It's time once again to apply for a seat in a Wake County magnet school.

As noted in today's article, the application period is now open through Jan. 25. You've got some magnet options and a restoration of some of the magnet selection criteria that had been dropped when the choice plan was in place.

Wake says that while the three new magnet schools and two revamped magnet schools are in "transition" for the 2013-14 school year, they'll be implementing their new programs their first year.

Amy Lee, one of the most outspoken members of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, was appointed to a Wake County school board advisory council on Tuesday.

Lee, a North Raleigh magnet school parent, was appointed to school board vice chairman Keith Sutton's District 4 BAC. She's listed as the representative from Hunter Elementary School and also is a parent at Ligon Middle School.

Lee has provided some of the most memorable GSIW comments at school board meetings and other venues over the past few years. Here are some of them:

Wake County's three new magnet schools and two revamped magnet schools will look to make a splash with parents for the 2013-14 school year.

As noted in today's article, staff unveiled at Thursday's meeting of the school board's student achievement committee the magnet programs that will be offered at the five schools covered by the federal MSAP grant.

Click here for a handout on the themes at the schools and where they'd fit in the magnet program pathways.

The impact of the new student assignment plan on Wake County's magnet schools and potentially adding more magnet programs to Eastern Wake are just some of the issues that have been put on staff's plate.

Wednesday's school board discussion on how well magnet schools are meeting their current objectives produced a number of comments and requests for more information from staff.

The information could help shape which schools get magnet programs.

It's looking like student achievement will be added as one of the new guiding principles to Wake County's magnet school program.

As noted in today's article, there was a good deal of discussion at Wednesday's Wake County school board meeting about a review of student achievement data at magnet schools. The focus was how at the elementary and middle school level, the magnet schools had wider gaps than the non-magnet schools.

If adopted into the guiding principles, it could impact which schools get magnetized. It could also impact whether some existing magnet schools change their program or are demagnetized.

Wake County school officials announced today that 14 magnet schools have received national awards.

Combs, Douglas, Joyner, Washington and Wiley elementary schools and Southeast Raleigh High School received the School of Excellence Award from Magnet Schools of America, a trade organization. Those six schools are now in the running to win the Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, which goes to the top magnet school in the nation.

In addition, Conn, Farmington Woods, Hunter, Millbrook and Underwood elementary schools; Carnage and Ligon middle schools and Millbrook High School received the School of Distinction award.

"We're proud of all of the schools that Magnet Schools of America recognized this year," said Wake Superintendent Tony Tata in a statement. "Our magnet schools are a thriving, dynamic part of our school system, and their success is due to the hard work of students, teachers, and our supportive community."

How worried should the Wake County school system be about how the new student assignment plan is impacting the magnet schools?

As noted in today's article, the Democratic board members expressed concern Tuesday about the sharp decline in magnet applications. They also raised concerns that not enough academically identified students got accepted into Carnage and Ligon middle schools, which operate the AG Basics magnet theme.

“It seems to me that demand for magnets has gone down by half,” said new Democratic school board member Christine Kushner in remarks to staff members. “I’m concerned about that decline. I hope it’s something you are paying attention to.”

How much of an impact would going to express busing only for Wake County magnet schools have on the program?

As noted in today's article, Superintendent Tony Tata and school board vice chairman John Tedesco don't think the potential change would have too much of an impact. Tata pointed to the recent online test drive in which more than 70 percent of participants said only having express busing wouldn't discourage them from attending magnet schools.

Tedesco pointed to how the magnet school program still turns away a few thousand students each year. Even if fewer applications come in, he said he doesn't expect the use of express busing will cause them to have fewer applicants than seats.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Wake County school board candidate Donna Williams probably isn't going to win over Enloe High School supporters based on her talk of spreading programs around.

Williams hit the local conservative radio talk show circuit this week starting as a guest co-host Tuesday on The Morning Show on WRDU. She touched on Enloe during an interview Wednesday on The Rick and Donna Martinez Show on WPTF, where she also said it's not a case of the school system needing more money to raise achievement.

"I believe we need a more fair and equitable balance in our schools," Williams said on WPTF. "I'll give you an example. Enloe High School right now has 142 magnet programs in that one school. And then we have a lot of schools in this county that have zero. I just think we need to take a look at that and if we balanced it out a lot better, it would then affect and help all of our children."

UPDATE I will now be back on Wednesday.

The message coming from Thursday's Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force meeting is to accept nothing less than 100 percent placement of qualified middle school students in Algebra I.

As noted in today's article, staff said that 85.2 percent of eighth graders projected by EVAAS to be ready to take Algebra I have already been placed for the 2011-12 school year, up from 61.1 percent last year.

Central Office will work with the middle schools to get that placement rate as close as they can to 100 percent before traditional-calendar schools start next week.