Should Girls, Boys Be In Separate Classes?

May 13, 2004 -- The 30-year-old federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in public schools may soon be altered, paving the way for separate classrooms for boys and girls.

The law, known as Title IX, may soon be altered because the U.S. Department of Education wants to give parents the option of enrolling their children in same-sex public school classes. Same-sex classes have long been available in private schools, but there are currently only 25 same-sex public high schools in the country.

Supporters of same-sex education say having boys and girls in separate classrooms allows them to focus less on each other and more on their schoolwork.

"You don't look around and go, 'Wow, there's no boys here,' " says Stefanie Kuonon, a senior at Philadelphia High School for Girls, one of the few single-sex public schools. "But you will notice there's not as much clowning around. You can talk about serious issues and there's not like laughing or stuff in the background because no one's embarrassed."

The top student in her class, Kuonon has a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. She says the school's supportive atmosphere helped her succeed — and it seems to have helped her classmates too: 95 percent of the school's seniors go on to college.

Principal Geraldine Myles roams the halls of "Girls' High" high-fiving her students and showering them with praise. She is an African American who grew up in the era of Brown vs. the Board of Education, which called for an end to racial segregation in public schools. But she has seen the benefits of separating girls from boys in classes. Without the presence of boys, Myles says, the girls focus more on academics and less on the latest fashion trends.

"I think the environment that we have here is one that maximizes learning and opportunity to develop for young women. And we do it well."