Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
In 1991-92, there were 2,433 magnet schools offering 3,171 programs, more than double the totals a decade earlier, the department said. More than half the programs are in large urban school districts.
The number of students participating in these programs increased threefold over the same time period, the department said. More than 60 percent of the magnet schools cannot accommodate all who want to attend; nearly 123,000 students are on waiting lists to attend the programs, the department said in a report prepared by the American Institutes for Research in Palo Alto, Calif.
With their specialized curricula in math, science, multicultural studies, the arts or the humanities, "magnet school programs provide a rich array of educational alternatives to students and parents, as well as the opportunity for students and parents to play a more active role in determining the nature of the education received, " the report said.
"Moreover, they appear to be an effective means of attracting students to enroll in schools outside their immediate neighborhoods, with the objective of promoting school desegregation. "
Magnet schools were begun in the 1970s to attract people from outside the neighborhood by offering a distinctive curriculum or teaching style. The goal was to improve educational quality and integrate the schools.
From 1985 to 1993, the federal Magnet School Assistance Program awarded more than $739 million to 117 school districts to support magnet school programs.
by CNB