Dallas Considers All-Girls Middle School

[TexasStooge]

DALLAS -- The Dallas School District is considering opening an all-girls middle school at the old Hay Elementary School campus at Lemmon and Herschel.

Educators are finding that gender specific schools, especially for girls, can be helpful.

"We are in a different era," said Maureen Peters, of Alliance AFT. "What we have found out in many places is that girls are intimidated by the forcefulness and aggressiveness of boys, and when you separate them, the girls will assume more leadership roles."

The proposed all-girls school would be for seventh and eighth graders and could open as early as next fall. There are no details yet on how many students could attend or the admission requirements.

If the concept for girls is a success, an all-boys middle school could be added in a few years.

"Having worked with middle school-aged kids, boys and girls, there are some distractions," said Lew Blackburn, of the Dallas School Board. "If we separate the boys from the girls, they both do better."

If the school board approves the concept later this month, the all-girls middle school will open next fall. If successful, the district will consider all-girls schools through the 12th grade.

[Colin]

LOL!!!! I'm in 7th grade myself and am a boy...I can see why girls would like this...

[JCT777]

I am not sure how good this is. I was pretty shy when I was in school, and I ended up going to an all-boys high school. Basically all that did was make me more nervous talking to girls once I graduated, since I did not see any girls in school for 4 years. Maybe it helped me focus on my studies a little better, but it hurt me socially.

[David]

But that takes the fun out of getting a girlfriend for all us guys.

[streetsoldier]

More PC BS, IMHO; can you say, "Divide and conquer"?

[coriolis]

I wouldn't object to seperate schools, but why would they give this opportunity to girls first? They should offer equal accommodations to both genders at the same time. Or is it OK to give an unfair advantage to a "disadvantaged" group? Just like the U. Michigan admissions, eh?

[streetsoldier]

This is just another liberal ploy to take us a little farther along on the path to "Balkanization"; i.e., everyone NOT a male, heterosexual Caucasian gets preferential treatment under whatever law/accommodations the "enlightened ones" can manage to conceive.

"Equal rights under law" is ONE thing...but over the last 30 years or so, that tenet has somehow slipped away from the public weal, to be replaced by some ugly facsimile thereof, and to the ultimate detriment of all.

[TexasStooge]

But that takes the fun out of getting a girlfriend for all us guys.

You're right about that, it does take the fun outta boys gettin' girlfriends.

[Guest]

I'm not sure I agree with the idea of an all-girl school. I agree with the others here that during school your social skills are just developing. College is supposedly wild now since kids are just getting away from home for the first time. Imagine if they were just being introduced to a male/female mix school then. I don't think much studying would get accomplished then. But then again, maybe the incidence of teenage pregnancy would decrease if kids were separated. I'm just not sure. I'll be interested to see how this one turns out.