In the U.S. system of education, a magnet school is a public school that draws students, interested in specific subjects such as academics or the arts from the surrounding region (typically a school district or a county).

Some magnet schools have a competitive entrance process, requiring students to take an exam or submit an application in order to enter so admission requires a desire to enter the school. Some simply require an application to enter a lottery system. Magnet schools were originally started in the hope that their geographically open admissions would end racial segregation in "good" schools, and this continues to some extent today. Most magnet schools concentrate on a particular discipline or area of study, such as science and engineering, the humanities, or the fine arts or performing arts.

Many public, magnet schools are typically accused of catering to more intellectually adept or "gifted" students, who score well on tests and receive good grades. Studies show, however, that it is not the intelligence level of the students that cause them to succeed beyond their peers but rather the differences in teaching styles and smaller classroom sizes.

In some communities, past racial segregation issues resulted in court-ordered attendance plans and forced busing of children far from their homes and closer schools to achieve the required balance. Within a few years, in locations such as Richmond, Virginia additional magnet school programs for children of many different special talents were developed at facilities in locations which 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 acceptance of the longer rides, hardships with transportation for extra-curricular activities, and the separation of siblings which may result when schools other than strictly neighborhood school plans are utilized. Even as districts such as Richmond were released from desegregation court-orders, the parental selection of magnet school programs has continued to contribute to more racially balanced schools than would have otherwise occurred. With a wide range of magnet school types, a suitable program could be found for many more children than only for the exceptionally bright ones for whom the earliest efforts were directed.

There are magnet schools at the elementary school, middle school, and high school levels, and they occasionally combine grades in certain classes. Some magnet programs are within comprehensive schools. The largest magnet district in the US is the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system.

See also: charter school -- public education -- school reform

Further readings

• Bailey, Jerry D. RESEARCH NEEDED TO ASSESS THE PERFORMANCE OF MAGNET SCHOOLS. Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1987. ED 284 952.

• Blank, Rolf K. "Comparative Analysis of Local Planning and Development of Magnet Schools." In Rolf K. Blank and Paul R. Messier, (Eds.), PLANNING AND DEVELOPING MAGNET SCHOOLS: EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS. Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1987. ED 284 946 (individual paper, ED 284 954).

• Clinchy, Evans. "Let Magnet Schools Guide the Way to Education Reform--And Diversity." AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 172 (1985): 43.

• Doyle, Denis P., and Marsha Levine. "Magnet Schools: Choice and Quality in Public Education." PHI DELTA KAPPAN 66 (1984): 265-70.

• Tsapatsaris, George. "How We Magnetized a City School System. A Special Report on Magnet Schools." PRINCIPAL 64 (1985): 8-10.

• Turner, Benjamin F. MAGNET SCHOOLS: A PLANNING GUIDE FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. Kent, OH: Ohio Center for Educational Development and Strategic Services, Kent State University, June 1984. ED 244 043.

Examples of Magnet Schools

• Dr. Michael M. Krop High School
• South Miami Senior High School
• Troy High School

External links

• Magnet Schools
• Improving Urban Education with Magnet Schools
• Choice in the Public Schools
• Law Magnet Programs