3-5-99 Long Beach Press Telegram

Students protest single-sex classes

By Paul Young
Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - Jefferson Middle School students had a civics lesson Friday when a handful of the campus's 1,100 students gathered to protest the single-gender program slated for their school for next fall.

California has six single-gender public school programs, but Jefferson's would be the first program requiring all students to participate. Research has shown that girls, in particular, do better academically in subjects such as math and science when the other sex isn't present.

But forget all that mumbo-jumbo, said some students.

They are upset that next semester, they can't mingle with the opposite sex. That means no more love letters in class, no more blowing kisses across the room.

So they decided to chant.

"We want a choice, We want a choice, We want a choice," echoed from the school building as about 20 girls from the campus carried on, many jokingly.

Others held up colored signs reading, "Don't experiment on Jefferson students," and "A house divided will not stand."

The boys looked on with smirks.

"They only see us as numbers," said seventh-grader, Ericka White, who helped organize the protest.
"We've been with boys all the way since preschool ... Then they come out of the blue and say, 'We're changing the school,' well they should've asked us."