All About Magnet Schools

What are magnet schools?

Magnet schools are public schools with special programs or curriculum. Magnet school is primarily and American term, in the UK, they are called specialist schools. The term magnet in magnet schools comes from the fact that they draw student from outside of the normal district zones that regular schools set up. Some magnet schools are district schools and others are run by the state.

What makes magnet schools special?

Magnet schools offer a more enticing or at least different program than regular neighborhood schools. Elementary magnet schools may have a different approach to learning. High school magnet programs may focus on a certain discipline like arts, mathematics, computer science, or vocational jobs. For teens that already know where what field they want to go into, magnet schools can give them a head start. For younger children, a more experimental approach to education, or just the possibility of being in an exclusive school is enticing.

Why were magnet schools started?

The original purpose of magnet schools was to end racial segregation by finding ways to have students cross neighborhood lines and go to mixed schools, even when neighborhoods were segregated.

How do I get into a magnet school?

Students have to apply or compete to gain entrance into a magnet school. For some magnet schools, where there is not a specialty, students are admitted by a lottery system. Parents have been known to stand in line for up to a full day for a chance to get themselves into certain magnet schools.

How successful are magnet schools?

Different sets of research on magnet schools give different results. Generally, test scorers from magnet school equal or exceed the scores of regular schools. This should be a good thing, but some say that magnet schools succeed at the expense of normal schools that suffer due to decreased resources.