A detrimental imbalance has existed nationally that has left boys at an unintentional systemic disadvantage in learning. Decisions are made about curricular content, behavior management and the structure of the school day that inadvertently ignores boys’ interests, experiences and inherent tendencies. Compared to girls, boys often perform lower academically and receive more disciplinary action, and are more frequently diagnosed with learning disabilities and emotional disorders. Unfortunately, these elementary performance disparities follow the genders through to high school graduation where the gap in graduation rates can also be found.
The Foundation’s board oversaw the creation of a white paper on the subject and, in 2013-14, held a series of community symposiums identifying the gap in our community. Working closely with Pinellas County Schools, the Foundation launched a transformative endeavor. It began with six Pinellas elementary schools and has since grown to 10, each offering gender specific teaching methods to support student success.
The percentage the gender gap has been closed at Woodlawn from 2017-18 to 2018-19.
The nearly 10 percentage point gain in literacy proficiency for boys (Grades 3-5, 2019- 20) at Belcher Elementary, designated as the next Closing the Gap showcase school.
The program’s percentage of projected literacy proficiency for boys Grades 3-5 from Winter 2019-20; improved from 43.1 in 2018-19.
As our goal is to close the achievement gap, we always keep our students in the forefront of our planning and curriculum design. By using specific strategies that support the boys need for movement and water, our girls need for cohesive grouping and communication, and our cross brain students flourishing under either condition we work to create a classroom environment that all students can thrive within. By providing both genders with the structure they need and students with the resources and skills to work through difficult moments we want all individuals to feel empowered within their learning environment, though, cool down techniques, communication skills, movement opportunities and learning strategies.
In order for students to learn they must be in a productive learning environment, that is why we aim to support teachers with the resources and strategies needed. Through our program teachers learn about the brain and its development from infancy to adulthood and how it differs in both genders. The brain in boys and girls, especially in reactions and processing new information, is at its most different between the ages of four and ten. We want our students to feel supported, we know our boys struggle to make eye contact as they often induces fear and sends up a fight, flight, or freeze response. We provide teachers with new strategies such as talking with boys about difficult topics when they are side by side facing the same direction and incorporating some sort of movement, like walking or bouncing a ball. We know teachers have a “bag of tricks” they pull from to meet student needs and we want to add to it!
We would be nothing without the support and involvement of the community. Through the Pinellas Education foundation, they have sponsored this ongoing initiative and understand the value that strong education brings to a community. Sebastian Dortch, a Pinellas Education Foundation Board Member states, “We have a vested interest in seeing our students preform well academically because they’re going become our future employees.” Parents also have an interest in seeing their children succeed, especially those that previously may have struggled in a typical classroom environment. “I love seeing both by son and daughter excited about school and talk about learning in a positive way,” says Ms. Owa a parent with a kindergarten and fourth grade student both in classrooms with gender strategies.
