Types of Public Schools

Single-sex classrooms have been around for generations, although they have been primarily limited to elite private schools where academics are revered and rewarded no matter what the student’s gender. Today, same-sex classes are beginning to crop up in public schools across the country, thanks to relaxed restrictions by the U.S. Department of Education. Is there a benefit to segregating children into classrooms according to gender? Both the opinions of educators – and the research supporting those opinions – appear to be widely mixed.

Are Single-Sex Classrooms Becoming More Prevalent?

According to the Huffington Post, there were approximately one dozen schools across the U.S. offering single-sex classrooms in 2002. Currently, around 500 public schools offer some sort of single-gender classroom options for students and their parents. The exponential growth of single-sex classrooms in recent years has to do with policy changes by the U.S. Department of Education, which relaxed the requirement to segregate students within public classrooms. The changes involved Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination of students in public schools, based on their gender.

In 2006, the Department of Education determined that same-sex classrooms should be allowed under Title IX since some children learn better in single-sex classrooms than coed environments. The law requires single-sex classroom options to be completely voluntary, and it requires schools to offer traditional coed classrooms at the same time. According to the Department of Education’s website, “If a single-sex classroom is

Facing pressure and a potential lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, a small Missouri agreed to discontinue voluntary, single-sex classes in its schools. The Adrian R-III school district is not the first to come into the ACLU fight over single-sex classrooms since the U.S. Department of Education approved the practice under specific conditions in 2006. Single-sex classrooms have been the source of debate between government leaders and educators for some time, as studies supporting the practice have been somewhat inconclusive, but concerns over equal rights for both genders have come into question.

This CBS News video discusses single-sex schools.

Why Missouri Began Offering Single-Sex Classes

According to a report at Reuters, the Missouri school district began offering single-sex classes to certain grades in their schools this year. Students in grades 6 through 8 were the primary recipients of this choice, although some higher grades received single-sex class options as well. Class options included math and communication art, according to St. Louis Today. The superintendent of Adrian schools, Kirk Eidson, said the decision was made in the interest of students since some research indicates that students may perform better in single-sex classrooms.

“There were some behavioral issues that impacted learning,” Eidson explained to Reuters in regards to the co-ed classes. Eidson added that students who chose to participate in single-sex classrooms this year were doing better with fewer classroom

Amidst the heated debate surrounding charter vs. traditional schools, one conclusion has been clear: charter schools may only be as good as the laws that govern them. To find out which states offer the best environment for charter school growth and development, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools issues an annual report on the best – and worst – state charter laws in the country. The results for 2010 were recently printed in the 2011 NAPCS State Charter Law Ranking Report and we have the highlights of the findings below.

What is the NAPCS?

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is considered the leading nonprofit organization committed to the success of charter schools throughout the country. The goal of this organization is to "increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to all families, particularly in disadvantaged communities that lack access to quality public schools," according to the organization's website. To achieve this purpose, the NAPCS provides information about the current state of charter schools across the country, including this report on the state of charter laws in every state.

In this video, the Executive Director of The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools explains how the organization works.

The NAPCS website reports that significant legislative changes were made in various states during 2010. These changes made it easier for charter schools to perform at top levels,

Many education and business experts agree that Chinese is the language du jour if the United States hopes to compete in a global marketplace that is significantly dominated by the PRC. However, the number of students learning this language in school isn't adding up to what some perceive as the demand for more Mandarin-speaking Americans. To help create a more diverse climate, Chinese immersion charter schools are opening across the country, with hopes to teach children one of the most difficult languages at a very young age. We'll take a look at some of these charter schools, including those already in operation and those hoping to launch in the not-so-distant future. Here is an overview of this type of school.

Why Chinese?

It is no secret that China has one of the most robust economies across the globe today. To compete with this country, most agree that we need to better understand them. According to an op-ed piece in Newsweek, training a culturally-savvy workforce is something that other countries understand much better than the United States does. For example, Chinese is the second-most-popular language in Japan and South Korea. In the United States, Chinese is down in the fifth spot for foreign language instruction.

Multi-lingual students are not restricted to Asia, either. In Europe, most children learn a second, third or fourth language while they are still in elementary school. Students in the

Local schools and charter schools have historically clashed in many school districts. Local schools have complained that charters take away district funds and promote competition that has no place in the public school system. On the other hand, charter schools counter the fact that they typically receive less funding than other local schools, even though they are also considered public schools.

The District-Charter Collaboration Compact

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is addressing this conflict directly at its source by providing financial incentives for charter and local schools to work together for the benefit of the students they serve. The District-Charter Collaboration Compact was designed by the foundation to encourage these two groups to find new and creative ways to work together to raise the bar on the standard of education in their communities. Schools that prove they can work well together will be rewarded with grants from the foundation that will go to providing access to consultants and advisors that will help them improve the quality of education across the board.

Vicki L. Phillips, director of education, College Ready, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said in a press release on the foundation's website, "Traditional public schools and public charter schools share a common goal of preparing all students for future success. Too often, issues not tied to academic outcomes can make it difficult for schools and teachers to have the opportunity to learn from each other and build upon successful practices,