Parents of some middle school students will have the option of placing their children in single-gender classrooms this fall.

Sims Junior High School Principal Mickey Connolly told the Union County Board of School Trustees Monday that single-gender classes will be offered at the new Sims Middle School. When enrollment begins in the spring, parents will have the option of having their children attend single-gender classes in grades 6, 7 and 8. Connolly said it is part of the new statewide program of offering parents greater choice in the schools and classes their children attend.

“This is one of the practices being offered across the state as part of State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex’s school choice program,” he said. “This offers parents a choice in the kind of environment they want their children to attend school in.”

Connolly told the board that research shows students perform better academically in single-gender environments.

“Students achieve more because boys and girls learn differently,” he said. “Boys are much more hands on, they learn better with movement and inquiry where they are actually finding out why things work. Girls learn better in a quiet setting in their seats or at their desks in a traditional classroom setting.”

While the single-gender option will be offered for some classes, other classes and activities will remain coed.

“This will be in the core academic classes such as math, language arts, science and social studies,” Connolly said. “Arts classes and lunch would still be coed.”

For more information about single-gender classrooms, contact Connolly at 429-1755.