Founder of the Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development (MCRCAD), Dr. Leonard Sax, both a medical doctor and doctor of psychology, will spend the day with students at Jason Lee Middle on Tuesday, March 8. Later that evening, Dr. Sax will also share with the community the differences between boys and girls and how, by understanding these differences, we can help raise healthier and more successful children.
“Dr. Sax is a distinguished leader in research on innate differences between genders and has extensive experience working with school districts on child and adolescent development,” said Jason Lee Principal Jon Kellett. “The staff at Jason Lee is studying two of the books written by Dr. Sax, which are titled, Boy’s Adrift and Girls on the Edge. We are pleased he is able to meet with our families and teachers as part of our efforts.”
This year, one of the changes made at Jason Lee as a Transformational Merit School was implementing single sex classrooms in the academic core classes in the sixth grade. The sixth-grade boys are placed in all boys classrooms and the sixth-grade girls are placed in all girls classrooms for math, science and humanities instruction. All other classes and the campus are co-educational.
The district is bringing Dr. Sax, who is the founder of the Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development (MCRCAD), to Jason Lee Middle School as part of its work as a Transformational Merit School in implementing single sex classrooms in the academic core classes in the sixth grade. He will work with students and teachers during the day on March 8 and parents at night.
Dr. Sax will conduct two student assemblies, one for boys and one for girls. The boys’ assembly takes place at 8:45 a.m. and the girls’ assembly takes place at 10 a.m. After visiting Jason Lee classrooms, he will conduct a professional development session in the Jason Lee Library for staff in the afternoon from 3:05 to 5:35 p.m. Any interested Tacoma Public School administrator or staff member with flexibility in their schedule, are invited to sit in on the morning assemblies or afterschool professional development session with Dr. Sax.
The evening presentation by Dr. Sax will take place on Tuesday, March 8, from 7–9 p.m., in the Auditorium at Jason Lee Middle School, 602 N. Sprague Ave. The Tacoma Public Schools is sponsoring this free event, which is open to the public. Dr. Sax will share an emphasis on what parents can do to engage and motivate their sons and daughters to achieve at higher levels in schools now and, more importantly, in their future lives.
Contact Jason Lee Middle School at 253-571-7700 for more information on this important event.
—more—
Biography of Dr. Leonard Sax:
Leonard Sax MD PhD graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and then went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both a PhD in psychology, and an MD. He completed a three-year residency in family practice at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1989 through 2008, he was a practicing family physician in Maryland, just outside Washington DC. In 2005, Doubleday published his first book Why Gender Matters. His second book, Boys Adrift: the five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men, was published in 2007. His most recent book Girls on the Edge: the four factors driving the new crisis for girls was published in May 2010.
In 2002, Dr. Sax founded the Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development (MCRCAD). In 2008, he left medical practice to devote himself full-time to MCRCAD. He has spoken on issues of child and adolescent development not only in Canada and the United States but also in Australia, Bermuda, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland and Spain. He has been a guest on the CBC program “The Current” (three times), and has twice been featured in Maclean’s magazine, most recently for the cover story for the issue dated May 10 2010. He has also appeared on the TODAY Show (four times), CNN (three times), PBS, NPR, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and many other national and international media. His website is www.leonardsax.com.
Some comments regarding Why Gender Matters, Boys Adrift, and Girls on the Edge:
The New York Times called Dr. Sax’s first book Why Gender Matters “. . . a lucid guide to male and female brain differences.”
The Journal of the American Medical Association said that Dr. Sax’s second book Boys Adrift “. . . is powerfully and persuasively presented. . . Excellent and informative references and information are provided.” Dr. Mehmet Oz said that Boys Adrift is “a must-read for any parent of boys.”
Library Journal described Dr. Sax’s third book Girls on the Edge as “. . .essential reading for parents and teachers, and one of the most thought-provoking books on teen development available.”
The Atlantic Monthly magazine described Girls on the Edge as “. . .the best book about the current state of girls and young women in America . . . offers astonishing and troubling new insight . . .”
A cover story for TIME magazine on gender differences included the following statement:
“Until recently, there have been two groups of people: those who argue sex differences are innate and should be embraced and those who insist that they are learned and should be eliminated. Sax is one of the few in the middle -- convinced that boys and girls are innately different and that we must change the environment so differences don't become limitations."