Single-Sex Schools Offer Focused Learning, Unique Programs by Carolyn Cosmos ìSingle-sex education seems to be coming back, although itís not for everyone,î said Father Peter Weigand, headmaster of St. Anselmís Abbey School in Washington, D.C., a secondary school serving gifted boys. The Washington area is rich in excellent schools, both single sex and coeducational, Weigand added, and students and parents should ìchoose whatís best for them.î So why would someone select a single-sex school? Meredith Cole, assistant head of marketing and public relations for The Madeira School in McLean, Va., summed up the advocate view: ìBoys and girls learn differently.î Many educators at single-sex schools argue that the signature strength of these institutions is their ability to focus on gender-specific learning styles. This includes the capacity to address distinct ìage-and-stageî issues and effectively deal with problems that appear at particular phases of growthódifficulties that are often different for girls and boys. Damon F. Bradley, headmaster of Landon School for boys in Bethesda, Md., agrees that single-sex education is enjoying something of a resurgence, which he attributes par tly to an increased awareness of developmental differences between girls and boys. In discussing some of these differences, Bradley pointed out that boys donít typically have the same self-control as girls, are more impulsive, less likely to sit still, and more likely to own the proverbial ìhomework-eatingî dog. Thus, boys may have a difficult time meeting educator expectations geared toward girls, and ìmany are turned off early on. We used to think that schools favored boys, but itís the boys who are in trouble in our schools,î Bradley said. ìWe donít fault them for it,î he added. The solution, he said, is to focus on the developmental phases that boys go through, playing to their strong points at each stage and converting any weaknesses into strengths, all of which is easier to implement in a single-sex school environment. Gender differences can also work against girls, Bradley noted. ìWhen the teacher begins to ask a question, boys will raise their hands before theyíve heard the question,î he said. ìTheyíre assured, certain theyíll know. Girls are less impulsive. A girl wants to mull it over. She wants to be sure she knows the answer first. Then sheíll raise her hand.î Cole of The Madeira School said that in schools where girls take all of the roles, self-confidence blooms. She added that boys tend to explore more, whereas girls may need to be encouraged to explore, and in a single-sex setting, thatís an easier task. To examine the issue more closely, The Washington Diplomat took a look at the three schools that these educators belong toóall of which have taken the single-gender routeówith a focus on the signature strengths at each institution. St. Anselmís Abbey School St. Anselmís Abbey School for boys, which includes grades six through 12, is situated on 40 acres just inside the northeast boundary of Washington, D.C. It is run by Roman Catholic Benedictine monks who established the school in 1942 to serve students of ìabove-average intelligenceîóa group the school said was neglected by educators at that time. Many of St. Anselmís graduates enter college as second-semester sophomores, complete double majors, or graduate early and go on to advanced degrees. Of its 28 seniors last spring, all went on to college, an astonishing 17 of them were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program as finalists, semi-finalists, or commended scholars, and two graduates won awards in the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Many of these young men go on to centers of academic excellence such as Amherst College, Columbia University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University, as well as Princeton, Purdue, the University of Chicago and Oberlin College. ìAs a smaller institution, we can emphasize personal relationships and foster a greater success rate,î Weigand said. The school had a total of 255 students last year and has 55 teachers on staff, including Benedictine monks. The average SAT score for incoming St. Anselmís students is 1400. ìYes,î Weigand said, ìwe are a school for bright young men who want to learn. We have our own entrance exam and a private interviewî to make sure that the schoolís rigorous approach to learning is something the boys are capable of completing and genuinely want to do. This rigorous approach includes seven years of theology, English, math and social studies, six or seven years of science, five years of a modern language, and four years of Latin. The school aims ìto challenge each boy to reach his highest potential and use his gifts to serve others,î Weigand said. Although 60 percent of its students are Catholic, St. Anselmís also enrolls Jewish and Muslim students, as well as boys from other Christian faiths. ìWeíre not trying to convert anybody,î Weigand said. Rather, the Benedictine philosophy holds that a school should be ìa sacred space where every child is valued, as is the principle of beginning anew,î Weigand explained. ìNo one is perfect. We take our broken lives and start over again each day.î St. Anselm's tuition is $14,800 for the middle school and $15,100 for the upper school. Twenty-five percent of its students receive financial aid, much of it in the form of partial scholarships. For more information, please call (202) 269-2350 or visit www.saintanselms.org. Madeiraís Cocurriculum Program The Madeira School in McLean, Va., is a boarding and day school for girls in grades nine through 12. Last year it served 308 students, nearly one-third of them minorities and 53 percent of which boarded in the dormitories. Students at Madeira hail from 18 countries, and the campus consists of 376 acres and 34 buildings, including a sports center and barn with an indoor riding ring, all overlooking the Potomac River. But itís Madeiraís real world cocurriculum program rather than its real estate that sets the school apart. Every Wednesday, students take part in an all-day, off-campus internship for a dip into experimental learning. The freshman focus is on the environment and the arts, with an outdoor adventure component and winter activities that include photography and dance. Sophomores devote Wednesdays to community service, going in groups to work in hospitals, day care centers, poverty programs and nursing homes. They perform hands-on supervised tasks and submit written reports about their experiences. The program fosters a sense of success, said Cole. A young woman who finds academia a struggle, for example, ìwill discover she can get an A plus in real life,î she said. Juniors devote their cocurriculum Wednesdays to public affairs, and every Madeira junior interns at the office of a U.S. senator or representative on Capitol Hill. Duties include writing legislative memorandums and attending seminars given by journalists, lobbyists and members of Congress. Students must first apply for these positions, submitting application letters and resumes and undergoing regular evaluations by their office supervisors. ìStudents realize they can use what they learn in their classes,î Cole said, adding that the program is well received because students arrive academically prepared to perform useful work at their internships. Seniors explore a career choice or college major for their cocurriculum program, applying for placements in brokerage houses, laboratories, counseling centers and the theater, among other locales. Madeira seniors have interned at Wolf Trap, the National Air and Space Museum, CNN and research centers at the National Institutes of Health. ìMany choose to go back to their community service placements,î Cole noted. Although the cocurriculum program is Madeiraís signature strength, the school offers a challenging curriculum on other days as well. The school offered 20 advanced placement courses last year and garnered 16 recognitions by the National Merit Scholarship Program among its 81 graduates. Madeiraís tuition is $20,500 for day students and $31,000 for boarders. Students received $1.3 million in financial aid last year, and families with incomes up to $143,000 are eligible to apply for grants. For more information, please call (703) 556-8200 or visit www.madeira.org. Landon in China Landon School is a college-preparatory all-boys day school for 660 students in grades three through 12. This school, which was founded in 1929, is located in Bethesda, Md., on a 75-acre campus. Bradley, headmaster since 1990, has received The Washington Post Distinguished Education Leadership Award. Among his proudest accomplishments is the schoolís unusual and extensiv e program in Chinese studies, which Bradley launched and fostered. The program includes Mandarin Chinese language classes starting in the fifth grade, Chinese cultural studies and activities, and an immersion and travel program that takes students to China to live with host families. The program also brings Chinese students to live here in American homes and fosters teacher exchanges with schools in China. Finally, the program offers a variety of Chinese enrichment activities for students and staff at Landon School, including a food festival celebration during the Chinese New Year. The program, dubbed ìLandon-in-China,î is now in its seventh year. It has two full-time teachers, serves some 60 Landon students, and recently teamed up with Landonís sister school, Holton Arms, which is beginning a similar program that will ìpool capabilitiesî with Landon, Bradley explained. The popular program is expanding as more and more students and parents ìsee the wisdom of learning Chinese and learning about Chinaóa country of 1.5 billion people,î Bradley said. ìWe felt it was the right thing to do.î ìWith Asian cultures playing such an important part on the world stage,î said Dali Tan, the programís director, ìitís important to offer students this opportunity to learn.î Tan said the Landon-in-China program teaches students how to speak Mandarin and incorporates Chinese culture studies into each language class. ìThe fifth-grade class is introduction and cultural enrichment,î she said, with a focus on numbers, colors and holidays. Grammar studies then begin in the sixth grade, and some Landon students graduate fluent in Mandarin. Two Landon program graduates have continued their Chinese studies thus faróone at Princeton University and the other at Indiana University. The Landon-in-China program includes a six-week summer immersion and cultural tour led by Tan, where students stay in host homes for two weeks. Although this yearís trip was canceled because of concerns about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the trip typically includes visits to Beijing and Shanghai and travel to rural areas. One year, students took a tour of the ancient Silk Road. One interesting advantage of Chinese studies, Tan noted, is the neurological effect of learning Chinese pictographs, an effort that ìmobilizes both sides of the brainî instead of just the language-related left hemisphere. ìSome studies show this has the potential to help dyslexic children,î Tan added. Tan bubbles with enthusiasm about the program, echoing the pride expressed by others at the school. One of these is Landon senior Raleigh Martin, who was named a 2003 Presidential Scholar and was recognized by President Bush. Allowed to select a teacher who influenced him the most, he named Tan as his greatest inspiration. Landonís tuition is $18,600 through the fifth grade and $20,200 for the middle and upper schools. The school provided $1.6 million in financial aid last year and $1.7 million this year. For more information, please call (301) 320-3200 or visit www.landon.net. Carolyn Cosmos is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.