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“Who’s more confident without the boys around?” a teacher asked a group of class leaders after school one day.Įvery single girl - 13 in total - raised her hand.īutler long struggled with state standards, earning a D or F grade year after year. Without the boys, they say, there is more girlish “drama,” but no one picks on them and they’re more focused in class. The girls at Butler, meanwhile, say they love their new single-gender classroom setup. “Yeah …” they agreed, reluctantly admitting defeat. When pressed, though, the boys admit they’re less distracted now. “Because who doesn’t want to?!” he exclaimed, exasperated, when asked why he wanted to spend time with girls so badly.
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You have to learn how to talk to girls eventually, they said. Hiram, the initially unhappy student, argued that, at the very least, boys should get to be with girls during lunch or electives. Separating boys and girls has been the most visible evidence of change at Butler, but students acknowledge that the move has had the desired effect. Beyond that, the district may expand the academies all the way through high school. At Butler, the district is even considering adding a ninth grade to the middle school next year. The effort seems to be working - and single-gender education could soon be in place in more Duval schools. Those are just some of the drastic changes made to turn around the school near downtown that many neighborhood families had fled over the years. Girls are on the first floor in the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, and boys are on the second floor in the Young Men’s Leadership Academy.Įach school has a new principal, a staff of specifically selected teachers and a prep school uniform that includes ties and blazers with a school crest. Butler - are, as of this school year, single-gender academies.

Butler Middle School - now referred to as the Leadership Schools at Eugene J.

“I was crying,” said Hiram Tookes, a seventh-grader, describing his reaction when he learned he would go to class with only other boys. Not everyone was thrilled with the idea at first. By Tessa boys and girls are kept apart at one of Jacksonville’s most historically troubled middle schools.
