Why Jefferson Middle School is sold on single-gender classrooms

In a quaint neighborhood on Springfield’s southeast side sits Springfield School District 186’s best-kept secret — Jefferson Middle School. On the surface, Jefferson resembles the city’s other middle schools; however, a peek inside quickly reveals clear differences that make Jefferson stand out. As schools across the country struggle to improve students’ academic performance, and decrease disciplinary problems and student absences, Jefferson school officials believe that they have found a solution: single-gender classrooms. In fact, the experiment at Jefferson has been so successful that District 186 is considering opening two gender-based academies, beginning next fall.

There’s two minutes left on the clock.

Only a few points separate the two teams. Boys from both teams eagerly await the pass. With the ball in hand, the student rushes to the basket, shoots and scores.

His teammates briefly cheer, but the celebration can’t last too long, as players again await the opportunity to receive the pass and score.

At first glance, Stephanie McCorkle’s sixthgrade class looks a lot like a physical education course. In fact, the students are having so much fun that they appear to forget that they are in a math class and can only receive the ball if they are the first to solve the math equation presented to them on a flash card. McCorkle, who has been teaching math in the capital city for two years, taught a coed math class last school year. But it’s clear that she has found her niche. “Teaching as a whole is a lot easier. I can actually create lesson plans using strategies geared specifically towards boys,” says McCorkle, who views herself as a “boy teacher.” In comparing last year’s coed math class to the single-gender class she currently teaches, McCorkle says that not only is she seeing a big difference in the boys’ motivation, focus and drive, but the boys are also motivating each other to learn.

Down the hall from McCorkle’s classroom is Latisha Johnson-Caldwell’s sixth-grade math class for girls. Though teaching the same grade and subject, the atmosphere in McCorkle’s and Johnson-Caldwell’s classrooms couldn’t be more different. While the boys are loud and full of energy, you can almost hear a pin drop in Johnson-Caldwell’s room, as girls sit in small groups. As McCorkle’s boys thrive in the heat of competition, Johnson-Caldwell’s girls diligently work together, each giving input while helping others complete the math problems.

While studies show that girls, when placed in math courses with boys, tend to perform poorly compared to their male counterparts, in Johnson-Caldwell’s class, not only did each of the girls give input on the assignment, but they also were not shy about asking questions.

Studies also show that girls in coed classes tend to remain silent even when they know the answers, for fear of being made fun of by the boys in the class.

“It is a known fact that there are distinct differences between boys and girls in terms of learning styles and what they respond to,” said Jefferson Principal Sena Nelson. “We know that boys are more talkative and competitive.

And they tend to have shorter attention spans. They prefer to be out of their seats and moving around. Thus, they respond better to shorter, timed assignments. Girls, on the other hand, are supportive, less competitive, enjoy working together, and are more willing to help each other. They’re also more sensitive to each other’s needs.”

“In the past, getting boys to read and write has been a struggle,” says Christine Orama, who taught sixth-grade coed English for five years before moving to an all-boys class. “Now, not only do the boys love to read, they also have better grades and test scores than the boys in coed English.” According to Orama, one of the biggest differences is that she is not only able to focus on reading assignments that are more appealing to boys, but she is also able to incorporate activities that the boys enjoy.