Creating the Conditions for Success

To prepare children for future success, it is important to recognize that boys and girls develop at different rates. Did you know, girls develop about six years earlier in language and fine motor skills and boys develop about four years earlier than girls in targeting and spatial memory?

Proponents of single-gender education understand that educating boys and girls separately – when they are not being directly compared to each other or at risk for being ridiculed for their differences – helps them to develop greater self-confidence and self-awareness. These are vital to the growth and development of social and emotional intelligence.

A unique twist on this approach is coordinate education, which offers the best of both worlds: two single-sex schools on the same campus. Girls and boys are educated separately in the classroom yet can socialize together. Coordinate schools recognize that the social and emotional experiences that children have in schools shapes their learning— and ultimately effects how they think and act. Teachers work to understand the developmental stages of boys and girls and scaffold the learning so there is a love of learning for life.

St. Andrew’s Schools in downtown Honolulu is the only coordinate school program in Hawaiʻi to offer this unique learning experience.

“When children are educated in a deeply respectful and compassionate learning environment, they can be themselves – embraced, honored and empowered to be who they are,” says Dr. Ruth Fletcher, head of school at St. Andrew’s Schools. “By understanding and embracing the differences between boys and girls, we create the conditions for all students to learn and grow. Our students readily venture past societal expectations or stereotypes to reach their full promise.”

Organizations value people who are highly competent in cognitive, social and emotional skills. Children who have the opportunity to learn these from an early age have a distinct advantage in the work force and in life.

St. Andrew’s Schools
224 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu, HI 96813
www.standrewsschools.org