District halts plans to open single sex high schools.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Rather than engage in a potentially costly legal battle with the Detroit chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),

Detroit Public Schools is reluctantly dropping plans to open two college preparatory high schools as single sex schools.

Instead, the schools, the International Academy for Young Women and Frederick Douglass Preparatory Academy for Young Men, will be designated as co-ed schools in the fall. Both schools will retain their proposed missions and curricular with a focus on math, science, technology and leadership development.

The District announced plans to open the two single-gender academies last spring. The announcement was wildly applauded by many Detroit residents who appreciate the value of single-sex schools. Indeed, research shows that high school students who attend single sex schools are more likely to excel in mathematics and science. The research also shows that single gender schools place a stronger emphasis on improved grade point averages, test scores, attendance, and graduation rates. The new academies were designed to provide structured, disciplined secondary education that encourages students to push beyond gender-based stereotypes.

But the Detroit ACLU immediately attacked the concept, deriding it as sexist and threatening to take the District to court, citing a little used state law that prevents public school systems from frowns on using running single gender schools. Detroit Public Schools officials plan to work with state legislators to change that law.

“I regret the fact that the leaders of the ACLU don’t believe in parental choice and feel they know what’s best for Detroit parents,” said William F. Coleman III, the District’s CEO. “This is a shot across the bow for parental choice. It also hurts the District’s efforts to offer a badly needed educational choice that could benefit hundreds of students in this city. And that’s a shame.”