Single-sex public schools are seen as a vehicle for improving the educational experiences of low-income and minority students. Our two-year ethnographic study of low-income and minority students who attended experimental single-sex academies in California indicates that improving achievement involves more than separating students by gender. Using students' and educators' voices, this anthropological study shows that these schools' successes were due more to the interrelated contributions of the schools' organizational characteristics, positive student-teacher relationships, and ample resources. (Contains 1 note.)