Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994                   TAG: 9404070065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE MAGNET SCHOOLS ATTRACTING MORE STUDENTS

Applications from as far away as Alleghany County have helped produce a 26 percent increase in the number of students wanting to enroll in the federally funded magnet schools in the next school year.

School officials have received 376 applications for next year, up from 278 at this time last year.

The growing interest in magnet schools and an extensive marketing campaign have helped generate more applications, school officials said.

Sandra Burks, a magnet school specialist, said Wednesday that some parents who commute to work in Roanoke from outlying counties are enrolling their children in magnet schools.

There is no tuition charge for students outside Roanoke.

The deadline for the first round of applications has passed, but Burks said the school system will continue to accept applications until schools start in the fall.

Later applicants may find it harder to enroll in their first choice for a magnet school, Burks said.

The number of open slots in magnet schools depends on several factors, including the racial balance in the schools and the number of students in the magnet schools' attendance zones who enroll.

Students who live in the attendance zones are not required to file applications. Most of them attend the magnet school in their zone, Burks said.

Magnet schools are organized around particular themes such as aeronautics, high technology, animals, plants and the performing arts.

Students can study visual arts, music, dance and theater at the schools of arts at elementary, middle and high school levels.

Magnet programs are full time and take place during the regular school year. They are part of the city schools' effort to help reduce racial isolation and achieve more balance.

In addition to Alleghany County, applications have come from Montgomery, Craig, Botetourt, Bedford, Franklin and Roanoke counties, Burks said.

Magnet programs are offered at six elementary schools: Fairview, Fishburn Park, Forest Park, Highland Park, Westside and the Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science.

Three middle schools have magnet programs: Addison, James Madison and William Ruffner.

William Fleming High School has both a magnet center for high technology and for the arts.

Burks said some applicants are rejected because all slots are filled or because the schools are trying to help achieve racial and gender balance.

"Not everyone gets their first choice," she said, adding that this is more likely to occur with late applications.

Students use state-of-the art equipment and techniques in the technology schools. The programs in the high-technology centers include architectural engineering design, computer science, and commercial and television production.