DIVIDE AND CONQUER SINGLE-SEX EDUCATION SENDS GIRLS, BOYS TO HEAD OF THE CLASS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The girls at Louisville High School in Woodland Hills relaxed on the grass in the midday sun, most wearing sweats, minimal makeup and hair knotted in sloppy ponytails.

At Louisville's Encino counterpart, Crespi Carmelite High School, deep voices spilled out from the open classroom windows. Student conduct carried an air of formality as teachers adapted instruction to hold the boys' interests and increase their retention.

The student experience at both these gender-segregated Catholic high schools appears a world apart from that at any coed campus, public or private.

``Night and day,'' is how Crespi English teacher Brian Sheehan, who also taught for five years in Los Angeles Unified School schools, described the difference between his coed and all-boy classes.

``When I came to teach boys, it was a different dynamic, and I really prefer it,'' he said. ``My first semester here was just getting used to all that testosterone in one room and all that energy. It was a little overwhelming. But they seemed less distracted because the girls weren't in the classroom.''

Poised for a comeback

Single-sex education, once a common practice, is poised for a comeback, in part because of a policy change announced last fall by the U.S. Department of Education that allows limited gender segregation in public schools.

Administrators and teachers in girls' and boys' private schools point to research that shows profound benefits for both groups. Indeed, several studies indicate that girls are more inclined to actively participate in science and math courses in a girls-only setting.

In coed classes, by comparison, some researchers say girls still are called upon less than boys in math and science classes, even years after that inequity came to light.

Researcher Michael Gurian, author of ``Boys and Girls Learn Differently,'' has provided the template for Crespi's instruction methods. His model uses the latest understanding of brain physiology to reach young men more effectively.

``After 10 to 15 minutes of one activity, the man's brain goes into a rest state,'' explained Jonathan Shield, Crespi's vice principal of academic affairs.

With this in mind, Crespi's teachers no longer consider jiggling knees and tapping pencils an annoyance. They see them as reflexes used to stay focused and alert. The school even handed out palm-sized stress balls for students to squeeze during final exams.

But not everyone is a convert.

A recent study called ``Separate But Superior?'' from Arizona State University finds a majority of the research on results of single-sex education is flawed.

ASU researchers said most studies fail to adequately address important variables such as income level, the quality of students' prior schooling, religious values and the Socratic teaching style more often found in single-sex private schools.

``You can probably find research out there to support any argument you want to make,'' Louisville Principal Kathleen Vercillo admitted.

Still, she says her own experience speaks volumes.

``Particularly in these adolescent years, I think that they thrive in a single-sex environment,'' she said. ``Particularly the girls. They're able to focus on their studies. They can be who they are.''

Vercillo noted that most of her students take four years of high school science -- a higher percentage than girls in coed schools.

``It was easy to develop your own opinion and voice your own opinion and not have to worry about what the guys are thinking and what they're going to say,'' said Louisville graduate Victoria Sanchez, 18, a Granada Hills resident who's now a freshman at California State University, Northridge.

Curing classroom shyness

Kelsey Brock, a Louisville graduate from Studio City now at the University of California, Santa Barbara, credits her high school experience with curing her classroom shyness.

``It was a lot easier to say whatever you think in class,'' the 18-year-old said.

And Sanchez recalled the inhibition she witnessed firsthand when Crespi and Louisville had exchange days.

``It was amazing to see the difference in one day -- the girls going from looking like slobs to looking nice, and wearing makeup and perfume and, like, showering -- and then not talking. We'd go into classrooms and have activities and they wouldn't say a word,'' she said.

Critics of gender segregation likely would interpret those dynamics as proof that single-sex education restricts interaction with the opposite sex at a critical time of social development.

And they say a curriculum that's too targeted -- say, a steady literature diet of Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen for girls or action, war and supernatural works for boys -- puts students at a disadvantage when they enter college.

One new frontier is the addition of special gender-segregated classes in coed schools. Some LAUSD campuses are testing them on a pilot basis, including Jordan High School in Watts.

Two years ago Jordan initiated an intensive single-sex intervention program, selecting 30 at-risk boys to take all their classes together without girls.

Now in the 11th grade, the boys are showing progress. Last year, 85% of them passed the state's graduation exam, compared with 24% of the school's other sophomores.

Superintendent taking notice

LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer has taken notice, asking his staff to look into the possibility of establishing other boys-only academies in the district.

As families weigh their options for next fall's enrollment, experts say there are many points to consider.

``Are all-boy and all-girl schools a good idea? It depends on the kid and the family,'' said Shari Tarver-Behring, a professor of educational psychology at CSUN. ``Every kid is unique. Try to know their strengths and their interests. Clearly everybody's got to learn some fundamentals in life, but then there's a lot of range on how you approach the kid and what areas they may be more interested in.''

Louisville's principal agrees.

``For each individual student, you just need to find the right fit,'' Vercillo said. ``A single-sex environment is not for everyone. It's an absolutely wonderful environment for many.''

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) At Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, seniors, from left, Bianca Casari, Christine Saiki, Lacey Gormley and Megan Littrell, all 17, enjoy their lunch on the senior lawn.

(2 -- color) Junior girls at Louisville High School in Woodland Hills enjoy lollipops after lunch on a recent afternoon.

(3 -- color) Freshman boys at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino soak in the all-male atmosphere in English class.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer