Published: February 1, 1991

A School Of Their Own

PINK MARBLE WALLS LINE THE FOYER OF the massive brick building. Two larger-than-lifesize statues of women in classical pose dominate the entrance. Such imagery and opulence are not typical of public schools. This, however, is no typical public school. It's the Philadelphia High School for Girls, the last public single-sex high school in the United States.

Single-sex schooling has gone out of style, something the 65 teachers at "Girls' High'' can't understand. They say their school is a teacher's paradise, where they can offer advancedplacement math to a packed house, crack a joke without losing control of the class, and teach without stopping every 10 minutes to ask for attention. Substitute teachers confess that they actually enjoy stepping in.

"When I got here nine years ago, I hugged the principal,'' English teacher Mort Bender exclaims. "Out of 32 years of teaching, these nine years...