Boys will be boys, girls will be girls, and so at Takhini Elementary School, students may soon be learning in gender-segregated classrooms.

Principal Kelly Collins confirmed to the Star Monday his school staff and council are planning on launching a pilot project in September that would see students in Grades 1,2,4,5 and 6 enrolled in girls-only and boys-only classes.

"It's something we'd like to try," said Collins. The hope is that single-gender classes would see students learning in an environment better-tailored to the ways each gender learns.

"Our staff can in fact see how boys and girls do react differently to questions and presentations in class differently," he said.

The impetus behind the Kindergarten to Grade 7 school's restructuring is the work of psychologist Dr. Leonard Sacks, which promotes single-gender learning environments.

Collins said the education expert's work has struck a chord with him and his staff, who have seen Sacks' theories come to life in their classrooms.

Take literature studied in English classes, for example.

"Eighty per cent of it is focused towards girls," said Collins.

"So we will be looking for more literature that is geared towards boys."

This means more fantasy and non-fiction, while girl's classes would continue to use more classic fiction, as it better appeals to girl's interests.

As it stands now, Collins said teachers simply cannot adapt their teaching methods to equally benefit boys and girls in mixed classrooms.

"In co-education, you're disadvantaging one group or another," said Collins.

Teachers have told Collins they are excited to teach single-gender classes, and are on board with the pilot project.

Teachers in the B.C. Teacher's Federation are not so gung-ho about the idea.

"We don't think segregated classes are the solution," said Irene Lanzinger, a high school physics teacher, and the federation's president.

She researched gender learning differences for her master's degree in the early '90s and found the benefits of gender segregation are outweighed by its long-term implications.

"We teach children to learn and socialize in an environment that they'll experience in the real world," she told the Star Monday.

"This really misses the point of teaching kids to get along with each other."

Lanzinger said in her 30-year teaching career, she has not seen concrete evidence of allegations that the current education system favours either gender.

The Yukon's Education curriculum is the same as that of B.C.

Representatives of the Yukon Teacher's Association could not be reached for comment.

A report published in 2004 by the Canadian Centre for Knowledge Mobilisation says the research is inconclusive, one way or the other.

Authors Terri Thompson and Charles Ungerleider write that certain indicators can be deduced from the multitude of studies.

"Girls generally feel more comfortable and less intimidated in single-sex classes, and conversely, boys generally prefer the 'normativity' of mixed-sex environments."

The authors also conclude that if the goal of gender-segregated classrooms is to improve academic performance, the same can be done by improving other social factors, without gender-specific classrooms.

"If, in fact, it is about improving achievement for students, then one must consider the research, which suggests the single-sex environment itself does not have an effect on achievement."

Among the chief concerns raised is that of socialization, and what happens when boys and girls are kept separate in classrooms.

"The kids still get a chance to socialize at recess, so it's not an issue," said Collins. Indeed, if boys and girls are socializing in the classrooms, that detracts from academic pursuits.

The school's physical education teacher has already begun experimenting with gender-separated activities, without overtly labelling the activities as such.

"What we've found is that frankly, the boys are better behaved," said Collins.

Critics of gender segregation also point out that dividing classrooms into two - boys in one and girls in another - means doubling resources and teaching staff.

Takhini Elementary would not need additional staff or resources to accommodate the pilot project, Collins said.

Instead, Grades 1 and 2 classes would be mixed to see a girls 1/2 and a boys 1/2 split.

It would be the same thing with students in Grades 4 and 5, although Collins said they don't like to use the term "split" grades, but rather "mixed-age" classes.

The Grade 6 students next year are abundant enough to create one all-boys and one all-girls class. Those in Kindergarten and Grades 3 and 7 would be unaffected.

Collins said he was not sure if the school would be able to become fully gender-segregated, as the numbers may not add up.

There is some training required to help teachers adapt their teaching styles to a girls-only or a boys-only classroom, but most of that will be done through self-training, said Collins.

Teachers would also be encouraged to pore through the research done by experts like Sacks to incorporate into their regimens.

The staff presented its case to the parents' council at a recent meeting, emphasizing that the changes would only benefit the children.

"They supported it," said Collins.

Council chair Judy Lightening said the parents she's heard from have little to say, at least so far.

"Most parents don't really have an opinion, or aren't concerned about it," she said Tuesday. "They think it might be a good plan."

The next step is to get the seal of approval from the Department of Education, and from Takhini residents.

"We need the endorsement from the Takhini community," said Collins, who also said he will organize a public meeting in the near future.

Education Minister Patrick Rouble was not made available to the Star this week to discuss the school's plans.