SANFORD — Sanford Superintendent of Schools David Theoharides said the school committee will consult with its attorney after a civil rights group demanded Monday the school department discontinue four single-gender classrooms in one of its five elementary schools.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and its national counterpart have demanded Sanford and other schools nationwide that offer single-gender classrooms halt the practice, because, according to an ACLU of Maine attorney Zachary Heiden, they were first organized on what he called improper gender stereotypes.

“We’re concerned about the basis of the program,” said Heiden.

The classes were first offered at Willard School in 2009, when one classroom of girls and one of boys was established. Theoharides said the single-gender classes were offered as an alternative; there are other co-ed sixth-grade classrooms at Willard School. He said the classes were so popular the program was expanded to one female class and one male class of fifth-grade students a year ago. The co-ed and single-gender classes use the same curriculum, and the students take music, art and physical education together, he said.

“It’s completely voluntary,” said Theoharides of the classes, and students must have their parents’ permission. “Are we stereotyping kids? Not at all. We’re providing an option.”

In a prepared statement emailed to media outlets at mid-morning Monday, the ACLU of Maine said an investigation they conducted showed single-gender programs at Willard School are based on disputed theories that suggest that boys and girls learn so differently that they need to be educated separately.

“There’s an enormous danger of schools reinforcing gender stereotypes. We hope the schools will take the idea of segregation by gender as seriously as they do by race,” said Heiden.

The ACLU of Maine said documents they obtained from the school department suggest how improper stereotypes were incorporated into the single-gender classrooms at Willard School, referencing how sixth-grade girls drank hot chocolate and read the newspaper, while the boys class created an exercise area within the classroom.

“Federal law and the Constitution require equal educational opportunities for male and female students,” said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the ACLU of Maine Foundation. “Unfortunately, the program in Sanford includes exercise for boys but hot chocolate for girls, which only reinforces the stereotypes the school should be attempting to eradicate.”

Theoharides said the hot chocolate and exercise examples were taken out of context, and that the teacher in the girls classroom was looking for ways to promote reading.

In 2009, when Principal Chuck Potter approached the school committee for approval of what was then a pilot program, he said studies show students in single-gender classrooms have fewer distractions from the opposite sex, feel more comfortable and are less afraid to take risks.

On Monday, he said surveys show that students in both fifth- and sixth-grade, single-gender classrooms had fewer disciplinary referrals and that 88 percent of boys and 89 percent of girls would recommend a single-gender classroom.

In June 2011, Potter told the school committee that scores from the North West Evaluation Association showed boys in the sixth-grade, single-gender classroom exceeded co-ed classes’ scores in reading and language usage, although math scores were nearly identical. Girls in the single-gender class did better than their co-ed counterparts in reading and language usage, but trailed in math ”“ which could be because of any number of factors, school officials said, including the absence of the students’ regular teacher at the time because of medical reasons.

“We haven’t investigated in any great detail the performance material,” said Heiden. “Our concern goes beyond simple academic performance. Too often, the justification is based on unscientific stereotypes.”

Heiden said the ACLU of Maine requested documents from the school department.

“What we reviewed led us to believe the program is based on unscientific stereotypes, but as yet we have not done a full-scale investigation of the school,” said Heiden.

He said he didn’t know if other schools in Maine have single-gender classrooms.

Theoharides, meanwhile, said the school department cooperated fully with the ACLU of Maine when it requested documents last fall, and that as of 10 p.m. Monday hadn’t received the “demand” letter the civil rights organization referenced in the prepared statement.

“We were very cooperative with them, and they were completely uncooperative with us. Communication would be nice,” said Theoharides.

In order to safeguard against sex discrimination, federal law prohibits coeducational schools from implementing single-sex programs unless they meet extremely stringent legal requirements, according to the ACLU of Maine. At a minimum, schools must offer a persuasive justification for the decision to institute single-sex programming, the programs must be completely voluntary, and a substantially equal co-educational alternative must be available.

The ACLU has sent similar public records requests to schools and school districts in Massachusetts, Indiana, Idaho, Washington and Illinois, and continues to review records from pending requests in several other states.

The ACLU will call on state governments to investigate violations, and said if such programs are not ended, will consider pursuing further legal action, including filing lawsuits and administrative complaints with state and federal agencies.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.