Magnet school - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Education in the United States

Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...

, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses

Course (education)

The very broad dictionary meaning of the word course is the act or action of moving in a path from point to point . There are multiple meanings for this word, some of which include: general line of orientation, a mode of action, part of a meal, a mode of action, and many more. This article focuses...

or curricula

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

. "Magnet

Magnet

A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...

" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school zones that feed into certain schools.

There are magnet schools at the elementary school

Primary education in the United States

Primary education in the United States typically refers to the first six years of formal education in most jurisdictions. Primary education may also be referred to as elementary education and most schools offering these programs are referred to as elementary schools...

, middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

, and high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

levels. In the United States, where education is decentralized

Decentralization

__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...

, some magnet schools are established by school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

s and draw only from the district, while others (such as the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science

Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI

Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI was founded in 1992 by the Massachusetts State Legislature as a public magnet school to serve academically advanced youth in grades eleven and twelve in math, science, and technology.The school emphasizes...

, Las Vegas Academy

Las Vegas Academy

The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a magnet high school located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a "major" pertaining to performing arts, visual arts, or foreign languages.- Las Vegas High School...

, Clark High School Academy of Finance, Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Applied Technology, Maine School of Science and Mathematics

Maine School of Science and Mathematics

The Maine School of Science and Mathematics is a residential magnet high school in Limestone, Maine.MSSM serves students from all over the State of Maine, as well as youth from other states and international students. It is a high school for students in grades 9-12, and its summer program is for...

, and Commonwealth Governor's School

Commonwealth Governor's School

The Commonwealth Governor's School is one of 18 magnet Governor's Schools in Virginia. The Commonwealth Governor's School is a half-day program based on a school-within-a-school model...

s in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

) are set up by state governments

State governments of the United States

State governments in the United States are those republics formed by citizens in the jurisdiction thereof as provided by the United States Constitution; with the original 13 States forming the first Articles of Confederation, and later the aforementioned Constitution. Within the U.S...

and may draw from multiple districts. Other magnet programs are within comprehensive school

Comprehensive school

A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...

s, as is the case with several "schools within a school." In large urban areas, several magnet schools with different specializations may be combined into a single "center," such as Skyline High School in Dallas.

Other countries have similar types of schools, such as specialist school

Specialist school

The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...

s in Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

or Anatolian high schools

Anatolian High School

Anatolian High School refers to public or state high schools in Turkey that admit their students based on the nation-wide High School Entrance score....

in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Schools like this also operate in Australia. The majority of these are academically selective, for examples of these in New South Wales see academically selective

Selective school (New South Wales)

Selective schools in New South Wales, Australia are government high schools operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, that have accepted their students based upon their academic merit...

high schools. The two other types are built around elite sporting programs, with the other type being agricultural, which are schools intended to pass on skills specific to agricultural business such as farming or animal breeding.

History

Magnet schools emerged in the United States in the 1960s. as one means of remedying racial segregation

Racial segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

in public schools, and they were written into law in Sec. 5301 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Authorization. Demographic trends following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...

Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

decision revealed a pattern later characterized as white flight

White flight

White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...

, the hypersegregation of African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

s and European American

European American

A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...

s, as the latter moved to the suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

s.

At first, districts tried using involuntary plans which involved court-ordered attendance, the busing

Desegregation busing

Desegregation busing in the United States is the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools in such a manner as to redress prior racial segregation of schools, or to overcome the effects of residential segregation on local school demographics.In 1954, the U.S...

of children far from their homes, and building closer schools to achieve the required balance. Subsequently, voluntary school integration plans were developed. One approach educators within the public school system came up with was open schools. During the Open Schools movement of the 1970s, several ideas designed to influence public education were put into practice, including Schools without Walls, Schools within a School, Multicultural Schools, Continuation Schools, Learning Centers, Fundamental Schools, and Magnet Schools. "These schools were characterized by parent, student, and teacher choice, autonomy in learning and pace, non-competitive evaluation, and a child centered approach." Magnet schools have been the most successful of the ideas that originated from the Open Schools movement. It was expounded in 1971 by educator Nolan Estes, superintendent of Dallas Independent School District

Dallas Independent School District

The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...

. The Magnet Schools Assistance Program

Magnet Schools Assistance Program

Magnet Schools Assistance is a Federal grants program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is designed to help desegregate public schools by supporting the elimination, reduction, and prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with...

was developed in the early 1980s as a way to encourage schools to address de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

racial segregation. Funds were given to school districts that implemented either voluntary desegregation plans or court orders to reduce racial isolation.

Districts started embracing the magnet school models in the hope that their geographically open admissions would end racial segregation in "good" schools, and decrease de facto segregation of schools in poorer areas. To encourage the voluntary desegregation, districts started developing magnet schools to draw students to specialized schools all across their districts. Each magnet school would have a specialized curriculum that would draw students based on their interests. One of the goals of magnet schools is to eliminate, reduce, and prevent minority group isolation while providing the students with a stronger knowledge of academic subjects and vocational skills. Magnet schools still continue to be models for school improvement plans and provide students with opportunities to succeed in a diverse learning environment.

Within a few years, in locations such as Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, additional magnet school programs for children with special talents were developed at facilities in locations that parents would have otherwise found undesirable. This effort to both attract voluntary enrollment and achieve the desired racial balance met with considerable success, and helped improve the acceptance of farther distances, hardships with transportation for extracurricular activities, and the separation of siblings. Even as districts such as Richmond were released from desegregation court orders, the parental selection of magnet school programs has continued to create more racially diverse schools than would have otherwise been possible. With a wide range of magnet schools available, a suitable program could be found for more children than only the "bright" ones for whom the earliest efforts were directed.
Some 21st century magnet schools have de-emphasized the racial integration aspects, such as Capital Prep Magnet School, a high school in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

. Capital Prep, a year-round school where more than 80% of its students are black and Latino, boasts a near-0% dropout rate; 100% of its 2009 senior class was sent to a four-year college. According to the school's principal, the goal is to prepare all of its students for college.

Enrollment and curricula

Some magnet schools have a competitive entrance process, requiring an entrance examination

Entrance examination

An entrance examination is an examination that many educational institutions use to select students for admission. These exams may be administered at any level of education, from primary to higher education, although they are more common at higher levels....

, interview

Interview

An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...

, or audition. Other magnet schools select all students who apply or use a lottery

Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...

system, or a system combining some elements of competitive entrance and a lottery.

Most magnet schools concentrate on a particular discipline or area of study, while others (such as International Baccalaureate schools) have a more general focus. Magnet programs may focus on academics (mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, natural science

Natural science

The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...

s, and engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

; humanities

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

; social sciences

Social sciences

Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...

; fine

Fine art

Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

or performing arts

Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

) or may focus on technical/vocational/agricultural education

Vocational education

Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

.

The Paideia philosophy is one used by magnet schools in the United States. “The Paideia philosophy celebrates the fundamental notion that to be fully educated is a lifelong adventure that only begins with an individual's formal schooling”. The philosopher Mortimer Adler founded this philosophy in 1984. The Three Columns of Instruction are used to teach Paideia students: 1) didactic instruction of factual information; 2) intellectual coaching of skills; and 3) seminar discussion of ideas, concepts, and value”.

External links

Creating and Sustaining Successful K–8 Magnet
Innovations in Education: Successful Magnet High Schools
Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs
Capital Preparatory Magnet School
Evaluation Toolkit for Magnet School Programs
Magnet Schools of America
Magnet Schools Assistance - U.S. Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
Public school Review - What is a Magnet School?
Innovative magnet programs attract new attention, lots of students/ Special classes soaring in number and popularity - Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...

November 26, 1994
How Gotham’s Elite High Schools Escaped the Leveller’s Ax by Heather Mac Donald
Florida Statutes for New World School of the Arts

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