As I was driving to work this morning, I was listening to a radio program addressing education in Los Angeles, specifically the significance of Magnet schools in the district. Being a product of them from elementary through high school, I'm all for magnet programs!
According to a UCI professor on the radio show who wrote her dissertation on social ramifications of magnet schools, they began sometime in the '70s to address the need to have integrated campuses within public school districts due to economic, ethnic and other social differences. After the first couple of years they were running, people liked them so much, no one wanted to get rid of them. Then we come to present day and now there is a divide between those who claim that magnet schools and programs are simply for integration purposes and those who emphasize the academic excellence of the programs. In a city as large as Los Angeles, we see stand alone magnet schools, such as Bravo Magnet, that are governed by the same requirements as regular district schools and magnet programs within large district schools, such as the math, science and performing arts magnet programs at Van Nuys High School. The demand for these programs have gotten so high that the process to enroll students have now become quite competitive. The Magnet Program Director of LAUSD tried to explain on the radio show some point system they use to determine enrollment but it sounded a bit too complicated.
I wish I could have listened to the rest of the show but there were tons of interesting topics there were discussing. The moderator inquired about the overall academic performance of students in magnet schools and programs versus the overall performance of students in non-magnet programs. I think the fact that Bravo Magnet is the second top academic performing school in LAUSD is pretty damn significant. Principal Flores-Torres of Bravo mentioned that there are about 30% "gifted" students enrolled, along with a number of lower performing students. The fact that the school has a mix of academic performance levels is good because those who are not performing so well can get guidance and motivation from their peers who are. Coming from a magnet program within a larger school, all the honor students were typically also enrolled in the magnet programs. Our classes were smaller, we had more group projects and were more often hands-on. Our forest ecology classes contributed to the fire/deforestation research with the Calavares Big Trees Park. The marine biology class contributed to research on the marine life in and near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. How more hands on can you get?
The major question that stood out in my mind during the radio show was, can the way programs are being run in the magnet schools be integrated into regular programs within LAUSD? The Magnet Program Director said that some non-magnet schools are examining ways of using successful teaching methods in regular programs. Can this be a way to advance the overall academic performance of LAUSD? Let's hope so. If these changes are successful, I'm sure other districts will use it as a model to integrate their teaching methods, as well.
The reality of the educational system in the United States is apalling. The fact that some schools who have the resources employ development professionals to aid in finding funds for programs they do not want to cut is clear evidence on how strapped for cash our schools are. The fact that the stupid dork running California's government wants to take more money away from the public school system while his children are safely tucked away in private schools is even more disturbing. And they wonder why California's children are not academically performing as high as other states. Hm...maybe we kept more money in the schools and allowed each child to get a simple text book might help. THINK!
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