Bush intends - and he has bipartisan support - to promote the inclusion of all-boys and all-girls schools as part of his education reform platform. His proposed policy change would reverse three decades of federal laws that have discouraged separating boys and girls in public school classrooms - even though similar formats have achieved great success in private schools.

Hartford has two novel gender-based initiatives at Fox Middle School that not only have shown promise, but are worthy of expansion. The Benjamin E. Mays Institute, which I wrote about six months ago, is a program in which 75 boys - all black in this case - are taught by black male teachers in core subjects. The students wear slacks, dress shirts and ties to class and are expected to exhibit community leadership, such as tutoring or helping with voter registration drives. Parent involvement is critical. Discipline is rigid. The kids aren't cut any slack if they act up or slip up in the classroom.

The Mary McCleod Bethune Institute is a similar program run at Fox for about 90 girls, all African American. The bottom line: Students in the two academies are outperforming their city peers on the Connecticut Mastery Tests.

There is waiting list for the Bethune program.

The success of the programs belies the stereotypes about urban education. What they show is that students - regardless of their socioeconomic background - will respond if you place them in an environment where there are high expectations, parent involvement and discipline.

"I can see the difference," says Pamela Smith, head teacher and a founder of the Bethune program. "I've seen girls who had poor self-esteem, and you can see their self-esteem rise to heights that their parents couldn't believe could happen."

The Bethune program started six years ago, a year after the Mays school opened, because a number of teachers were alarmed about the unruly behavior of young girls. Many were acting and talking tough like boys.

"They needed some structure and a positive guidance in their lives," Smith said, adding that she believes the gender-based programs also cut down on teen pregnancy.

"There is a time and a place for children of the opposite sex to come together, and I think they're coming together much too soon these days," Smith says. "We as parents and educators have to prepare them, instill good morals, show them what's right and wrong through examples."

Nationwide, educational studies have shown mixed results on the benefit of single-gender school. It really depends on the student's need. There are 11 single-gender public schools in the United States; all serve urban students, many of them are poor. The anecdotal evidence is encouraging:

There is a waiting list of 1,200 for The Women's Leadership School of East Harlem for girls in grades 7-12. All of last year's 35-member graduating class went to a four-year college, except for one who enlisted in the Army.

At Baltimore's Western High School, a 159-year-old all-girl school, 94 percent of the students go on to college.

Half of the 356 students at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Seattle, attended mostly by students of color, were split into single-gender classes this year. Suspensions for boys decreased and there was an improvement in student performance, according to Principal Ben Wright.

"I'm for single-gender education because our kids, both male and female, need role models," said Sadiq Ali, a Benjamin Mays institute teacher and founder. "They are out of control, and we need to separate them and provide positive role models so they can see how young men and women should act."

For those who'd argue that segregated schools are inherently wrong, the counter is that the large majority of these students are achieving. Also, these are "choice" schools. Parents choose to enroll their kids there.

"We're generally supportive of initiatives that provide more flexibility and choice for parents," says Thomas Murphy, a spokesman for the state Department of Education. "That's, of course, with the understanding that there should be equal educational opportunity. There are parents and educators that have an interest in providing specialized education for boys and girls that would benefit them uniquely."

Keep an eye on Bush's single-gender school initiative. It's one likely to gain traction and it could have far-reaching positive results for urban schools nationwide.

Little Hartford might actually be viewed as a model.