Superintendent Delays Single-Sex Schools Proposal
The Austin school district put the brakes on a proposal for two single-sex schools for now. Photo by kristina sohappy, http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristina-sohappy.The Austin school district is putting the brakes on its proposal for two single-sex schools.
Austin ISD was hoping to get the school board’s approval next month to turn Pearce and Garcia Middle schools into single-sex campuses in the 2013-14 school year. Both schools — located in Northeast Austin — have failed to meet the state’s academic benchmarks for multiple years.
But some parents and about half the school board had reservations over the proposal and whether it would actually improve outcomes. So Superintendent Meria Carstarphen now plans to present the single-sex schools proposal to the board for a vote in December.
If it’s approved — and that’s still a big if — the implementation would then be for the 2014-15 school year at the earliest.
