Clayton superintendent sees benefits in single-sex classes

More Clayton County students could find themselves in single-sex classrooms next year.

Superintendent John Thompson told the school board Monday night that he is looking into the benefits of separating students by gender to increase academic achievement.

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“Gender-based education is nothing new,” Thompson told the board. “This is going to be something we can utilize.”

In August, the district added its first all-male academy at North Clayton High School.

The program started with 41 boys in sixth and seventh grade, but has expanded to 87 boys.

“Boys were not doing well at school or at home,” North Clayton principal Clarence Jackson said. “This has given them a bright spot. They are able to focus more on academics and their social behaviors.”

The all-male academy, which is housed in a separate wing, allows the boys to have smaller classes and more interaction with staff, Jackson said. The boys have single-sex classes for their main academics, but are with girls for lunch, gym, art and music.

Some parents said they were disappointed and surprised Clayton was eyeing single-sex classes. The all-male academy never went before the school board and was approved solely by the superintendent.

“This is a public school. Even the military doesn’t divide by sex,” Riverdale resident Linda Granger said. “The board never approved this and the superintendent is abusing his powers again.”

Deputy superintendent Judith Simmons said the all-male academy is only a pilot program and the district would seek board approval to expand single-sex classes further.

“It is something we want to consider and see what the community and board members want,” Simmons said.

Clayton is one of the only public school systems in Georgia to have all-male classes, Simmons said.

In August, Greene County schools abandoned a plan to become the first school system in the nation to be entirely segregated by sex after complaints from parents. The school system, which is headed by former Clayton superintendent Barbara Pulliam, now has optional single-sex classes in third grade.

Jackson said he didn’t think single-gender classes would work if mandated throughout Clayton.

“We can’t blanket this and say this is what we need to do,” Jackson said. “Some kids need it and some kids don’t.”

The North Clayton all-male academy has mostly male teachers. Students are also paired with mentors from Morehouse College or the police department, said Qiana Cutts, a research associate for the district.

“Students test data shows girls consistently were out-performing the males, particularly at North Clayton,” Cutts said. “Now these boys are performing at level or above the other males. The boys are less distracted and more comfortable in class.”

The boys at the all-male academy are taught the same curriculum as other students, but go on additional field trips and have mandated community service projects, Jackson said.

Thompson said he also believes gender division could also benefit female students.

“We don’t want to let the young ladies off the hook,” he told the board. “So much we focus on the males and the girls have problems in society, too.”