Support for magnet programs has lessened, even as they better integrate students when compared to charter schools, the Los Angeles Times' Howard Blume reports in a story today about a new study.
Both magnets and charter schools typically appeal to families seeking accelerated academics, special course offerings or other enticements. Charters are different in that they operate independently of local school districts, free from some regulations that apply to traditional schools. While many charter schools value diversity, the report found that a focus on integration makes a difference.
Magnet schools achieve ethnic balance by actively recruiting and by paying for student transportation, the report said. Charter schools don't receive funding for transportation and rarely provide it, which means that low-income families can't get to desirable charters in higher-income areas.
The study (PDF) was released today by the UCLA-based Civil Rights Project. It looks at changing diversity levels in magnet schools in the wake of court decisions and other factors that are forcing magnets to adapt (and sometimes shrink).
This may be of interest to those following the plans for South Region High School No. 15, the planned magnet campus at LAUSD's Fort MacArthur property near Angels Gate Park. That school is mandated to be 70 percent minority, and many of those children come from outside of San Pedro.
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