1 / 26

Concept for the Establishment of Two Single-Gender Secondary Schools in 2007-2008

Concept for the Establishment of Two Single-Gender Secondary Schools in 2007-2008. Atlanta Public Schools Dr. Beverly L. Hall, Superintendent Byron Barnes, Assistant Principal on Special Assignment. Overview. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the

kaiser
Download Presentation

Concept for the Establishment of Two Single-Gender Secondary Schools in 2007-2008

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Concept for the Establishment of Two Single-Gender Secondary Schools in 2007-2008 Atlanta Public Schools Dr. Beverly L. Hall, Superintendent Byron Barnes, Assistant Principal on Special Assignment

  2. Overview The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the positive impact single-gender schools have on student achievement. During the presentation I will provide: • Research on the benefits of single-gender education • National and local history of single-gender education • A case for change at Benjamin S. Carson Middle School • Highlight achievement at recently visited single-gender public schools • Identify constituency support • Legal status of single-gender public education • Next steps

  3. Outcome The establishment of two single-gender secondary schools serving grades 6-12 phased in over time in the northwest corridor beginning in the 2007-2008 school year.

  4. What does the research say about single-gender schools?

  5. United States Department of Education • 148-page report released in September 2005 revealed favorable results for single-gender schools. • Hundreds of quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed for this report. The results of these studies revealed single-gender schools can positively impact student achievement in all subject areas and encourage students to have higher aspirations for post-secondary education and careers. • 100% of the studies on career aspirationsof students found that students in single-gender schools set higher goals to attain. • Boys and girls were more likely to be enrolled in higher levels of math and science classes while attending single-gender schools. • Key areas such as academic achievement, self-concept, aspirations for graduation and goals to attend college showed a degree of support for single-gender schooling.

  6. Brief History of Single-Gender Public Schools • Western High School for Girls (Baltimore) – established in 1844 and is still in existence • The Philadelphia High School for Girls – established in 1848 and is still in existence • 98% of the graduates attend institutions of higher learning • One of several distinguished graduates: Shirley Franklin, Mayor of Atlanta • Currently 209 single-gender public classrooms or schools throughout the United States. Many in urban cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston.

  7. Single-Gender Public Education in Atlanta Atlanta has a long history of single-gender secondary and post-secondary schools.

  8. Atlanta Public Schools • At the founding of Atlanta Public Schools in 1872 • Girls High School established • Boys High School established • The schools operated until 1947 when • Girls High merged with co-ed Roosevelt • Grady High School for Boys merged with Tech High to form the co-ed school we still know as Grady High School

  9. Post-Secondary Single-Gender Schools in Atlanta • Spelman College – Founded 1881 • Morehouse College – Founded as Augusta Institute in 1876 (relocated to Atlanta 1879, name changed to Morehouse in 1913) • Agnes Scott College – Founded as the Decatur Female Seminary in 1889 (name changed to Agnes Scott in 1906)

  10. Single-Gender Schools visited: • The Young Women’s Leadership Academy - East Harlem • The Eagle Academy for Young Men - Bronx • Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship - Bronx

  11. The Young Women’s Leadership Academy • Title I School • Placed 100% of their graduating classes of 2004 and 2005 into colleges. • 2005 New York State Regents exams • Greater than 90% passing rate in math and science. • Daily attendance was over 90% from 2002 to 2004. Attendance rate averaged 8.7% higher than other schools in the New York City school system. • 0.8% high school dropout rate in 2003-04

  12. The Eagle Academy for Young Men • Title I School • Highlighted in the Jan 30, 2006, edition of Newsweek for accomplishments in working with boys. • Partners with the 100 Black Men and other organizations and businesses to provide a mentor for almost all of its students. • 2005 New York State Regents exams • 97% passing rate in science • 100% passing rate in math

  13. Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship • Title I School • Daily attendance rate was greater than 90% for the first part of this school year. • 2005 New York State Regents exam • greater than 90% passing rate in math • Only 10-15% of the students did not return this year and, according to the administration, this percentage was primarily due to student mobility.

  14. Why do we want to implement single-gender schools in the Atlanta Public Schools? As a system, we have a responsibility to address cycles of poor achievement that exists in schools.

  15. United States Census Bureau’s data for the Carson Community as of 2000 Population: 28,730 Educational Attainment: Percent less than high school: 41.1 Percent high school graduate or higher: 59 Employment: Percent not in labor force: 50.8 Percent unemployed: 9.9 Selected Household Characteristics: Percent of grandparents responsible for grandchildren: 50.9

  16. Though improvements in student achievement have been made by the students at Carson, the data indicates: • Carson met AYP in 2005. However, Carson is and has been in “needs improvement” status for 6+ years • When comparing Carson’s Spring 2004 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) results to 24 other middle schools within a 10-mile radius • Carson ranked 25th in CRCT reading scores • 24th in CRCT math scores and • tied for 24th in CRCT language arts scores

  17. Community Partners and School Support • 100 Black Men of Atlanta • The Links Organization • Emory University • Spelman College • Morehouse College • Atlanta Housing Authority • Other Critical Partners

  18. What are the legalities? On March 3, 2004, a provision was added to the No Child Left Behind Act that provided local school districts the flexibility to create single-gender classrooms and schools. Guidelines for school districts have been provided by the US-DOE to ensure that single-gender schools comply with Title IX.

  19. What are the legalities? According to the Atlanta Public Schools legal staff, arguments both for and against single-gender public schools have been heard by various courts, and the Supreme Court has never ruled directly on the constitutionality of single-gender public secondary schools.  However, we believe that research supports the administration’s view that the academic objectives underlying the development of high quality, single-gender public school programs can be met best by this educational approach and survive legal challenges that may arise.

  20. Brief Timeline • February 2006 – Commissioned Assistant Principal on Special Assignment for single-gender schools concept development • March 2006 – Begin planning of the Portfolio Design, Instructional Programs and development of Student Support Systems • Spring 2006 – Develop the communications and community engagement plans. • Fall 2006 – Selection process to identify principals for both the girls and boys schools. • Early Spring 2007 – Select staff for the new schools • 2007-2008 – Open single-gender schools at separate sites with first class of 6th graders. • 7th and 8th grade co-ed students will remain in a separate academic setting through their matriculation into high school.

  21. 2006-2007 School Year Boyd Ben Carson Co-edSchool 2006-2007 Scott Grove Park A. D. Williams Woodson

  22. 2006-2007 5th Grade Students Single-Gender Academy for Girls 2007-2008 Five Co-Ed Elementary Schools Single-Gender Academy for Boys 2007-2008

  23. Projected Enrollment 2007-08 School for Girls School for Boys Grade Girls Grade Boys 6th 172 6th 162 Co-edSchool

  24. Grade Level Trend

  25. Goals of Single-Gender Academies Single-gender schools will: • Provide instructional programs that address the unique academic, social and emotional needs of young boys and girls. • Establish high quality rigorous, instructional environments that are rich with tangible instructional materials and multimedia resources. 3. Increase student retention by improving support among parents and community partners. 4. Increase the number of students who are ready for post-secondary educational and career opportunities.

  26. Please review the FAQ’s and Fact Sheet for other information.

More Related