Initial Magnet Results Presented to School Board
Jan. 24, 2012 - Demand for magnet programs in the Wake County Public School System remains strong, with more than twice as many magnet applications as available seats made during the December magnet selection period.
Jan. 24 Magnet Update |
WCPSS staff presented magnet selection results to the Wake County Board of Education during a work session today, including the number of magnet applicants selected by school and the number of students seated by pre-assigned school.
"Although this is a year of change for all of our schools, when we look at the data we see many signs that the magnet program is healthy and robust in Wake County," said James Overman, leader of the school system's student assignment task force. "We had the highest number of parents at the Magnet Fair in recent years, good attendance in the open houses and tours, and most importantly a good number of applications and high interest in all the programs. The vast majority of our magnet schools have waitlists."
The total number of magnet applications declined from last year's 8,469 to this year's 4,296. However, another 1,808 rising sixth- and ninth-grade magnet students, who otherwise would have applied, were pre-assigned to magnet schools following their feeder pattern.
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Other factors might have affected the number of magnet applications. According to the 2011 Magnet Application Survey, 85 percent of applicants identified "school assignment stability" as somewhat or very important in the decision to apply for a magnet program. The new student assignment plan for 2012-13 provides stable feeder patterns for all schools.
Additionally, in the new plan more families have access to magnets as a proximity choice, reducing their need to apply during the magnet selection process. The number of magnet seats at each grade level was visible online during the process as well, raising the visibility that a limited number of seats are available outside the entry grades of kindergarten, sixth and ninth.
"To keep our magnet program healthy for years to come, there are many factors that we'll be monitoring," said Overman. "We'll be looking at seat allocation targets for magnet and proximity seats, evaluating the popularity of programs, and surveying the community to identify high-demand programming themes for the future. We'll also be making sure that our magnet programs continue to have high visibility, and that we're continually reaching out to let parents know how well they serve our children and strengthen our school system."