Why is our South Carolina charter school so successful? We teach boys and girls separately

At the start of this school year, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Langston Charter Middle School a National Blue Ribbon. As the principal of one of only a few hundred schools nationwide and one of just four awardees in South Carolina to receive that distinction last year, I was truly humbled to accept the honor on behalf of our students, teachers and families.

What makes our school unique is our emphasis on single-sex learning — we teach boys and girls separately. Here’s why we chose that approach and more on the results we’ve seen.

A 24-year study of 387 adolescents published in 2007, the largest longitudinal pediatric neuroimaging study at the time, found sharp contrasts in the development of the cerebral cortex in adolescent boys and girls. The difference began in earlier years, and peaked in adolescence, with total cerebral volume peaking at 10.5 years in females and 14.5 years in males.

In looking at these data, researchers later determined that girls reach the midway point in overall brain development approximately four years before boys do, as psychologist and physician Leonard Sax wrote in his 2017 second edition book “Why Gender Matters.”

Especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, girls react well to strategies that are collaborative instead of competitive and participate more during discussions of concepts with multiple approaches to problem solving.

Researchers have noted the trajectory of these differences in cerebral cortex development. As this part of the brain is responsible for functions including, but not limited to, executive function and organization, language, impulsivity, the regulation of emotions and problem solving, the differences in how girls and boys learn can have profound impacts in the classroom.

We wondered: If girls have faster cerebral cortex development, which affects their learning styles, abilities at certain stages and other aspects of education, should they be taught in the same classroom as boys?

Based on the scientific research and an examination of how boys and girls learn, Lisa Stevens, Langston’s founding board chair, gathered a group of dedicated parents and professionals in Greenville County to map out the creation of a high-quality middle school. These community leaders became Langston’s founding charter committee and they filed our charter school application 20 years ago to establish single-sex classrooms.

We have never looked back.

Our teaching is tailored to differences in sex-based learning, backed by science. Generally speaking, girls enjoy cooperative work and seeing the larger picture before they get into granular details and boys like to take steps one-at-a time before they’re able to see the big picture. Boys also move a lot and need smaller bits of instruction at a time. Our single-sex classrooms are designed to support these differences.

In its 2025 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Langston Charter Middle School third out of 589 middle schools in South Carolina. Langston students performed twice as well on standardized South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessment tests as the average state student; 88% of Langston girls met or exceeded expectations on the English Language Arts portion of the test and 86% of boys did, and 70% of the girls met or exceeded expectations on the math test and 72% of boys did. We have a pass rate of 98% for the algebra end-of-course assessment.

Langston teaches the same state standards as any other middle school in South Carolina. However, we use single-sex classes and different pedagogy to teach our students in a way that best meets their developmental needs. Families know this when they consider our charter school as an option for their child. While high achieving private schools and magnet programs have entry qualifications that students must pass for admission, we do not. Our lottery is open to all students, regardless of academic performance.

As a public charter school, we are granted flexibility to develop single-sex classrooms as a specific model of instruction. Our 2024 National Blue Ribbon shows both that our model works well and that school choice can help students and families succeed outside traditional schools.

This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 6:00 AM.