Single Sex Education

Learn more about the schools that serve either girls or boys, including research on single-sex education and legal issues
All the students are known as “kings” at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C.
All the students are known as “kings” at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C.
Jared Soares for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Photo Essay A Photographer’s View of Ron Brown College Prep
Photographer Jared Soares discusses his experiences, and shares his favorite images from documenting faculty and students.
Education Week Photo Staff, November 14, 2017
1 min read
Conceptual image of various shades of blue paper cut out boys and pink and purple cut out paper girls divided by a dotted line
iStock/Getty
School & District Management From Our Research Center Single-Gender Public Schools in 5 Charts
Districts in recent years have opened single-gender public schools, many with a mission to improve academic achievement of boys of color.
Corey Mitchell, Alex Harwin & Francisco Vara-Orta, November 2, 2017
1 min read
Ron Brown Hallway 2000
Kavitha Cardoza/Education Week
Equity & Diversity Audio Irreconcilable Differences: A Clash Over Academics at D.C. School for Young Black Men
At Ron Brown, lofty ideals crash into reality. Many students are on track to fail, and faculty are revolting against the grading policies.
Kavitha Cardoza & Cory Turner, November 1, 2017
2 min read
Ron Brown Tie 2000 full
Kavitha Cardoza/Education Week
Equity & Diversity Audio Let Brotherly Love Continue: An All-Male Public School Opens
As Washington D.C.'s first all-male public high school opens, 100 9th graders will experience a school grounded in love and empathy.
Kavitha Cardoza & Cory Turner, October 18, 2017
1 min read
Ron Brown College Preparatory High School students greet each other during the morning circle in Washington. The all-male school is designed specifically to meet the needs of young black men in the nation’s capital.
Ron Brown College Preparatory High School students greet each other during the morning circle in Washington. The all-male school is designed specifically to meet the needs of young black men in the nation’s capital.
Jared Soares for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Series Raising Kings: A Year of Love and Struggle at Ron Brown College Prep
EdWeek and NPR explore the trials and triumphs of Washington, D.C.'s new public high school for young black men, Ron Brown College Prep.
October 16, 2017
Student Well-Being Video Raising Kings: A Year of Love and Struggle at Ron Brown College Prep
The students at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School are “kings.” All freshmen. All young men of color. All determined to change the dominant narrative about young black men in Washington: too many read below grade-level and won’t graduate high school. This new public school in Washington D.C. opened its doors in August 2016 and is radically different. Not just because it is a public school for boys, but because it's designed specifically to meet the needs of D.C.’s young men of color. The school’s principal and the majority of its teachers are black men. They begin each morning in a schoolwide circle, navigating conversations that include neighborhood violence and police shootings, protest and poverty. Many schools do one or two of these things, but few do them all – and with the conviction of Ron Brown’s staff. For the past year, through a partnership between Education Week and NPR, we visited Ron Brown weekly -- and some weeks, daily -- to witness the birth of this new school and to see how its staff tackles some of the toughest challenges in education today. We spent hundreds of hours there, from the earliest days to the last bell. Filmed by Swikar Patel and Erin Irwin Edited by Deanna Del Ciello Interviewed by Kavitha Cardoza and Cory Turner Photos by Jared Soares and Kavitha Cardoza
October 16, 2017
1:11
Brandon Thibodeaux for Education Week
A 2nd grade class at Solar Prep goes on a nature walk around the Dallas campus. The all-girls school opened this school year as part of the district’s expanded choice program.
Brandon Thibodeaux for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Single-Gender Schools Prove Best for Some Students
Dallas and other urban districts opened new single-gender schools this year, aiming to boost access to specialized programs and compete with charter, private, or suburban schools.
Denisa R. Superville, September 30, 2016
9 min read
School Choice & Charters Video Slideshow: An All-Girls School in Dallas
Nancy Bernardino, the principal of Solar Preparatory School for Girls, discusses her school's focus on preparing girls for careers in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Solar Prep is one of three single-gender schools the Dallas school district opened this year as part of its effort to expand schooling options for students and families.
September 30, 2016
1:21
Law & Courts Districts' Boys-Only Programs Prompt Legal Questions
Amid new efforts to improve outcomes for black and Latino boys, some civil rights advocates ask if districts are violating federal protections meant to ensure educational quality for girls.
Corey Mitchell, March 3, 2015
5 min read
Four-year-olds Elijah Reyes and his classmate Alyzandra Lopez work together on a “buddy” activity at Kenilworth Elementary School in Phoenix. The preschool classroom is taking part in the Sanford Harmony Program, an experimental curriculum aimed at reducing children’s gender biases.
Four-year-olds Elijah Reyes and his classmate Alyzandra Lopez work together on a “buddy” activity at Kenilworth Elementary School in Phoenix. The preschool classroom is taking part in the Sanford Harmony Program, an experimental curriculum aimed at reducing children’s gender biases.
--Laura Segall for Education Week
School & District Management Scholars Say Pupils Gain Social Skills in Coed Classes
Studies suggest that coeducational classrooms are an ideal setting to dispel gender biases and teach boys and girls to get along.
Sarah D. Sparks, May 7, 2012
9 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Why Science Doesn't Support Single-Sex Classes
Hype, not science, is behind interest in single-gender classrooms, write Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers.
Rosalind Chait Barnett & Caryl Rivers, February 17, 2012
7 min read
Sophomore Tamira Mitchell, right, helps kindergartner Winter Smith with a writing assignment at Detroit International Academy for Young Women. The school's founder, Beverly Hibbler, says all-girl schools are an "important choice" to keep available for girls.
Sophomore Tamira Mitchell, right, helps kindergartner Winter Smith with a writing assignment at Detroit International Academy for Young Women. The school's founder, Beverly Hibbler, says all-girl schools are an "important choice" to keep available for girls.
Brian Widdis for Education Week
School & District Management Study Finds Single-Sex Schools Benefit Some—But Not All
Just as single-sex schools are undergoing scrutiny in the U.S., a Caribbean study schools finds that they are academically beneficial for girls who prefer that environment but not for most boys or girls.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, January 17, 2012
8 min read
School Choice & Charters Are Single-Sex Schools Better for Girls?
An article in Slate recently looked at differing feminist views of single-sex schooling, and concluded that co-education is more beneficial for girls.
Francesca Duffy, November 8, 2011
1 min read
School Choice & Charters Opinion I Beg to Differ...
Note: This is a guest post by Darryl Williams, principal of the Brighter Choice Charter Schools for Boys' elementary and middle school programs in Albany, New York.
Richard Whitmire, November 4, 2011
2 min read