From an article in the Daily Mail,
A high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is defending its decision to segregate its students by race and gender.
The scheme, at McCaskey East High School, separates black students from the rest of the school body, and then further breaks it down into black females and black males.
The separation is only for a short period – six minutes each day and 20 minutes twice a month – but it naturally drew criticism for bringing back the awful memory of racial segregation.
A Lancasteronline.com article provides additional context:
The idea originated with Angela Tilghman, a McCaskey East instructional coach who was alarmed at the poor academic performance of the school’s black students.
Only about a third of McCaskey’s African-Americans scored proficient or advanced in reading on last year’s PSSAs, compared with 60 percent of white students and 42 percent of all students.
Math scores were even worse, with just 27 percent of black pupils scoring proficient or advanced.
Research has shown, Tilghman said, that grouping black students by gender with a strong role model can help boost their academic achievement and self-esteem.
