School revamp hits a snag

Single-sex center may be illegal

A SECOND LOOK "I was up front that we might not be able to do this," said Carol R. Johnson, superintendent of Boston schools.

One of the most eye-catching elements of Boston School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson's reorganization plan - the creation of two single-gender academies - seems to have just one problem: They appear to be illegal in Massachusetts.

Public schools cannot deny a student admission based on gender under state law, which could prevent Boston from trying a strategy that has been gaining momentum in other cities nationwide and that advocates say leads to much higher rates of learning.

The problem could lead to one of several possible changes to the reorganization plan, which Johnson is scheduled to revisit with the School Committee tonight after passionate objections were raised by many parents, students, and teachers who do not want their schools to close.

The School Committee requested more details on the plan to close about a dozen schools, which would leave five buildings empty while the others would be used to house new schools or expand popular ones.

As part of that plan, Johnson called for closing the Wilson Middle School in Dorchester, which has a poor academic record, and replacing it with a Young Women's Leadership Academy, serving grades 6 through 12.

She also pitched a Young Men's Public Service Academy at a yet-to-be-identified location to help prepare boys for careers as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians - areas in which women have won hard-fought battles for equal employment rights. It is not yet known what programs will be offered at the women's academy.

Johnson did not specify when she intended to open the schools, nor did she indicate in the plan released to the public that they could be contingent on a change in state law. The committee is scheduled to vote on all the proposed changes next week.

When Johnson first presented her plan to the School Committee on Oct. 1, she said the district might have to open the academies as district-run charter schools, which have more leeway to try innovative approaches. But two years ago in New Bedford, state education officials informed the organizers of an all-girl charter school that it would run afoul of state law, forcing it to open as a private school this fall.

Since her initial presentation, Johnson said in an interview yesterday, school officials have been discussing the legal questions with the state education department.

"I wasn't familiar with Massachusetts law at the time," said Johnson, later adding, "I was up front that we might not be able to do this."

Johnson would not comment on whether she would eliminate this part of the reorganization plan.

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states where single-gender public schools are considered illegal, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, an advocacy group.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education tried changing the law two years ago to allow for single-gender schools, but the Legislature's Joint Education Committee referred the bill for study in March after no one attended a public hearing.

Paul Reville, who became state education secretary this summer, said in an interview yesterday that his agency is working with Boston to resolve issues surrounding the legality of single-gender schools, which he believes have educational merit.

"Someone has to stand up and say this is a concept worth doing," Reville said. "I think there is enough data to support the benefits. We have many elite single-sex private schools."

While single-gender public schools in Massachusetts remain questionable, state law does allow a public school to split its male and female students into separate classes - so long as the programs are of equal quality. Johnson said she may explore creating more of those kinds of programs should single-gender schools not pass legal muster.

Johnson sees single-gender education programs as one possible remedy to an achievement gap between the sexes. Female students have been notably outpacing males, particularly those who are black or Latino, on standardized tests, graduation rates, and attendance.

The superintendent is following the lead of several school districts nationwide that have turned to single-gender schools to boost student achievement. Two years ago, the US Department of Education loosened Title 9 rules, adopted decades ago to ensure equal opportunities for female students, to ease the opening of single-gender schools.

One of the movement's leaders has been the Detroit public schools. The city's International Academy for Young Women has grown from a few dozen students three years ago to more than 500.

"When girls and boys are separated, you lose the silliness," said Beverly Hibbler, the school's principal and founder. "The girls no longer are trying to impress the boys, and the boys are not trying to impress the girls."

Single-gender schools also have their critics.

Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, not only questions their legality but said she believes they are a waste of money, based on research she has seen indicating no academic improvement.

"This is not the time to be doing this experiment in Boston," Wunsch said. "Kids need to learn to work with students of different gender, religion, national origin and race."

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com