MPS pushing one-sex schools

Panel likely to urge one all-boys, one all-girls, for the fall


An all-boys schools and an all-girls school could open as part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system by September.

In documents made available in advance of a School Board committee meeting Tuesday, MPS administrators said, "MPS strongly believes that parents should be given the opportunity to choose single-sex schools for their children if they believe that these schools will help their children."

Specific schools are not spelled out in the resolution to be considered Tuesday - in fact, it doesn't pinpoint whether the focus should be on high schools, middle schools or even elementary grades.

But the MPS administration, led by Superintendent William Andrekopoulos, recommended giving the idea a green light and allowing administrators to seek proposals for two single-sex schools, with the goal of opening them for the coming school year. That plan is expected to be recommended by the board's Innovation and School Reform Committee on Tuesday and be approved by the full board Jan. 25.

Creating single-sex schools and classes remains controversial, but the idea has gained momentum and popularity around the nation in recent years.
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