TOLEDO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TPS to expand on single-gender learning

Also, media outlets to partner with Scott High broadcasting program

Samuel M. Jones at Gunckel Park Elementary

Toledo Public Schools announced two new initiatives today that will start next school year.

The first involves the conversion of Samuel M. Jones at Gunckel Park Elementary into a high school with single-gender wings, a move that expands on the district's single gender elementary schools. The second is a partnerships between local media outlets and Scott High School's broadcast program.

Jones Elementary will be converted to a grades 7 through 12 school, though the building will start with grades 7, 8, and 9 next year, adding a grade each year. There will be a boys and girls wing at the school, with students taking classes with peers of the same gender, and opportunities for co-education activities.

The school will be a district-wide magnet school, so students from across TPS can attend.

Students who currently attend Jones will have four options: they can attend nearby neighborhood schools Marshall Elementary or Pickett Academy, or they can attend magnet schools Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls or Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy for Boys.

Jones is the lowest performing school in TPS.

At Scott, radio, TV, and print media outlets are partnering with the school to provide students first-hand experience in multimedia professions. WTOL, Clear Channel, and BCSN will work with broadcast students at Scott. The outlets will broadcast at times from the school, allow students to work in their studios, or have students produce their own pieces.

Scott students will also work with The Blade to develop an school news Web site. The paper has worked this year with Start High School, and the Scott Web site should be similar to that project, called www.lifeatstart.com.