THE GENDER GAP SURVEY BY USA WEEKEND

What are today's teens views on gender?

Teen-agers around the country are being urged to participate in USA WEEKEND's annual Teen Survey and Partners in Education program. This year's survey topic is The Gender Gap: Are boys and girls treated differently at school, at home and among their peers?

The survey is open to students in grades six through 12.

A copy of the survey can be found in today's paper. The survey also appeared last Sunday and will appear next Sunday in USA WEEKEND. Students must return the survey by April 15.

Last year, 250,000 students nationwide participated in the teen survey dealing with race relations. More than 400 area teens sent in their surveys dealing with race, said Kim McDowell, coordinator of the Newspaper in Education program at the Southeast Missourian.

"We are encouraging students to fill out the surveys and send them in," said McDowell. "The surveys are coded and all the results from our area will be tabulated. The local results can then be compared with the national survey findings."

The survey is USA WEEKEND's attempt at understanding teens' feelings regarding an important issue to teen readers, McDowell said. The survey is also a way for teachers using the newspaper in the classroom to prompt further discussion regarding gender issues, she said.

The local results of the survey will be published on Sept. 8 in the Southeast Missourian comparing them to the national results. USA WEEKEND will run the national results in a special Back-to-School issue on Sept. 8.

Students participating in the survey have a chance to win various prizes.

Two students will be chosen to visit the set and meet the cast of "Party of Five." One student will win a trip to Washington to help edit USA WEEKEND's Sept. 8 issue. Another student will be selected to announce the survey results on "Channel One News," a program shown daily in 12,000 schools.