Are all the new themed schools and academies a threat to Wake County's magnet school program?
As noted in today's article, the Wake County school board is undergoing a review of the future of the magnet program. One of the messages the board is hearing from the magnet community, and some board members, is that the new themed schools are diluting the magnet program.
"Should expand opportunities and magnet courses should not be allowed in other schools to keep magnets attractive," according to one comment from the focus group meetings with staff at magnet schools. "Non-magnet STEM and Global Network Schools have made it harder to 'expand educational opportunities.' It makes it harder to sell magnets."
Another magnet school staffer said that "with the expansion of the global and STEM schools – the public will be highly confused about what is a magnet."
Another magnet staffer said we "need to protect unique curriculum because magnets have stronger curriculum."
A magnet staffer said that Wake "must be true to original objectives more than ever. We are watering down what we have by adding STEM and Global schools all over the county Magnet schools should be distinct."
On the question of what criteria should be used to remove magnet programs from schools, one magnet staffer asked "what are the objectives of the STEM, Global and Leadership Academies and what will be the measure of whether their programs will be removed?"
Similar responses were received in the comments in the magnet survey, where the bulk of the respondents were magnet parents. The Great Schools in Wake Coalition had urged that families participate.
"We should return to the original objectives," said one parent. "They are good ones, and the system worked! Other "Innovative Schools" models (STEM, etc.)should be incorporated into the magnet system under the above objectives to strengthen (rather than dilute) the magnet system, and to reduce confusion about "choices" people have."
"I think the STEM/GLOBAL schools are very poorly planned," said another parent. "The stem and global programs that are being placed in schools is just a title to get parents more interested in an under enrolled school. Why are we not receiving a survey on those programs? They do NOTHING different form what the school was already doing. The Stem and Global program should be a magnet program not a separate entity. This is another case of the Leaders not thinking things through."
"Please be careful," said another parent. "The more of these 'magnet'-like programs that are built around the Stem/Global schools model, the less likely it is that schools truly in areas of poverty will be attractive."
Comments
When teachers are taking
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:09 — woodstockWhen teachers are taking time to teach advanced basket-weaving or intermediate drum circle techniques when there are students who can't read at grade level, then I think asking why that is is entirely appropriate. There must be priorities and they must be geared toward making sure all students gain the information and skills they need to successfully move forward.
Teacher taking the time
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 13:10 — Solon77So are you saying that all of the schools should be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator ? Maybe we just let the kids at grade level go home instead of taking anything beyond grade level reading, writing, and math.
That's just a dumb comment.
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 13:24 — loriacThat's just a dumb comment. We now know that magnets get more than twice as many MOEs (53 vs 20), AND principals still think they can't compete with magnet offerings. So - even if a school has a teacher with a competency at a base school, there are zero discussions about using that for enrichment. I still don't see the payback for enriching some schools (magnets) so much at the expense of others. That's what should be bothering you - the fact that so many kids are held back because they weren't lucky enough to be chosen for the magnet.
Dumb statement
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 20:31 — Solon77MOE - I am not sure where you get that from. My kids class sizes average between 35-40, so where are all of these extra teachers. As far as principals still thinking they can't compete with magnet offers, this is an administrative issue. In the last year Tata has targeted a number of schools for enhancement. What is the message he is telling the principals ? Tata has in effect created another tier -do not compete with the academies, STEM and other boutique schools that have been established. With regards to you comment that so many kids are held back, please expand. Are you referring to Russian not being offered at Leesville or the dance program is not as robust as say Enloe.
According To Our MS Principal...
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:09 — JanisTangothey don't get the MOEs that magnets get so they don't have the ability to offer a wide variety of 'electives'. I believe our MS principal said the difference was 53 MOES in Magnets versus 20 for non-magnets for electives. They have also been told they can't offer anything that would be competing with the magnets. How do you recommend the principal solves the problem with that kind of a directive? I know our teachers have the ability to teach other things they have just been told they can't.
Directive
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:16 — localyankI think there has been a discussion about that directive - it seems really counter productive to me. Anything that strengthens a school, helps that school meet teaching objectives, and keeps teachers fresh (I believe electives also help with teacher burnout) should be encouraged, in my opinion.
I think that principals are
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 21:27 — jenmanI think that principals are able to push the limits a bit more now and do things that they may have been afraid to do before. I know that at least one non-magnet middle school is offering Chinese now--something that I don't think would have been possible before.
I wonder what kind of push back we will see to this. Read through the comments from the magnet survey/focus groups. You will see quite a few comments about not letting the 'regular' schools offer too much. I think we're in an interesting sort of limbo position with that directive right now. I hope that we continue down the path of beefing non-magnets yet finding a balance between them and the magnets. I worry what will happen though with this split board. All the see-sawing needs to stop--I hope they see that and come up with some compromises.
When far too many students
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 11:54 — woodstockWhen far too many students don't graduate or graduate and remain unprepared for work or the further education, I think it is time to revisit what the goals of public schools should be. Perhaps it is time for taxpayers to reign in what is being offered and make sure that more kids are receiving a stronger educational foundation. If that means the extras come at a cost to parents or must accessed through private enterprise, I think that is okay. Public schools cannot be all things to all people. There has to be some boundaries since funding is not unlimited.
Extras come at a cost
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 20:45 — Solon77What extras are you referring to ? AP Calculus for those that have advanced and earned take it ? AP classes in general ? NC ranks 46 in spending per student and you are still talking about reigning in what is being offered.
talk about condescending?!!
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 11:20 — AngelaWthe "wide range of student abilities" at ANY SCHOOL amplifies these challenges. it's just that hypocritcal, CONDESCEDING attitude that causes such distaste towards magnets. You think that only magnets have a "wide range of student abilities"...what a bunch of crap.
apology
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:10 — localyankI didn't mean to imply that there aren't challenges with a wide-range of student abilitities at every school; in fact that is why I have such respect for all public school teachers. But if you look at Enloe, for example, the very top end is insanely competitive (valedictorians with multiple private tutors) while the lower end of student achievement is probably as challenging as you will find anywhere in the WCPSS. (And I don't mean to imply that there aren't really bright students at other schools, etc.).
High school is not the best
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:19 — danofncHigh school is not the best place to talk about when it comes to this particular discussion.
It's not like a teacher is trying to teach basic math to a "normal" student and some 3rd-year college math to an AP student in the same class.
If the teacher in your example can't teach 6 or 7 classes a day and give each class the attention it requires, that teacher shouldn't have such a workload.
Yes
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 12:55 — localyankYes, I agree - it's really an elementary school discussion, but it's easier to quantify at the high school level without stepping on toes (and getting replies in CAPS).
Well, now you've created a
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 13:36 — danofncWell, now you've created a chicken/egg scenario.
Most of the magnet complaints are centered on elementary schools. You got your all-caps responses because you talked about the "smarter kids" in magnet schools, even though there are no academic requirements for admission to the vast majority of magnet schools (especially elementary magnets) that I'm aware of.
Then, you decided to use Enloe as your example, even though a high school class schedule isn't all that great as an example of how teachers may struggle with differing student abilities.
Local Yank. Thanks for
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 13:25 — annettahoggardLocal Yank. Thanks for your even-tempered voice of reason.
Your disinclination to talk
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 00:57 — bouncing_rockYour disinclination to talk about it doesn't stop them from being extra resources.
No I Don't Have A...
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 09:39 — JanisTango'reluctance' to talk about extra resources. How are resources that affect teachers and classrooms considered 'extra'. As that classroom sizes get above 30-35 in 4th and 5th grade the teacher effectiveness goes down. I would consider magnet goodies like dance classes, 7 foreign languages, multiple art classes extras.
"Certainly every school
Sun, 06/17/2012 - 18:58 — woodstock"Certainly every school needs extra resources, ..."
What does that mean? If all schools have extra, it is no longer extra, it's the norm.
Right. Make it the norm and
Sun, 06/17/2012 - 19:07 — bouncing_rockRight. Make it the norm and quit the quibbling. That would be ideal.
...
Sun, 06/17/2012 - 07:45 — SideburnsDoes anyone else find it strange that these comments are all about protecting the magnet program rather than fixing it? Why haven't we heard discussions about the details of effective programs/teaching? Successes and challenges of the different magnet themes. All this Board seems to do is yammer on and on about how important magnets are but they don't really know why -- other than that their kids do or have attended one.