Same Sex Classrooms in Ruston Show Improvements

We all remember elementary school where we were forced to sit boy, girl, boy, girl. But what happens when boys and girls are separated all together in the classroom? Several Lincoln Parish schools have done just that and their test scores show it is working. The principal at Ruston Elementary split fifth grade classes in 2006 when she was having discipline problems with boys and girls on the playground. The first year went great, so the principal split fourth and fifth grade classes permanently. Now theyre seeing improvements academically and socially. Zanecia Jackson is in fifth grade at Ruston elementary. Shes in one of four fifth grade classes here that are separated by gender- Boys in one room girls in the other. She says the set up cuts down on distractions keeping students focused on their studies. "Some of our girls like the boys in Ms. Gilleys class, so if they were in here they would be distracted by the boys and the boys would be distracted by the girls," says Jackson. Ruston Elementary Principal, Sonja Walker, says parents have called the school requesting that their child be placed in a same-sex fourth or fifth grade classes because they are going through what she calls the hormone years. "All of a sudden theyre noticing each other and wanting each others attention,” Walker says, “I think parents realize this and I think like the idea that our daughters are going to be in a separate class from boys." The students are only separated in the classroom, so they do interact during lunch and recess, which the teachers say is important for their developing social skills. Cynthia Garner has taught both an all-girl and all-boy class. She says it allows students to openly discuss peer pressure and the physical changes theyre going through. “They can bring that into class and feel comfortable talking about it because theyre among the same sex." Principal Walker says the separation is also paying of academically with leap and I-leap scores. “Fifth grade has stayed about the same with those scores, but fourth grade has really been a big difference." She says fifty percent more of fourth grade students are making higher scores on leap exams. Walker also says the separate classes seem to help boys more with achievement on standardized tests. There are two other schools in Lincoln Parish that have followed suit and added same-sex classes in the past two years. (Copyright 2008, NBC 10/Fox 14 News, Written by Casey Ferrand)