Magnet Questions
1. Why is information about magnet schools never addressed?
Magnet schools are not generally involved in the reassignment process. The students apply for the school rather than being assigned based on their specific residence address. A school that is designated as a magnet school could be involved if the base is changed.
2. The reassignment (assignment) of neighborhoods impacts those students’ participation in the magnet programs because of base school demographics. Can a student acceptance to the magnet school program be based upon lottery selection without consideration of the base school assignment?
All students have an opportunity to be accepted. However, since one of the objectives of the magnet school is to attract students to underutilized schools, we do try to attract students from the most crowded schools. There are priorities established for the selection process as efforts are made to balance the populations at all schools. As stated above, a percentage of magnet vacancies are held for a totally random draw from all applications regardless of the base school.
3. Why aren’t the schools from SW being given a chance to go to the downtown magnet instead of up to one-hour bus ride on the inner beltline? How can a long bus ride out weigh the benefits of a so-called magnet? Magnets being so wonderful, it would be more beneficial going to a magnet school.
As stated above, all students are given an opportunity to go. From certain parts of the county the bus ride is indeed rather long. It is a decision of the individual parent as to whether or not the program at the end of the bus ride is indeed worth the time involved.
4. Can magnet/year-round draw a base from the neighborhood around them? I live 1/10 mile from a magnet, year-round and cannot get my kids in. Instead we’re to go miles away. There is also another base school within a mile, and we cannot go there.
Program magnet schools generally have a base area around the school. Certain year round schools also have a base population. With year round, the base population generally does not come from areas in the immediate vicinity of the school. This has to do with the goal of a year round school to attract a balanced population of students with a variety of needs and of drawing students from very crowded schools.
5. Why was Apex Elementary changed from magnet to traditional day?
Apex Elementary voluntarily gave up their magnet status because of limits of the program offered and their desire to offer something different from that.
6. Is it possible to consider making one or more of the middle and high schools in Western Wake a program magnet? The magnet schools in Raleigh and further East are not attractive to us.
It is certainly possible but (see questions above) one of the major objectives of the magnet program is to draw students from crowded schools on the outside of the beltline to schools that are not crowded downtown.