazine.  Robert Coleman Elementary in Baltimore, Md.,
-> introduced single-sex classes in order to instill discipline
-> among the boys.
->    But legal challenges could be on the horizon.  The magazine
-> reports that federal law does not allow segregation by sex in
-> public schools, except for contact sports, human-sexuality and
-> remedial classes.  One middle school in Ventura, Calif., won a
-> legal challenge by changing the name of its all-girl math class to
-> Power Learning for Underrepresented Students (PLUS).  No boys signed
-> up.
->    Some critics are concerned that single-sex classes will "set
-> back the cause for gender equity," writes the magazine.  Others claim
-> girls and boys must learn to work together in preparation for a coed
-> world.
->    However, some teachers counter that single-sex classes work
-> because they "let kids think with something besides their
-> hormones," writes the magazine.  NEWSWEEK:  "Impressing the
-> opposite sex is a 14-year-old's reason for being.  Take away that
-> pressure, and miracles happen."
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