Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Characteristics of magnet schools
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Characteristics of magnet schools
A Magnet school is part of the public school system. Usually students are zoned into their schools based on location. Students mostly go to the school which they are closest to (this may not always be true since boundaries can seem arbitrary). With Magnet schools, the public school system has created schools that exist outside of zoned school boundaries. The point of them is that they usually have something special to offer over a regular school which makes attending them an attractive choice to many students, thereby increasing the diversity of the student population within them (in theory).
Magnet schools are different from private or parochial schools in that they remain part of the public school system. They differ from Charter schools in that they remain part of the public
…show more content…
For example, you might find a Montessori Magnet school. A school doesn’t have to be a Magnet school to be a Montessori School. There are also public schools that aren’t Magnet schools which still offer fine academic experiences. Magnet schools differ from other public schools in that they receive additional funding to enable them to spend more money on their students, supplies, teachers, programs.
Many Magnet schools still help increase diversity within the public school system and help families volunteer for desegregation. But over the last 20 years or so, some Magnet schools have taken on an a more competitive aspect in that they can only fill 10-20% of the students that apply to attend school on their campuses. The current role of Magnet schools, therefore, can often promote academic opportunity and excellence over their regular counterparts. Magnet schools often attract “gifted” students who score well in tests and receive good grades (about 1/3 of all Magnet schools use selection criteria to decide who they’ll invite to enroll for that
...r those that want to enroll in them. The not so good is that with the community and the magnet school together the magnet students are look at as if they behave the same as others. When Scotlandville first opened they were all segregated and the sports were on played against other black schools. Their biggest rival was in football and basketball which was McKinley High. The rivalry hasn’t changed over the years; it just has gotten more serious. The violence has also had an impact on the school now than it did back then. When Scotlandville is mentioned to others, they frown up because the violence is more known the programs offered.
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
Charter Schools are best known for combining traits and features of both public and private schools. Charters schools are not restricted to many of the rules and policies put on other public schools (Gale 1). For example teachers are given more free reign in charters, and they are not expected to stick to a certain curriculum. Because there is no specific criteria in place for teachers of charter schools, pay scales do not have to be followed for teachers and administrators. Also, charters are publically funded and have specialized accountability for producing certain results.
I grew up across the street from two high schools. One of them, Fiorello Laguardia High School, is a special admissions public school for students who are gifted in the performing or visual arts. The student population at Laguardia is relatively diverse with students of all races attending, although the majority of the students, as at all of the NYC special admissions high schools, is white and Asian. The other high school, Martin Luther King jr. High School is a "regular" public high school. The population is almost entirely African American and Hispanic with a very small minority of Asian students.
Schools may not be equally available to all students and thereby result in unequal treatment for those not eligible to attend or not selected. Public schools could become "dumping grounds" if the "good" students were to leave and go to charter schools. The drain of funds from the public schools could also present a problem. Transportation issues would arise as well as a reexamination of state athletic association rules and regulations. Choices to attend may not be made on the basis of attending a better school or district but because the school is closer to childcare, it's perceived as easier, more convenient or has better extracurricular activities. Lawsuits could arise due to the fact that the schools would make promise regarding school performance and/or educational offerings that might not materialize. Schools could file for bankruptcy. Other issues include possible discrimination toward students and violation of state of federal laws.
Schools are split into four categories/types known as maintained schools. These schools receive funding at least partially from the government. The main differences in mainstream schools come down to the way in which the schools are managed and run. For example a foundation school has its own governing board that decides its admissions policy in agreement with the local education authority. Support services are budgeted for and bought in
Although The Brown v. Board decision allowed African American children to attend schools with their white classmates, it has failed helping with access to these schools. It has been statistically proved that white dominated schools are able to offer more and better classes, along with more after school activities. Unfortunately, though these schools do exist, they are not available in areas where the African American population are higher than the white population. These schools with the resources available to promote the best academic accomplishments are not readily available to African American students as they are to white students. The students that do not have the ability to attend
Intrinsically, magnet schools allow students from many different districts to unite in one school in hopes of creating a racially diverse learning environment. Despite the attempt made by the federal government to desegregate schools, Jonathon Kozol points out that, in fact, the magnet schools have even further isolated the poor urban student and that magnet schools have indeed failed to meet initial expectations as a desegregated environment. Yet desegregation is apparent in the areas of philosophy and purpose, admission and entrance to the schools, and curriculum.
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most important, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students.
Are charter schools really better than public schools? Are they the answer to solving the educational void in this generation and future generations to come? The answer is no to both questions. The main point of charter schools are to create more educational benefits for those who have either struggled or didn't think public schooling was sufficient enough for them. The problem with that is in fact; they aren't performing better than public schools, loosely regulated, and the theory that charters create competition isn't completely true. Charter schools are not the way to go about fixing the school systems. They create more harm than success.
Schools get funding for sports gear and for physcial activies, schools try encurge children to join in on actives and at least play one sport in the school year. Some schools grow there own fruit and vegetables to try teach kids about healthy eating and how to grow thier own food.
It’s no secret that “high priced real estate increases property taxes,” (Source G) and those taxes go on to fund public schools, bringing in more affluent families. Low-income students in these schools find themselves surrounded in an environment where “classmates expect them to go on to college,” (Source G) in turn making these students more academically engaged. In addition to the positive environment, low-income students who attend more affluent schools are given access to critical support when it comes to submitting applications to elite colleges. Unfortunately, the inverse of this is also true. Low-income students who attend poorly funded schools are not given the support they need to get themselves to a quality education. This is where the Dream fails, with “a whimper of elite school applications by poor kids.” (Source E) The reality of the situation is, Ivies and other top schools are the route to the top, and without proper support, low-income students have no chance getting there, all because of their zip code and the area in which they live not sufficiently funding public
Author unknown (2003, February 24). Schools seek gifted among minorities. The Washington Times. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://washingtontiems.com/metro/2003224-14635946.htm
For some parents, deciding on a school for their children can be a difficult decision. Many parents do not spend much time thinking about it; they place their children into the local school designated by where they live. Others attended a private school themselves and found that it was a beneficial experience and therefore want the same for their kids. But which is better: private schools or public schools? While there are many advantages and disadvantages in each (nothing is going to be absolutely perfect), we are going to focus on the benefits of an education in the public school system, or in other words, schools funded by the government that are for anyone to attend. An accurate definition found in the Encyclopedia of American Education (1996) states: “Any elementary or secondary school under control of elected or appointed civil authority, supported entirely by public tax monies, and, with few exceptions, open to all students in a designated district, free of any tuition charges.” (780) These include elementary, secondary schools and vocational schools. Public schools are a good choice in education because they provide a wide variety of subjects to study, are diverse in their student body, available to everyone, yet can sometimes be misunderstood.
Our school, Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets, is one of the largest in LAUSD (Los Angeles unified school district). Westchester is located on the extreme west side of LAUSD’s jurisdiction, just blocks from the beach and in the shadow of the planes from Los Angeles. We offer a fairly traditional A-G curriculum, but one, which emphasizes science in three magnet themes: Health and Sports Medicine, Aviation and Aerospace, and Environmental Science. Enrollment, as reported in our School Report ...