Let's play a game designed to help you get into the International Baccalaureate Program mindset.

Loren Baron, the new IB coordinator at Millbrook High School, asked teachers at Tuesday's training session to imagine that they had to leave the U.S. and relocate to another country. He then handed out a sheet with random statistics from various countries using the United Nations Human Development Report.

Click here to view the sheet, which listed stats such as urban population, public expenditure on education, prison population and adult literacy rate. The 16 countries listed only had letter identifiers with no names attached.

It looks like Wake was trying to steer more people into eight magnet schools this year via the second-chance letters.

For those who might not recall, this year was the first time that people whose magnet applications were rejected were sent a letter giving them a second chance to apply to another school.

You only got the offer if staff thought your departure wouldn't have a negative impact on your base school.

Magnetizing Millbrook High School isn't turning out to be all it's cracked up to be.

As noted in today's article, a large contingent of Millbrook High parents, teachers and students packed Monday's public hearing to complain about the reassignment plan.

While the Millbrook speakers said they still want the new International Baccalaureate magnet program, they're not thrilled with the proposed reassignment changes.

During last week's Broughton High discussion, school board member Horace Tart threw out an interesting idea.

Tart's idea for a compromise was to remove Broughton's IB funding. But he proposed allowing Broughton to keep the IB program if the community could raise the money privately. The annual cost is $511,377.

Tart's idea didn't gain any traction. But it raises interesting questions about equity in the school district.

Based on some of the questions I've been getting, I thought it might be useful to lay out the timeline for the magnet programs at Broughton and Millbrook high schools.

Click here for the timeline. The reason they're giving it five years is because it's going to take time for Millbrook's staff to be trained and to get authorization from the International Baccalaureate Organization.

While the school board agreed to a five-year timeline, it could get changed. The big question is whether the board will commit to the cost.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Millbrook High School was the school board's choice on Wednesday for the new International Baccalaureate magnet program.

Millbrook was the one recommended by staff, not Athens Drive, Knightdale, Heritage or H-6 high schools. Click here for a handout from the board meeting that explains the pros and cons for each choice.

Staff acknowledged one potential drawback from magnetizing MIllbrook is that it could drain students from Sanderson High.

Some enterprising Broughton High students are mobilizing to save the school's International Baccalaureate magnet program.

Working through Facebook, students have organized a protest that will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday on the school's front lawn. The protest was originally going to be held at the school district's Central Administration Building on Wake Forest Road.

The theme of the rally is "fight redistricting not our program." That's in response to people who hope that removing the magnet program will mean they won't be reassigned out of the school. 

It's looking like Broughton High only has a little more than a week to remain as a magnet school.

The school board agreed today to reconsider its decision to keep the magnet program at Broughton. A special meeting has been scheduled for Dec. 10 to give parents time to respond and for staff to suggest which school should get Broughton's International Baccalaureate program.

The formal vote will take place next week. But a majority of board members indicated today they'd support the switch.

Some current magnet students might want to check the mail to see if they're being sent to a different magnet school next year.

Wake is revising the magnet draw areas for the International Baccalaureate elementary, middle and high schools, Academically Gifted middle schools, Gifted & Talented middle schools and Creative Arts elementary schools.

Letters are supposed to go out today to current magnet students whose schools have shifted. Everyone else will eventually be able to see their magnet options online.

Will they leave western Wake to go to East Garner Middle School?

That's one of the questions that the school system will find out during next year's magnet application period. School administrators say the magnet draw area for East Garner will be enlarged to include Cary and Apex.

Now that it's official that Daniels Middle School is losing its magnet program, East Garner could get an even larger share than planned.