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Magnet Schools Programs

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Magnet Schools Programs
This report was produced under U.S. Department of Education Contract No. ED-01-CO-0012, Task Order D010, 

with WestEd. Sharon Horn served as the contracting officer’s representative.

U.S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

Office of Innovation and Improvement

Nina S. Rees

Assistant Under Secretary

Michael J. Petrilli

Associate Assistant Secretary for Innovation and Improvement

John Fiegel

Director, Parent Options and Information

Steve Brockhouse

Deputy Director, Parental Option and Information

September 2004

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to 

reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and 

Improvement, Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs, Washington, D.C., 2004.

To order copies of this report,

write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications Center, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398;

or fax your request to: (301) 470-1244;

or e-mail your request to: edpubs@inet.ed.gov;

or call in your request toll-free: 1-877-433-7827 (1-877-4-ED-PUBS). If 877 service is not yet available in your 

area, call 1-800-872-5327 (1-800-USA-LEARN). Those who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a 

teletypewriter (TTY), should call 1-800-437-0833;

or order online at: www.edpubs.org/. 

This report is also available on the Department’s Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/magnet/.

On request, this publication is available in alternate formats, such as Braille, large print, or computer diskette. For more 

information, please contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center at (202) 260-9895 or (202) 205-8113.
iii

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Foreword v

Introduction 1

Starting a Magnet Program 7

Promoting the Program 15

Making It Easy for Parents 19

Fully Implementing the Program 25

 Evaluating and Continually Improving 31

Acknowledgments 37

Appendix A: District Profiles 39

Duval County Public Schools, Florida (41)

Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee (43)

Hot Springs School District, Arkansas (45)

Houston Independent School District, Texas (47)

Montclair Public Schools, New Jersey (49

)

Wake County Public School System, North Carolina (51

)

Appendix B: Research Methodology 53

Appendix C: Resources 55

Notes 57

Contents

iii
L I S T O F F I G U R E S

Figure 1. Demographics of Six Profiled School Districts 2

Figure 2. Managing the Magnet Enrollment Mix 4

Figure 3. Montclair Elementary School Guide 10

 Figure 4. Duval Memorandum of Agreement for Magnet Lead Teacher 13

Figure 5. Hamilton Billboard Advertisement 16

Figure 6. Wake Marketing and Recruiting Campaigns 17

Figure 7. Montclair School Visit Questions for Parents 18

Figure 8. Houston Magnet Dates and Deadlines 21

Figure 9. Hot Springs Magnet School Application 22

Figure 10. Hot Springs Magnet Program Activity Plan 29

Figure 11. Wake Middle-School Parent Survey 35

Figure 12. Study Scope and Guiding Questions 54

iv
Foreword 

I am pleased to introduce the fourth publication in the Innovations in Education series: Creating Successful Magnet 

Schools Programs. This series, published by my Department’s Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII), identifies 

concrete, real-world examples of innovations in six important areas: public school choice, supplemental educational 

services, charter schools, magnet schools, alternative teacher certification, and routes to school leadership. 

Some might argue that magnet schools hardly qualify as innovations. After all, they have been around for almost 40 

years, when they were first introduced as a vehicle to increase racial integration and reduce minority group isolation 

in our schools. For a long time, they were the dominant form of public school choice in America. In many communities, magnets are the highest-performing schools in the system. From our perspective, while magnet schools continue to help schools address the purposes for which they were originally designed, they have taken on a new and 

promising dimension under No Child Left Behind: to provide additional options to children whose current schools 

are in need of improvement, and to serve as laboratories of successful educational practice.

As is the case with the implementation of any education reform initiative, no one is doing everything 100 percent 

right and no one has “all the answers.” Within these pages, we have identified six school districts whose successful 

magnet programs offer a range of contexts, experiences, and perspectives that we hope will be helpful to others. 

The districts featured include two whose experience in implementing magnet schools spans more than a quarter 

century and one whose magnet schools experience began four short years ago. While all of these school districts 

have received support through the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program at one time or another, all have 

also demonstrated a capacity to sustain their schools after the federal funding ended. While working to decrease 

minority group isolation and offer innovative programs to children and parents, they have kept their primary focus 

on the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement. And perhaps most importantly, they have developed a way 

of doing business that allows them to continuously improve over the years.

While these districts should not be seen as “models,” and while the case study methodology used herein does not 

provide the type of information about cause-and-effect that scientifically based research does, we do hope that 

other school districts can learn from the examples in this book. The common sense “promising practices” described 

in these chapters can help districts take their magnet school programs to the next level. 

This booklet also fulfills the Congressional mandate within Section 5310(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as reauthorized by No Child Left Behind, to “collect and disseminate to the general public information on 

successful magnet school programs.” 

I congratulate the districts highlighted in this book, and express my strong hope that other districts will be able to 

learn from their experiences and emulate their successes.

Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education

2004

v

1

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Magnet schools gained prominence in education in the 1970s as a tool for achieving voluntary desegregation in lieu of forced busing. An early study of magnet schools sponsored by the U.S. Department 

of Education1

 found that magnet schools were developed first in large urban school districts seeking to 

reduce racial isolation in their schools through voluntary means rather than with mandatory student 

assignment. The educational programs at these magnet schools were modeled on well-established specialty schools that offered advanced programs to selected students, such as Bronx School of Science, 

Boston Latin School, and Lane Tech in Chicago. Early magnet school curricular programs mirrored specialty school themes such as mathematics, science, and the performing arts. But magnet school programs were designed to be different in one very important way—magnet school enrollment was driven 

by student choice based on interest rather than selection of students by testing.

Magnet schools may be especially appealing to districts 

with schools in need of improvement under the federal 

No Child Left Behind Act, which specifically acknowledges their value for the purposes stated above.2

 For 

local education agencies contemplating adoption or 

expansion of this powerful education option, this guide 

presents experiences and lessons learned from six districts with successful magnet programs. (Basic statistics 

about these districts appear in figure 1.)

The theory behind magnet schools as a desegregation 

tool is simple: Create a school so distinctive and appealing—so magnetic—that it will draw a diverse range 

of families from throughout the community eager to 

enroll their children even if it means having them bused 

to a different and, perhaps, distant neighborhood. To 

do so, the school must offer an educational option—

Introduction

Some 30 years later, many districts continue to utilize 

magnet schools to reduce minority group isolation; 

however, in the intervening years, the purposes of 

magnet schools have continued to evolve and expand. 

When the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program 

was first authorized in 1985 its intent was twofold: 

reduce, eliminate, or prevent minority group isolation 

and provide instruction in magnet schools that would 

substantially strengthen students’ knowledge and 

skills. Subsequently, expectations for magnet schools 

have broadened. Today, school districts are using them 

to accomplish a range of important and related purposes: enhancing student learning and narrowing the 

achievement gap, giving public school parents more 

choice in their child’s education experience, and incubating innovative educational methods and practices 

that can raise the bar for all schools.
2

FIGURE 1. Demographics of Six Profiled School Districts

Districtwide 

Enrollment

Magnet 

Enrollment

Total 

Number 

of Schools

Number 

of Magnet

Schools

District Size 

(square 

miles)

Population 

Type3

Student 

Ethnicity4

English 

Learners5

Subsidized 

Meals6

Special 

Needs7

Duval 126,633 19,927

(16%) 

178 61 850 Large 

Central 

City 

46% White

43% African American

 5% Hispanic

 3% Asian/Pacific 

Islander 

 2% American Indian

 3% Multiracial

2% 49% 18%

Hamilton 40,655 6,038 

(15%)

80 13 554 Urban 

Fringe of 

Mid-Size 

City

63% White

33% African American

 2% Hispanic

 2% Asian

1% 46% 16%

Hot 

Springs

3,555 3,382 

(95%)

8 6* 36 Mid-size 

Central 

City

50% White

41% African American

 7% Hispanic

 1% Asian

 1% Native

7% 72% 15%

Houston 211,499 37,562 

(18%)

307 108 301 Large 

Central 

City

57% Hispanic

31% African American

 9% White

 3% Asian

29% 80% 10%

Montclair 6,340 4,600 

(73%)

11 10** 6.25 Urban 

Fringe of 

Large City

48% White

42% African American

 5% Hispanic

 4% Asian

1% 17% 18%

Wake 108,970 25,130 

(23%)

127 43 832 Urban 

Fringe of 

Large City

60% White

27% African American

 6% Hispanic

 4% Asian

 2% Multiracial

4% 22% 23%

All data was provided by the districts and was current as of June 2004, unless otherwise noted. Totals may equal more than 100% due to rounding.

* Hot Springs is essentially an all magnet district. The two schools that are not magnets are alternative schools for students with special needs.

** Only the high school in Montclair is not a magnet school. However, the high school functions in accordance with the magnet philosophy.
3

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

a specialty—that is not available in other area schools. 

Early magnet school research8

 identified five common 

magnet school themes—the fine, applied, or performing 

arts; the sciences; social studies occupations; general 

academics; and traditional and fundamental schools. 

But a look across district magnet programs today reveals a much wider variety of curricular specialties and 

educational approaches reflecting the idiosyncratic interests and resources of their communities. Among the 

curricular themes or instructional approaches currently 

found at magnet schools are aerospace education, 

communications, culinary arts, environmental science, 

international studies, International Baccalaureate, language immersion, law enforcement, military science, 

Montessori, and Paideia.

In recent decades, the school desegregation picture has 

become more complex. The number of school districts 

still implementing court-required desegregation plans 

has been declining, and court cases and policy decisions 

have narrowed districts’ ability to use race as a factor 

in student assignment decisions. Instead, socioeconomic status has become important in defining student 

diversity. In some districts, minority students have become the majority across all public schools, and many 

urban districts have been losing increasing numbers 

of middle- and upper-class students of all races and 

ethnicities to private and parochial schools or to surrounding suburbs. Yet throughout this period, magnets 

have remained a useful tool for reducing, eliminating or 

preventing racial isolation in schools. (Figure 2 provides 

information on managing enrollment.)

Beyond desegregation

A more diverse student population is just the beginning of what magnets can accomplish because, as one 

researcher has noted, magnet schools are the “offspring” not just of “the search for racial and ethnic 

equity in public education” but also of the “quest for 

improved teaching and learning.”9 Their theme-based 

approach promotes many of the factors associated 

with effective schools, chiefly, innovation in program 

and practice, staff and curricular coherence, increased 

parent and community involvement, and greater student engagement. In the best of magnet schools, this 

adds up to higher student achievement.

Magnet schools can also promote healthy competition among district schools. Faced with the prospect 

of losing students to magnets, many neighborhood 

schools examine the competition to understand the 

attraction while, at the same time, examining their 

own program to see how they might improve it. The 

superintendent of one magnet district highlighted in 

this guide says the belief that “our school is as good as 

yours” has had a “ripple effect across the district,” with 

traditional schools pushing themselves harder. Some 

adopt or adapt magnet school principles and practices 

to better serve their own students. As this happens, 

magnets, in turn, must ratchet up their own efforts 

in order to remain distinctive. It is little wonder, then, 

that many districts that began their magnet program 

as part of a required or voluntary desegregation effort 

have come to see it—and expand it—as part of a larger 

school improvement effort.

While student diversity is still “desirable and sought” 

in Houston (Texas) Independent School District’s extensive magnet program, its manager notes that Houston’s 

“primary concern” today is having “quality programs 

that will engage students in the learning process, leading to higher achievement. Because students disengage
4

FIGURE 2. Managing the Magnet Enrollment Mix

Two important tools in a magnet program assignment system, often used in conjunction with one another, are attendance zones and a lottery system. The best way to understand magnet school assignment is to start by thinking of a traditional neighborhood school system, in which each school has an attendance area or “walk zone” and 

students who live within it are automatically assigned to that school. These students are sometimes called “zone” 

or “base” students. This guide will generally refer to them as neighborhood students. Magnet schools differ in that 

many have no attendance zone and if they do have one, it controls only a portion of a school’s enrollment.

At a magnet with no attendance zone, all who want to attend must apply and applicants can live anywhere in 

the district. (Some district magnet programs also accept applicants from outside the district.) At a magnet 

school that has an attendance zone, some portion of the school’s enrollment is reserved for students who live 

in the zone, with the remaining seats open to applicants from outside the neighborhood. 

Decisions about whether to create a magnet school with no attendance zone or, instead, to give preference to 

students who live in an attendance zone with a lottery for other openings are tied to district enrollment goals, 

location of the school, and neighborhood interest. If a new magnet is planned for a largely low-income Hispanic 

neighborhood that wants its children to attend the school, the district might use an attendance zone preference so the school can serve neighborhood families while avoiding ethnic or socioeconomic isolation. 

A district’s system for choosing from among magnet school applicants is its other tool for managing magnet 

enrollment. Many magnet schools have their own application criteria. Performing arts schools, for example, 

tend to require student auditions. But districts need a system for choosing among qualified applicants when 

their number exceeds available magnet seats. Most magnet programs use a lottery system. In a random lottery system, the district’s marketing efforts are intended to attract an applicant pool for each school that is 

representative of community demographics. In such circumstances, a random drawing of names or assigned 

numbers will result in an equally representative student enrollment. If a district isn’t convinced that its applicant pool for a given school is representative, it might use a weighted lottery, which gives added weight 

(i.e., an extra lottery number or two) to applicants who represent characteristics sought in the enrollment mix, 

such as students from low-income families. Recent court decisions have limited the use of race in student 

assignment to attain diversity, making clear, for example, that race-neutral approaches must be seriously 

considered first.
5

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

from learning long before they drop out of school, we 

are very interested in providing focused programs 

that will keep them engaged in learning, keep them in 

school, and prepare them for their future.” 

To that end, Houston allows individual schools to apply 

to become magnets, theorizing that when a magnet 

is “home grown”—conceived and planned by school 

staff, parents and students, and other stakeholders—

engagement is almost a given and, regardless of its 

enrollment composition, the school contributes to the 

reduction of racial isolation in the long run. “Segregation in Houston is primarily the result of economics or 

a language barrier,” the administrator explains. “The 

solution—or at least a partial solution—is increased 

educational opportunities, the very thing our magnet 

programs are trying to provide.”

Hamilton County (Tennessee) Schools, which serves 

Chattanooga and surrounding areas, offers an example of how magnets are sometimes used to serve multiple goals. Coinciding with and in support of a citydriven urban renewal effort, the district recently built 

two magnet schools in low-income neighborhoods of 

color adjacent to Chattanooga’s downtown business 

center and converted two older downtown neighborhood schools into magnets. All forms of diversity 

remain a primary goal for the program, and each of 

the downtown magnets has its own attendance zone, 

designed to ensure that about half its students are 

from the neighborhood. But the schools embody some 

other aims as well.

Like many districts serving urban areas, Hamilton 

had been steadily losing students to local parochial 

and private schools and to the surrounding suburbs. 

Its downtown magnet themes were conceived to 

recapture some of these students. Two of the magnet 

schools are museum schools (a K–5 and a 6–8) that 

work closely with the area’s seven museums. Of the 

other two, one focuses on classical studies (literature, 

art, history, architecture, and music) and the other 

bases its instruction on Howard Gardner’s theory of 

multiple intelligences. 

In addition to adopting themes thought to be attractive to middle- and upper-income-level families, the 

district has labeled these magnet programs as “worksite” schools, giving added weight in its lottery to applicants whose parents work in the targeted area. The 

hope is that the opportunity to have their children 

nearby during the work day will be an added attraction 

for suburban commuters who like the idea of spending 

more time with their children as they commute and 

want to be involved with their children’s school, an experience that would be out of reach, literally, if their 

children attended a traditional neighborhood school. 

In this vision, schools and their students benefit from 

greater volunteerism, the district benefits by stemming 

the outward flow of higher socioeconomic families, 

and the downtown benefits from workers who, with 

their children nearby, are more likely to spend time and 

money in the area. 

Magnet terminology

Any general discussion about magnet schools requires 

some clarification of terminology. In addition to different 

terms being used in different districts, the same terms 

are sometimes used to mean slightly different things 

from one district to another. The term magnet program, 

for example, is used in a variety of very different ways. 

For discussion’s sake, this guide will generally use magnet program to refer to the district-level infrastructure 
6

for managing magnet schools and, when the context 

makes it clear, to a magnet school’s instructional program. It will use the terms magnet school and magnets for all schools or instructional programs that have 

a unique theme or focus conceived to attract students 

and parents for the primary goal of creating a representative student population.

Case study sites and methodology

The six districts profiled in this guide are Duval County 

Public Schools, Florida; Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee; Hot Springs School District, Arkansas; Houston 

Independent School District, Texas; Montclair Public 

Schools, New Jersey; and Wake County Public School 

System, North Carolina. Appendix A presents a narrative summary of each district’s context and programs.

This guide is based on a study that was informed by a 

literature review, interviews with both researchers and 

educators, and the input of an Advisory Panel consisting of researchers, associations leaders, and educators 

who work with schools, districts, and states on magnet 

implementation. The six districts studied and highlighted here were selected from a larger set of 16 possible sites. The exploratory, descriptive approach used

to examine the magnet programs in these districts is 

adapted from the four-phase benchmarking process 

used by the American Productivity and Quality Center 

(see appendix B for further details). This guide is adapted from the full research report and also incorporates 

information from research literature and other sources. 

Results from specific district practices, district rationales for what they did, patterns across districts, and 

common sense, along with the initial framework, led to 

the themes and actions highlighted in this guide. 

This descriptive research process suggests promising practices—ways to do things that others have found helpful 

or lessons they have learned about what not to do—and 

practical “how-to” guidance. This is not the kind of experimental research that can yield valid causal claims 

about what works. Readers should judge for themselves 

the merits of these practices, based on their understanding of why they should work, how they fit the local context, and what happens when they actually try them. 

This guide is organized around five action areas: getting started, promoting the program, making it easy for 

parents, fully implementing the program, and evaluating and continually improving.
7

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

While fostering student diversity as a path to equitable education remains the prime reason districts 

start a magnet program, as already noted, magnet schools have matured in practice to become much 

more than remedial tools for desegregation. Among other things, well-developed and locally supported 

magnets can, in Dentler’s words, “provide courses of study that barely existed before the magnet’s establishment,” “offer districts local demonstrations of quality that may then be emulated by regular schools,” 

and, “contribute substantially to a district’s attainment of full racial and ethnic equity.”10

A good first step for such planning groups is to learn 

from others. By researching successful magnet programs and schools, by finding out what themes have 

been particularly successful elsewhere, a district—and 

any school that wishes to become a magnet—can often avoid having to “reinvent the wheel.” It can also be 

helpful to obtain copies of magnet program or magnet 

school plans from other districts, if possible, or consult 

with members of their magnet teams. 

Magnet Schools of America11 suggests that a comprehensive magnet school plan include vision and mission 

statements, educational goals, objectives and strategies, curriculum or theme design, implementation 

steps, marketing and recruitment strategies, budget and 

funding plans, timelines, policies, professional development plans, and monitoring and evaluation plans. 

Districts can also benefit from contacting superintendents, magnet specialists, and magnet principals 

Starting a 

Magnet Program

Putting together an attractive instructional program 

that can accomplish these aims at an individual school 

is a complex, multistep undertaking. It requires creating 

a focused vision and program mission that will drive a 

robust implementation plan and sustain commitment. 

It requires dealing with issues of funds and transportation, selecting strong leaders and quality staff willing 

to work long hours, getting people in the community 

involved, and recruiting resources. 

Some districts with long-standing programs have created a structure that enables individual school communities (i.e., some combination of principal, teachers, 

parents, students, and other site-specific stakeholders) 

to transform their school into a magnet. But a district 

initiating a magnet program with multiple schools will 

profit from centralizing the planning process in a “magnet office.” In developing their magnet school programs, 

most of the districts highlighted here also created a 

magnet school research task force to get things started.
8

in districts of similar size and circumstances who can 

share lessons learned about which themes have worked 

best and why, how to set up data infrastructures, parent communication processes, and transportation. 

Hamilton sent staff and other stakeholders to magnet 

schools in other districts, both near and far, to get ideas 

and solicit help in planning their own magnet schools. 

Choose appealing and sustainable themes

How do you go about identifying magnet themes that 

will each attract substantial numbers of students of different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds 

and that, collectively, will help create what one magnet 

program director calls “a workable system of choice, 

instructional success, and thriving community partnerships, with the added benefit of racially integrated 

schools”? Whatever the catalyst for a district magnet 

program—whether resistance to integration, the need 

to improve poorly performing schools, parent dissatisfaction with existing choices, declining enrollments, or 

anything else—the search for effective themes should 

always start in the same way: with research. It’s a process of looking and listening, says one district administrator: “Look at the data —city and school demographics, school performance, available capacity, teacher 

turnover, etc.—to find focal points. Then listen to 

parents, specifically underrepresented parents.” Good 

ideas can also flow from existing advisory groups and 

networks, chambers of commerce, local colleges and 

universities, magnet school experts, and other districts 

that operate magnet schools. But if parents aren’t on 

board, individual magnet schools and a district’s magnet program might take off, but they won’t go anywhere. Get parents interested, then follow through by 

delivering high-quality educational programs to build 

and sustain that initial interest and excitement.

Prior to starting its magnet program in 2000, Hot Springs 

had been hemorrhaging students at an average rate of 

about 100 a year since 1969, its enrollment dropping 

from 6,000 to 2,800. Magnets have helped reverse that 

trend. In 2003, the district gained 134 students. Today 

Hot Springs serves 3,555 students, of which some 3,300 

attend a magnet school. Key to its success are themes 

embraced by parents. The district initially consulted 

with a magnet school expert—the former director of 

the nonprofit Magnet Schools of America—to identify 

distinctive curricular or instructional themes that had 

been successful in other districts. But knowing what 

has worked in another community doesn’t guarantee 

local success. To be more certain that its magnet schools 

would appeal to its hometown audience, Hot Springs 

surveyed local elementary school parents to gauge their 

relative interest in the various themes proposed by the 

consultant. Survey results guided the final decisions.

“Start with the customer,” advises one magnet program 

administrator. In fact, districts studied for this guide 

have typically sought broad community input, through 

surveys—some, like Hot Springs, offering a particular list 

of themes to react to, others asking more open-ended 

questions—and through interviews and focus groups. 

During a year of research and planning for its magnet 

program, Duval surveyed every parent in the county, 

asking what types of programs they were interested in 

for their children and what factors might prompt them 

to move their children away from their neighborhood 

school. Duval used survey results, along with other information, to create school themes; it also used the results to inform its marketing effort for the program.

In Montclair, which had tried and abandoned several desegregation plans before embracing the magnet concept, 
9

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

the initial survey yielded some pretty straightforward results. Polling parents to determine what type of school 

would serve their needs showed that residents in the 

city’s predominantly minority south end wanted a “back 

to basics” theme, while parents in the north end, most 

of whom were European American, wanted a “gifted and 

talented” focus. The district responded by placing a gifted and talented school in the south end to draw white 

students to a school that had been populated mostly by 

students of color, and placing a “back to basics” program 

in the north end to attract youngsters to what had been a 

predominantly white school. Eventually, the entire district 

went the magnet route, creating an array of choices. (See 

figure 3 for Montclair’s descriptions of its magnet 

elementary schools.)

In picking themes, parent and student interest is just 

part of the picture. Identifying a curricular or instructional magnet that, as one administrator says, “will 

make them want to come” is of little use if a district 

doesn’t have the wherewithal, including teacher interest and expertise, to sustain the theme and use it to 

raise student achievement. A central question in setting 

up a magnet school must always be, can you deliver? 

Answering that question requires looking internally at 

interest and resources. Hot Springs gave up plans to 

open a language school when it became clear it would 

have a difficult time finding enough qualified teachers 

in the district. It’s also important to assess and recruit 

expertise in the community. In setting up their museum 

magnet schools, both Hamilton and Wake County profited from museum staff who worked with school staff 

to develop and flesh out their curriculum.

However winning a chosen curricular theme—ecological futures and global issues, fine arts, or science 

and technology—in every case that theme must be 

grounded in a school vision and mission with educational goals and objectives, a set of shared values, and 

guiding principles that shape the entire program and 

help keep it on track.

Select and develop quality staff

Research reveals that while the magnet theme is important to the success and viability of a school, the 

more critical factor is having teachers, administrators, 

and board members committed to the theme, bringing 

“conviction, enthusiasm, and readiness to contribute.”12

All six districts have a district-level administrator focused either completely on the magnet program or on 

magnet schools as part of a broader choice program. 

Each also has an internal decision-making structure 

to coordinate and support the magnet effort. In one 

district the prime mover is the superintendent. But 

however the particular district’s infrastructure is set up 

to support magnets, all involved in these magnet programs agree that success depends to a great extent on 

choosing the right principal for each school: a strong 

instructional leader who is passionate, committed, and 

hard working, who can cultivate teacher buy-in and 

ownership, establishing a culture of collaboration, while 

reaching out to the community. “That relationship with 

the community is so critical, and to build it, you’ve got 

to believe in what you’re doing,” says one district administrator. Parents, in fact, often list the principal as a 

major reason for choosing a given magnet school. 

In many, although not all, instances, magnet schools are 

developed to take the place of an existing, fully staffed 

neighborhood school. In the process, the district often 

reconstitutes the neighborhood school and requires 
10

FIGURE 3. Montclair Elementary School Guide

Bradford School Edgemont 

Montessori

Northeast School Rand School Watchung School Nishuane School Hillside School

Theme: 

Communication Arts 

and Sciences

Theme: 

Montessori School

Theme: 

Global Studies

Theme: 

Family and 

Environment

Theme: 

Science and 

Technology

Theme: 

Gifted and Talented

Theme: 

Gifted and Talented

K–5 K–5 K–5 K–5 K–5 K–2 3–5

Hours: 

8:50 AM to 3:05 PM

Hours: 

8:20 AM to 2:35 PM

Hours: 

8:20 AM to 2:35 PM

Hours: 

8:50 AM to 3:05 PM

Hours: 

8:50 AM to 3:05 PM

Hours: 

9:20 AM to 3:35 PM

Hours: 

9:20 AM to 3:35 PM

Early Dismissal: 

1:40 PM

Early Dismissal: 

1:10 PM

Early Dismissal: 

1:10 PM

Early Dismissal: 

1:40 PM

Early Dismissal: 

1:40 PM

Early Dismissal: 

2:10 PM

Early Dismissal: 

2:10 PM

87 Mt. Hebron Road

Upper Montclair, NJ

20 Edgemont Road

Montclair, NJ

603 Grove Street

Upper Montclair, NJ

176 N. Fullerton Ave.

Montclair, NJ

14 Garden Street

Montclair, NJ

32 Cedar Avenue

Montclair, NJ

54 Orange Road

Montclair, NJ

(973) 509-4155 (973) 509-4162 (973) 509-4242 (973) 509-4255 (973) 509-4259 (973) 509-4222 (973) 509-4200

Ms. Catherine Vitone, 

Principal

Dr. Adunni Anderson, 

Principal

Mrs. Kathy Lindsay, 

Principal

Mrs. Evelyn 

Gonzalez-Spivey, 

Interim Principal

Mrs. Rita Miragliotta, 

Principal

Mrs. Felice Harrison, 

Principal

Mr. Michael Chiles, 

Principal

School size: 

360 students

School size: 

306 students

School size: 

418 students

School size: 

380 students

School size: 

422 students

School size: 

584 students

School size: 

583 students

Offers students a 

communication-rich 

environment through 

the innovative use 

of technology. 

Strives to enhance 

child’s ability to 

gather information, 

communicate, 

problem solve, 

think critically, and 

develop life-long 

learning skills.

The only public 

Montessori school 

in the State of New 

Jersey. Offers 13 

“prepared” learning 

environments. Each 

class is characterized by a multigraded/mixed-aged 

approach designed 

to meet the development needs and 

capabilities of each 

child.

Program features 

three main 

components: Core 

Academic Subjects, 

Global Studies, and 

World Language. 

Program stresses 

cultural diversity, 

global economy politics, environmental 

concerns and 

knowledge of global 

trends and issues.

Recognizes the 

uniqueness and 

diversity of all 

families and works 

to include this 

philosophy into the 

development of the 

whole child. Draws 

upon strengths of 

its families and sees 

them as partners 

in and out of the 

school setting. 

Families encouraged 

to share talents.

Offers an applied 

learning, inquirybased program that 

encourages children 

to learn through 

active exploration. 

Students are 

given knowledge to 

negotiate a world 

where technology 

and science are the 

tools utilized to 

retrieve, interpret, 

and manipulate 

information.

School’s responsibility is to identify and 

nurture children’s 

special abilities 

based on belief that 

all have special gifts 

and talents. Offers 

a wide variety of 

choices so students 

of varying abilities, 

interests, and 

backgrounds 

discover areas of 

interest particular to 

their talents.

Continuation of the 

Gifted and Talented 

theme, school presumes all students 

have special abilities. 

School provides 

students with a 

positive environment 

where responsibility 

and maturity are 

stressed. Strong 

performing arts 

program and 

academic program 

offered.

Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes:

*English as a second 

language school

*English as a second 

language school

2003–2004
11

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

the existing principal and staff to reapply if they want 

to work at the magnet. The principal at a new magnet 

school is typically afforded a measure of autonomy not 

found in traditional schools, given the freedom he or 

she needs to recruit and hire teachers—disregarding 

seniority, for example—who are a good match to the 

school’s theme and programmatic philosophy, including having the requisite motivation, commitment, and 

knowledge to fully implement the theme. 

To achieve the innovative goals of magnets, teachers 

in turn often have more autonomy than their local 

counterparts in shaping curriculum and instruction, a 

collective effort that requires adequate planning time. 

The aim in Hot Springs, says an administrator, is to have 

“school staffs that are integrated, experienced, committed, capable, and willing to spend extra time with 

students, and who believe that all children can learn 

to high standards.” Hamilton principals are quick to 

credit teachers for the success of the program. Says 

one principal, “I try to empower teachers, to get good 

people dedicated to students and our philosophy, and 

just let them go.” A Montclair administrator says of the 

magnet teachers, “If you throw an idea at them they 

run with it.” In these schools, leadership is not the role 

solely of the principal; leadership functions are clearly 

expected from other staff.

In any new school, a principal and teachers are likely 

to need to spend more time planning and coordinating 

than do their counterparts at a more established school. 

Add in the need to hone expertise in a particular theme 

and to align thematic standards with required state standards, and the time demands grow even more intense. 

Yet districts included in this study do not offer financial 

incentives for staff to participate in these schools. The 

attraction seems to be the intrinsic value in the freedom created by the program theme—that and, in some 

cases, the rare opportunity to share personal enthusiasm 

or expertise with students and fellow educators on a 

daily basis. Magnet schools have no difficulty recruiting 

teacher applicants. Teachers in Hamilton County drive 

over 40 miles, some from neighboring Georgia, to teach 

there. One principal recently received 39 applications for 

two openings, despite the fact that in many instances, 

and especially in a school’s start-up phase, magnet 

teachers work longer hours. As one teacher expressed 

it, “For magnet teachers, it’s a passion, not a job.” Some 

districts allow schools to involve teachers themselves in 

the hiring process, an important step toward building 

the cohesive culture essential for success.

Cultivate community resources

The process of getting people involved in a magnet 

school begins in the early stages of creating the curricular or instructional focus. Community partners not 

only serve as excellent resources in developing the magnet theme, as did the staff at Hamilton’s and Wake’s 

various museums, but they can become indispensable 

in implementing the theme, offering time, equipment, 

space, services, and money. Wake created a number of 

university-themed magnet schools that are set up to 

collaborate with North Carolina State’s 10 colleges. One 

of the magnet middle schools is actually located on a 

campus. Across all of the university-theme schools, students, parents, and teachers have frequent opportunities to engage with college faculty and students and to 

use college facilities. Similarly, Wake’s museum magnet 

school partners with several area museums that provide 

students with opportunities to learn from interacting 

with curators and setting up exhibits with museum 
12

personnel. As in Hamilton, local museum staff members 

also work with teachers, reviewing the standard curriculum to see how art, science, or history exhibits might be 

integrated into it. In fact, staff at a small museum that 

focuses on African American history from the Civil War 

to civil rights developed a curriculum that the school 

plans to use for its eighth-graders.

One Hot Springs magnet is an “Explorer School,” one 

of 50 in the country that is closely connected to the 

National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). 

NASA supports the school’s aerospace education and 

environmental studies theme by offering opportunities and resources that would be beyond the reach 

of most magnet schools, let alone most traditional 

schools. For example, students get to attend space 

camp in Alabama.

Getting people involved early also includes recruiting 

parents. Latch on to key parents to assist and serve as 

active supporters. One Duval parent advises finding the 

“worker-bee parents.” 

A key role of magnet school leaders, then, is to engage 

the community, recruit partners, and bring in community resources. Says one district administrator, “Especially for magnets, the principal has to have a passion 

for the theme and a willingness to be out and about 

‘selling’ the program, to be highly interactive with parents and local businesses.” Hamilton has found that 

principals who can’t do this are not effective leaders. 

Principals who can are invaluable. One magnet school 

principal in Hamilton solicited the involvement of a 

local Best Buy store, which initially provided a $2,400 

grant to buy digital cameras for the school, which has 

a math, science, and technology theme. The partnership has grown from there, with Best Buy employees 

now volunteering to help conduct seminars for the 

principal’s book club, in which students are invited to 

read common books and attend a seminar and party 

each month. The store also has donated CD players to 

use as incentives for students.

In turn, principals must pass this entrepreneurial, marketing mind-set on to their staff. This principal told her 

teachers, “Anyone who walks in the building has something to offer, and it’s our job to find out what that is.” 

The challenge for a district, of course, is to identify and 

recruit such leaders for their magnet schools. 

Define special roles

A school’s “magnet” function requires giving serious 

thought and definition to the special positions needed 

to carry out its theme. Depending on the theme (e.g., 

performing arts, aeronautical science), the school might 

require on-site experts. But some of the nontraditional 

tasks necessary in operating magnet schools, such as 

marketing, can be decentralized to individual schools, 

centralized at the district level, or shared between district and sites. As a district’s magnet program grows, so 

may the need for more specialized roles. 

Overall, districts and school sites agree that having 

someone serve as magnet coordinator in each school 

is important, whether that individual serves as a fulltime coordinator or is a lead teacher who does parttime coordination work. There is growing recognition 

in education that if principals, in general, are to be 

effective instructional leaders, other leadership and 

administrative responsibilities traditionally expected of 

them must be shared. This is especially true for magnet school principals who, in addition to their general 

administrative responsibilities, must ensure that their 
13

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

FIGURE 4. Duval Memorandum of Agreement for Magnet Lead Teacher (Page 1 of 3)
14

school’s theme-focused curriculum aligns with state 

academic standards, must market the school to parents 

and the community, and must generate supportive 

partnerships. A magnet coordinator can help with marketing, transportation issues, volunteer coordination, 

parent communication and other tasks that are especially important in magnet schools. 

In Hot Springs, magnet coordinators at the various 

schools work with each other to help ensure thematic 

coherence as students move from one campus up to 

the next, progressing from elementary school through 

high school. They also assist with the student application and recruitment process. Duval’s magnet coordinator oversees application logistics. Hot Springs High 

School, whose themes are arranged in “Career Clusters,” 

has a technical education coordinator who focuses 

solely on student interests in careers, job shadowing, 

and other career-related activities. Each Duval magnet 

school identifies a magnet lead teacher who commits 

to assisting the principal in four areas: marketing, recruitment, communication, and program development 

and management. These expectations are formalized 

and detailed in a Memorandum of Agreement signed 

by the teacher and the district (see figure 4).

Build district support 

Districts stress that sustaining quality leadership and 

staff commitment at magnet schools requires a culture 

of support from the highest levels of the district. “One 

of the big reasons we’re able to be so successful,” says 

one principal, “is that we’re in a school system that 

really supports the magnet program. When I was hired 

the superintendent let us reconstitute the school so I 

was able to hand pick the staff, which is incredible.” In 

each of the districts in this guide the school board’s 

strong commitment, even if it has had to be cultivated, 

is cited as critical to magnet success. Montclair’s school 

board, for example, has demonstrated support by making the very difficult decision to eliminate the pre-kindergarten program in order to free space and funds 

to help preserve the magnet program. In Houston, the 

school board has adopted specific magnet school policies, including such details as entrance, probation, and 

exit procedures.

SUMMARY FOR Starting a Magnet Program

›› Choose appealing and sustainable themes

›› Select and develop quality staff

›› Cultivate community resources

›› Define special roles

›› Build district support 
15

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Promoting 

the Program

Many consider parent access to information the most critical variable in achieving diversity in and across 

magnet schools. Studies13 document differential access or use of information by parents. The more aware 

parents are of options, the more likely they are to pursue them. Thus race-neutral recruitment targeted to 

those community sectors from which a magnet wants to draw students is absolutely key. Every district develops aggressive strategies for promoting and marketing their schools, and schools are expected to do the 

same. Duval advises schools to “scream your theme.” Such efforts typically include developing descriptive 

brochures, distributing magnet program information to students, mailing information to parents, offering 

magnet school tours, and hosting large-scale, multischool recruitment events such as a magnet fair.

Mania, the district also produces a catalog containing 

extensive information about each magnet school. It is 

structured similarly to college catalogs with their thorough description of various programs. 

Duval’s second major marketing effort is aimed at 

eighth graders as they make decisions about where to 

attend high school. Over a three-day period, the district buses each eighth-grader to a 20-minute session 

at three different magnet schools of his or her choice. 

Students complete an interest inventory in advance to 

help them narrow their choices of which schools to 

investigate during this period. Other Duval marketing 

efforts include approximately six parent information 

sessions a year, print advertising, and informational 

videos. Duval also has its guidance counselors visit each 

magnet school so they can accurately advise students 

and parents from the regular schools.

Market your schools

Duval partners with an outside marketing firm, which 

works closely with site staff in preparing a brochure for 

each magnet school. One of the first tasks each year 

for Duval’s marketing specialist is to consult with the 

lead teacher at each magnet school, who in addition 

to having program development responsibilities, is 

charged with formulating and executing a marketing 

plan for the school. Duval’s district-level marketing effort focuses on two major events. The first is “Magnet 

Mania,” an annual trade show of sorts for its magnet 

schools where students and parents can learn about 

the various options. Magnet Mania began in 1991, with 

much thought given to finding a convenient location 

that would attract and accommodate the most attendees. It is held on the Jacksonville Fairgrounds, which 

has enough parking to serve the 10,000–12,000 people 

who attend annually. As a complement to Magnet 
16

Hamilton hired an agency to teach principals marketing techniques and to help them conduct focus groups 

and surveys. It also uses every possible avenue to lure 

parents and their students: producing shopping-mall 

recruitment fairs, offering free speakers to civic and 

religious groups, and providing magnet staff for guest 

spots on talk-radio programs. It also uses local billboard 

advertising (see figure 5).

Wake uses an extensive marketing campaign to inform 

the public about its distinguished magnet program options. Two magnet program staff plan recruiting activities throughout the school year. These activities include 

organizing and advertising the application acceptance 

period, a magnet school fair, magnet school open house 

sessions, evening magnet information sessions, and 

monthly parent information sessions. The marketing and 

recruitment staff also network with local businesses, real 

estate agencies, and government organizations, present 

at local childcare centers and moms groups, and participate in local camp and education fairs and festivals.

The magnet marketing and recruitment staff work 

closely with Wake’s Communications Department to 

create and produce a magnet brochure, a magnet web 

page, a video, a monthly magnet newsletter, flyers, 

posters, direct mailings, news releases, media advisories, and television and radio interviews. Figure 6 lists 

Wake’s various marketing and recruitment efforts. 

Montclair’s choice department conducts separate magnet program orientation sessions for elementary and 

middle school parents, which are followed by school 

visits during both regular school and evening hours. 

Each school also has a unique pamphlet describing its 

theme, core curriculum, special programs, and other 

highlights. The schools also publish catalogues with 

more extensive views of what they offer. 

Houston produces a magnet program open house at 

the district administration building, followed by “Magnet Awareness Week,” whose activities include scheduled tours of prospective schools. 

FIGURE 5. Hamilton Billboard Advertisement
17

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Involve others as co-promoters

Some districts form local advisory councils as a means 

of getting folks involved and spreading the word. To 

generate more parent involvement in the magnet 

program, Wake created a parents’ advisory council, 

with one member serving as a liaison to the district’s 

magnet office. This volunteer is trained by the district 

in key magnet-related issues such as school budgets 

and transportation and, in turn, shares this information with other members of the advisory council. 

The council meets once every four to six weeks with 

the magnet recruiter to brainstorm and share ideas 

about how to reach other parents and students. Wake 

has also created a speaker’s bureau, with 40 speakers available to make presentations about the magnet 

program. The Montclair Council of Parent-Teacher Associations developed a guide, included in orientation 

packets, to help parents navigate the school selection 

process. It proposes specific questions for parents to 

ask on their site visits, ranging from school hours and 

transportation to learning approaches and areas of 

study (see figure 7). 

Word-of-mouth is one of the more effective ways to 

create awareness and draw parent interest. Magnet 

schools make sure that teachers and counselors are 

well versed in their school program and are prepared to 

answer any questions parents or community members 

might have. Schools have found that if teachers and 

staff members share their success stories with others in 

the district, interest and participation increase.

FIGURE 6. Wake Marketing and Recruiting Campaigns

Target specific organizations Present at meetings and events Create and distribute marketing materials

Child care centers

Public libraries

Grocery stores

Doctor’s offices

Churches

Women’s organizations, mother’s groups

Chamber of commerce

Visitor’s bureau

Education foundations

Realtors’ association

Festivals and fairs

Pre-K information sessions

Parent/Teacher Association meetings

Systemwide conferences

Annual Magnet Fair

Fliers

Magnet newsletters

Newspaper ads

Marketing videos

TV and radio interviews

Magnet Web site/ intranet

SUMMARY FOR Promoting the Program

›› Market your schools ›› Involve others as co-promoters
18

FIGURE 7. Montclair School Visit Questions for Parents (Page 1 of 2)
19

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

district. Parents receive a letter of confirmation within 

10 working days, including a confirmation number to 

keep for future reference. 

Houston’s “Magnet Programs” folder contains application information in both English and Spanish. Parents 

can also obtain applications online or at individual campuses or by calling the district. As in many districts, the 

process of exploring and then applying to schools starts 

in November with applications due in January. Applicants 

The unique “magnet” goal, attracting students away from their neighborhood attendance zone, requires 

special effort based on careful and informed planning. To motivate parents to abandon their traditional 

role of accepting an assigned slot for their student and, instead, to actively seek out information about 

the best choice for their child, and to prompt them to grapple with requirements and application steps, 

districts need to make the whole process as easy as possible. Appealing to choice is key here. “When 

people choose to be somewhere, their attitude is different,” observes a Hot Springs magnet coordinator. 

Yet at the same time, enrollment must be regulated to ensure that attendance is balanced demographically. Districts go about managing this tension in different ways. As noted earlier, some districts allow 

schools to establish selective admission criteria—minimum grade-point average, test scores, behavioral 

history, auditions, or portfolio presentations. But the basic approach, varying across districts and particular schools according to specific recruitment needs and goals, is to use a random selection process, 

guaranteeing fairness. The promotional activities described earlier should spell out both the application 

steps and the criteria for acceptance.

Streamline the application process

The application process should be consistent, predictable, and transparent. Procedures should be simple, 

user-friendly, and disseminated to every parent. In 

Hamilton and Wake, parents can apply online or they 

can pick up applications at any magnet school or at the 

Department of Education. By calling Magnet School 

Services (at Wake, it’s the Magnet Resource Center) 

they can request that an application be mailed to them. 

The annual application process varies from district to

Making It Easy 

for Parents
20

are notified of their status by April 1 and must commit 

by April 15. To help ensure that parents know all the important dates, Houston produces a one-page information 

sheet, “Magnet Dates and Deadlines” (see figure 8).

As in many magnet districts, the Hot Springs magnet 

application asks parents to provide and rank their top 

three choices (see figure 9). Because there are only four 

elementary school magnets (with one middle and one 

high school), this approach effectively identifies parents’ least favorite option as well. Montclair has taken 

a similar approach, asking parents to rank schools in 

order of preference from their first to their last choice. 

This way parents are also indicating the school they 

least want their child to attend, and the magnet office 

can take that into consideration as it makes assignments. This revised process has reportedly increased 

satisfaction among parents. 

Make decision-making clear and consistent

Complete fairness and strict guidelines are also imperative in the admission process. Looking across an entire 

district, selection criteria can seem complicated. That’s 

because the criteria can vary from school to school and 

the selection dynamic is not one-dimensional but complex. A magnet school, by definition, seeks at least some 

voluntary enrollment from beyond regular attendance 

zones, resulting in a school population that is racially, 

ethnically, or otherwise representative of the district. 

But a school’s definition of that diversity is determined 

by a host of factors, ranging from district priorities 

(eliminating a particular socioeconomic imbalance, for 

instance) to the nature of the magnet school’s quest 

for academic excellence. Hamilton, for example, has 

been struggling to maintain a base of students from 

middle-class families, using magnets in part to draw 

students back from upper-middle-class private or parochial schools. Wake defines “appropriate and reasonable” diversity as ensuring that individual schools will 

not reflect a free or reduced lunch ratio higher than 40 

percent and that fewer than 25 percent of students will 

be achieving below grade level.

In Houston, the only qualification requirement for 

students seeking entrance into one of its 43 regular 

elementary school magnets is that they have a record 

of satisfactory conduct. Each secondary school uses a 

matrix developed to reflect the requirements of the individual program. Minimally, the matrix includes grades, 

test results, and conduct history. To qualify to audition 

for the secondary fine arts programs, students must 

have both satisfactory conduct and a 78 grade average 

over the previous two years. The results of the audition 

determine if a student is accepted. Vanguard programs 

at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are for 

students identified as being gifted and talented, so students must qualify on the gifted and talented matrix.

Wake’s magnet program differs from many in that it offers a range of magnet types (which it calls programs), 

some of which, although not all, are implemented at 

multiple schools. For example, among its elementary 

schools, eight are designated as “gifted and talented” 

magnets, nine offer a year-round calendar, and two are 

identified as creative arts and science magnets. Applicants must request a program type (e.g., year-round) 

rather than a specific school. With the exception of 

one program type, there are no special admissions requirements. Assignments are based on the following 

criteria: date of postmark on application, transportation 

patterns, sibling priorities, school capacity, classroom 

capacity, socioeconomic diversity, and present magnet 

status of applicant.
21

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

FIGURE 8. Houston Magnet Dates and Deadlines

MAGNET DATES AND DEADLINES

AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

November 1, 2003 MAGNET OPEN HOUSE − For interested parents and students − Hattie Mae White Administration Building Mall − Middle School from 9 am until 10:30 am − Elementary School from 11:00 am until 12:30 pm − High School from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm

November 3-7, 2003 MAGNET AWARENESS WEEK − Tours daily for parents available at each Magnet 

Program

− 9:00 am daily

October, 2003

 Through

January, 2004

MAGNET SCHOOL CAREER DAYS − Magnet high school coordinators present @ all middle 

schools

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED BEGINNING

November 3, 2003

− All Magnet programs

APPLICATION DEADLINES FOR 1ST ROUND OF SCREENING

January 14, 2004

(Postmarked)

− All Magnet programs

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE ABOVE DATE WILL BE ACCEPTED ON A 

SPACE AVAILABLE BASIS.

MAGNET NOTIFICATION DAY

April 1, 2004

− Parents notified by mail of status of student’s 

application(s).

MAGNET “INTENT TO ATTEND” DEADLINE

April 14, 2004

− Parent notifies Magnet school of choice of student 

“intent to attend.”
22

FIGURE 9. Hot Springs Magnet School Application
23

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

In Montclair, all schools operate as magnets, which 

means all parents must apply on behalf of their children. The Montclair assignment system gives priority 

to certain applicants: students residing in the neighborhood surrounding a magnet school, those who 

have a sibling already attending the school, or those 

from one of the magnet school’s “feeder” schools. Such 

priorities counter the impression that magnet schools 

unfairly limit access to neighborhood students. Once 

all priority students have been placed in a particular 

magnet school, its remaining seats are filled strictly 

by lottery. 

Although some parents may become frustrated when 

their child is not admitted to their first choice school, 

making exceptions can be hazardous for a district. Duval maintains careful records, making sure all necessary 

dates and other application information are documented. The district’s logic is that if it makes one exception, 

the floodgates will open for subsequent requests. Similarly, Wake offers no appeal for a denial. While Hamilton still receives a few complaints each year, its lottery 

process has generated positive feedback for its fairness 

from most community members. 

Work out transportation

Getting the word out about a compelling theme and 

providing a consistent equitable application and assignment process, while key, are only part of the equation 

for getting the desired student enrollment mix. Parents 

also make choices based on such factors as their child’s 

need for individualized or special help, safety concerns, 

starting times, location, the reputation of a school’s 

principal and staff, and high on the list, the availability 

and reliability of transportation. Most of the magnet 

school districts in this guide have developed a system 

to aid parents in transporting their children to school—

a massive task often easier said than done—requiring 

funds, careful planning, cooperation across schools, 

and some ingenuity. 

Transportation is a huge challenge for Montclair, costing the district $2.5 million more than it gets back from 

the state. Duval’s goal of providing transportation to 

any magnet school student in the 850-square-mile 

district requires an extensive busing system. The task is 

complicated by the fact that a river runs through the 

area, limiting the possible routes to get a child from one 

location to another. Duval maximized its available buses 

by pairing schools together to share a bus route and by 

creating hub schools where students can be dropped off 

to catch another bus to their final destination.

This hub system is a prime example of how teacher 

and staff collaboration is integral to the success of the 

district’s magnet program. Getting buy-in from teachers and other school staff who work at the hub schools 

is crucial because it is these teachers and staff members who must make the hub system work, ensuring 

that all children make an easy and secure transfer to 

their buses. Because these students do not attend the 

hub school, the adults who help them make their bus 

connection are assuming extra responsibility, going 

beyond their primary job duties. Clearly, teachers and 

staff members across the district must be completely 

committed to the hub system in order for this type of 

transportation option to be effective.

Some Duval magnet students travel long distances to attend a particular magnet school, and many travel into 

portions of the inner city that may be perceived as dangerous whether or not they really are. Duval recognizes 

the importance of addressing parental concerns about 
24

their child’s daily journey, understanding that safety is 

the number one concern of all parents. In addition to 

providing catalogs and brochures to address as many 

transportation questions as possible, district staff contact 

each magnet school family upon their child’s acceptance 

to inform them about bus stop locations and pick-up and 

drop-off times and to answer any questions.

Transportation for Houston’s programs is an equally 

large-scale effort requiring the cooperation and ingenuity of several departments, including the Magnet Department and Pupil Transfer and Transportation Services, and school-based administrators. 

Houston receives approximately $19 million from the 

state from desegregation busing funds that cover 

50 percent of the district’s transportation-related costs. 

Each school day, the 1,100-bus fleet travels 900 routes 

to 280 campuses serving approximately 40,000 students, 16,000 of them magnet students. 

Before each school year begins, Houston parents and 

administrators are informed of each student’s transportation route. Magnet program students who live more 

than two miles away from their campus are eligible for 

round-trip transportation between district-designated 

centralized bus stops and their assigned campuses. To 

ensure that all students arrive at their assigned school 

without missing instructional time, the district operates on a staggered bell schedule.

Four years ago, Houston set up an online transportation information system, jointly developed by its 

transportation and technology departments. It features route sheets by motor pool and school, bus stop 

locations for all schools, student registration forms, 

and bus roster data. On Mondays, Transportation 

Department updates are posted and on Wednesdays 

any changes are made to routes, schedules, and other 

transportation events. District and school administrators are able to request transportation, check on the 

status of buses and routes, view particular student 

routes, and make other inquiries online directly to the 

transportation department. 

Wake offers two transportation options to students 

living more than 1.5 miles from school, as well as to 

students with special needs. One option is door-todoor service, which, like a traditional country bus 

system, picks students up at home and returns them 

there at the end of the day. The other option is express 

transportation. In this system, parents are responsible 

for getting students to a collection point, such as another school, a library, or the YMCA, and picking them 

up there at day’s end. The district then transports students back and forth between this collection point and 

their assigned school. Wake parents can also fill out a 

transportation service request form to appeal for a bus 

stop location or inclusion on a specific route.

SUMMARY FOR Making It Easy for Parents

›› Streamline the application process

›› Make decision-making clear and consistent

›› Work out transportation
25

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Creating magnet schools, getting them up and running and serving the right student mix, takes a lot of 

upfront time and effort. But the enduring challenge is making them work: keeping the organizational 

eye fixed squarely on the prize, being relentless about staying the course, sustaining momentum and 

keeping commitment alive. This covers a lot of territory, but the districts in this guide focused on the 

following keys to successful implementation.

Build in time for teacher collaboration 

Successful school innovation, Fullan8

 stresses, is about 

time: making time, taking time, finding more useful ways 

to spend time. This is especially true for magnets where an 

entire school is focusing on a particular theme and extra 

time is needed to develop and sustain it. Many traditional 

schools suffer from a tradition that isolates teachers behind their classroom walls and that is stingy with time for 

working and learning together. Successful magnet programs help their schools break from tradition and eliminate these barriers. These districts and their schools have 

been creative in rethinking and restructuring time for 

teachers to work together and with experts to implement 

their themes. Faculty meetings are recast to get the most 

out of them, and available professional development time 

is structured to make it serve schoolwide goals.

Schools make teachers’ protected planning time available 

in several ways. Houston school leaders support common 

planning periods and enrichment activities, both formal and informal. The High School for the Performing 

and Visual Arts, for example, employs a meeting cycle in 

which once every six weeks a specific group of teachers 

from similar disciplines and different grade levels meets 

to deal with issues and events prevalent in their field. 

Once all six groups have met, a full faculty meeting is 

held, at which participants share key points and any 

recommendations from their respective meetings. Then, 

in the last session of the cycle, joint decisions are finalized. This repeated process allows all parties to provide 

input and work collaboratively across all disciplines. In 

Hamilton, Battle Academy relies so heavily on full-day 

quarterly planning meetings to evaluate progress toward 

goals that many consider these “the heart and soul of 

this school.” Teachers take a half day the week before the 

meeting to plan for it. To give teachers more time for 

joint planning, the principal at another Hamilton school 

has cut back on the number of faculty meetings, using email to communicate much of the information that was 

traditionally communicated at the faculty meetings. 

Some districts find ways to increase time. Hot Springs, 

for example, added five days of staff development to 

the teacher’s contract to support teacher learning and 

Fully Implementing 

the Program
26

program implementation. At the district’s Gardner Elementary School, teachers have a common planning 

time across grade levels, and all principals meet with 

teams once a week to discuss themes, address instructional and assessment issues, develop future plans, and 

meet with support staff to hear their concerns. Wake 

added quarterly core team meetings as a new step in 

its magnet implementation process, and staff members 

say they wish they had always done this. These meetings “help steer the course” by giving staff a structured 

opportunity to identify and resolve problems or issues. 

School administrators try to be sensitive to teachers’ 

time by allowing for planning during school hours. 

A major challenge in ensuring effective professional development is to get people together in the same physical space. Montclair surmounts this challenge by providing professional development to groups of teachers 

from clusters of magnet schools that are on the same 

schedule. The district also practices “alignment” of professional development so that teachers become familiar 

with what teachers in the grade before them and the 

grade following them are doing. In some cases, time to 

collaborate is fostered through organizational arrangements, by creating sheer proximity. Montclair’s Glenfield 

Middle School was organized into “houses” so that all of 

the grade level teachers can meet daily to discuss student needs and curriculum or theme integration issues. 

Restructuring the school day or student learning time 

can free up blocks of time for teachers to plan and collaborate. Some literally shave minutes. One Hamilton 

school administrator reports coming up with extra time 

for teacher planning by moving the school start time 

ahead five minutes, reducing time allocated for students to change classes, and making the lunch period 

slightly shorter. Without changing any one thing a 

huge amount, the principal captured 40 minutes that 

had previously been “dead time.” 

Provide high-quality professional development

As part of their implementation plan, all these magnet 

schools tap outside expertise to some degree. They do 

so through such traditional learning opportunities as 

workshops, inservice activities, and conferences, but 

they also recognize the importance of school-based 

professional development that is embedded as part of 

the school culture and driven by program goals and 

student needs. Two Hamilton schools, for example, have 

hired a literacy consultant who serves in an ongoing 

capacity rather than delivering a one-shot training.

Given the highly specialized curriculum of magnets, 

teachers often need extra training in the theme itself, 

whether it’s the Montessori method or earth science. Before any of Hamilton’s art schools opened, every teacher 

in those schools went through two weeks of disciplinebased arts education. The training helped classroom 

teachers understand how the various arts could be integrated into their curriculum from the standpoint of 

such folks as the art specialist, the visual artist, and the 

performing artist. Arts experts stay involved after the 

training, continuing to work with classroom teachers on 

content integration because, explains one district representative, neither the district nor the schools wanted 

two separate faculties, one an arts faculty and one an 

academic faculty. Hot Springs encourages both school 

faculty and district personnel to visit other magnet programs to bring back “the best information out there.”

Professional development is driven by school goals. 

To promote high student performance, five of Wake’s 

magnets integrate a triad of educational reform 
27

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

approaches: effective schools philosophy and research; 

Total Quality Management theory and practice; and 

Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence. 

Teachers at Hamilton’s Paideia-based magnet schools 

naturally receive special training in the Paideia approach, which integrates three teaching methods (didactic instruction, personal coaching of academic skills, 

and weekly seminars) that enhance literacy along with 

problem-solving and other higher-level skills. In addition to bringing in trainers, the schools rely on their 

more-experienced educators to mentor new teachers. 

The schools also arrange release time so new teachers 

can sit in on Paideia seminars. 

Montclair benefits from the proximity of Montclair 

State University, which has provided magnet teachers 

with training in critical skills for successfully teaching 

diverse learners, such as differentiated instruction.

Professional development is also driven by student performance data. For example, before Hot Springs arranges 

for professional development at its magnet schools, the 

district reviews state assessment results and benchmark 

testing and uses that analysis to identify and focus the 

professional development. One problem with professional development, Hamilton educators believe, is that 

too often it begins with what teachers do rather than 

what students need. The district’s Critical Friends Groups 

begin, instead, with what students do. Each group brings 

together six to ten teachers within a school over a period of at least two years. After getting a solid grounding in group-process skills, members focus on designing 

learning goals for students that can be stated specifically enough that others can understand them. With 

those goals in mind, members then look at student work 

and explore how they can improve their own teaching 

practices and their students’ academic achievement. 

Coordinate the curriculum with state and 

district standards

Since many, although not all, magnets have their own 

curricular focus (e.g., criminal justice, environmental 

science), one important task is to make sure they nonetheless cover all key state academic standards. This is 

a greater challenge for older schools that started before their state adopted academic standards. Today all 

Montclair magnet schools teach the same core curriculum because they must incorporate content standards established by the New Jersey State Department 

of Education. What makes each a magnet school is the 

specialized, theme-based program it uses to deliver that 

curriculum. But Montclair’s superintendent explains that 

the standards movement makes it harder for schools to 

differentiate themselves since they must all implement 

the same curriculum standards that, for some schools, 

were not in place when they started. The challenge is to 

maintain qualities that make them distinctive while offering the same core content with high standards.

In Wake, the curriculum that is developed for specific 

themes undergoes careful scrutiny to ensure that it is 

aligned with the state and county Standard Course of 

Study (ScoS) goals and objectives. Beginning at the 

proposal level, the magnet curriculum guides are reviewed and revised by both the Magnet Department 

and the Curriculum and Instruction Department for 

adherence to the particular magnet theme and alignment with the ScoS. Communication between the two 

departments has aided the Wake magnet system in its 

accountability to the district’s Goal 2008: 95 percent 

of students in grades 3 through 12 will be at or above 

grade level as measured by the state of North Carolina 

End-of-Grade or Course tests, and all student groups 

will demonstrate high growth.
28

Newer magnet schools profit by knowing in advance 

that regardless of their curricular focus, whether aviation science or music, as they plan their curriculum 

they must align it with state content standards. 

The Hot Springs superintendent believes that like all 

good schools, successful magnet schools are guided 

by four points: knowing what students are expected 

to learn, knowing whether they learned it, intervening and changing the system based on what schools 

know about student performance, and building staff 

development around student achievement results. 

Thus, Hot Springs principals and teachers are expected 

to align their instructional objectives with the state assessment; review benchmark tests to evaluate student, 

teacher, and school performance; and build intervention strategies and professional development around 

the areas of weakness. While themes are essential to 

the magnet schools, the instructional foci on all campuses are mathematics and literacy. This is because the 

district’s magnet program is intended to align with the 

Arkansas Curriculum Framework in which all schools 

follow a strict scope and sequence of instruction in 

mathematics and literacy. This ensures comprehensive 

coverage of all standards dictated by the state and 

evaluated through both district and state assessment 

programs. To establish standards for all the themes, 

Hot Springs used state standards for the math strand 

and brought in consultants to help ensure that the 

remaining themes were being infused into core curriculum and that appropriate electives were being established. To make sure all players in this system know 

their part, the district uses “magnet program activity 

plans,” which identify what needs to be done and who 

is responsible (see figure 10).

Use outside resources, especially parents, to 

implement the program

Perhaps more than any other kind of school, magnets 

depend on community participation—for thematic expertise, for facilities, and, not least, for donations of 

equipment and funds. Each magnet school uses multiple 

strategies for engaging stakeholders. Some, as mentioned 

above, form groups to aid in the process. Duval’s Magnet Advisory Council, consisting of district staff, teachers, 

principals, and members from the community, higher education, and private industry, is funded through the magnet office and organizes events such as a party honoring 

magnet teachers. The council’s primary purpose is to act 

as a communication tool for the magnet program. The 

districtwide Wake Educational Partnership was conceived 

as a means of bringing private sector support to the public school system for such things as student scholarships, 

funding for teachers, and student internships.

Houston maintains a community relations department 

that reaches out to the business community in hopes of 

generating business-school partnerships. When it identifies a business interested in offering its time, services, or 

money, the department pairs the business with a school 

in need of the resources offered. One of the district’s 

biggest business partners is the Houston Rockets basketball team. Several players, including Yao Ming, visit 

10 Houston schools to encourage students to meet their 

goals in the district’s “Read to Achieve” program. The 

team also provides the schools with sports equipment, 

rewards, and incentives that are a part of the program. 

As noted earlier, Hamilton’s seven local museums, spanning an array of subject areas including American art, 

nature, sea life, and African American culture, collaborate 

with two of the district’s magnet schools. School and 
29

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

FIGURE 10. Hot Springs Magnet Program Activity Plan (Sample)

MAGNET PROGRAM ACTIVITY PLAN

4.0a By June of each project year (2002, 2003 and 2004), each magnet school will 

substantially strengthen students’ knowledge of academic subjects, as measured by 

a two percent growth in students’ test scores using the Stanford Achievement Test/9 

and/or equivalent growth using State performance-based assessments: reading and 

math benchmarks.

TASK/RESPONSIBILITY

D

P SC

M

T

E

4.1a Develop and implement distinctive, 

unique instructional programs at each 

site.

1

2

3

4

2

4

4.2a Purchase appropriate books, materials, 

supplies, and equipment.

1

2

2

4

2

4

4.3a Implement systemic reforms.

4.4a Implement innovative educational 

methods and practices.

4

2

3

4

2

4

4.5a Test students using SAT/9.

4

2

3

4

2

4

4.6a Evaluate test results.

4

2

2

4

2

3

4.7a Monitor alternative assessment practices 

and their degree of implementation, 

including benchmarks and standards.

4

3

3

4

3

2

4.8a Evaluate alternative assessment practices.

4

4

4

4

4

2

4.9a Modify curriculum to meet student 

needs.

1

2

2

4

2

3

Staff 

Responsible

(Magnet Office) Responsibility 

Level

D = Director

P = Principal

SC = Site Coordinator

M = Marketing/ Recruitment Specialist

 T = Teachers

E = Evaluator

1 = Approve

2 = Implement

3 = Involve

4 = Notify
30

museum educators work together to develop the curriculum, which emphasizes students displaying their learning 

through such hands-on activities as actually building exhibits. The museums make all their resources and exhibits 

available to the schools. Normal Park Museum Magnet 

is a good illustration of how students benefit from the 

commitment to diversity. The school serves students from 

all over Hamilton County; about 55 percent are white and 

45 percent African American. The museum exhibits that 

students build, which are displayed quarterly at an exhibit 

night, are proof that all students are capable of quality 

work when afforded the same opportunities. “If you look 

at their exhibits, you won’t know which kids are rich and 

which kids are poor, or where they come from,” says one 

teacher. “That’s because they all have access to the same 

resources. It’s different from a school where they assign take-home projects. Everything is done here, at the 

school, so the projects are all of equal quality.”

All Hamilton magnet schools require parents of magnet students (i.e., those from outside the school’s attendance zone) to volunteer a minimum of 18 hours 

per school year. The district employs a full-time parent 

coordinator on each campus to assist parents in meeting the 18-hour obligation and act as a point of contact for the volunteers. Although parents of neighborhood students are not required to volunteer, through 

encouragement their school participation has also 

increased. During the school year 2003–04, Hamilton 

parents logged over 70,000 hours of volunteer service, 

saving the district an estimated $360,500. Because 

the requirement brings more parents into each school, 

communication has improved, taking place as often as 

not through informal meetings in the hallway. 

In Montclair, says the assistant superintendent, “There 

is an army of parents who are there when we need 

them.” Parents are instrumental in lobbying for money, 

she said, crediting them with helping to pass several 

school budgets through the approval process recently. 

In hopes of increasing involvement by parents of children who receive free and reduced lunch, the district 

has begun offering childcare, food, and transportation 

for school meetings and events. 

Parents are involved in the schools in other ways, as well. 

At one magnet school, for example, willing parents receive 

six weeks of training so they can help support the school’s 

writing program for third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. 

In Montclair, one magnet principal keeps a “book of 

talents” that lists parents and what they can offer and 

be called on to do in class. One parent, for example, 

is a dinosaur expert. Another parent put together an 

extensive glossary of important holidays from around 

the world so children could learn the real meaning of 

them, rather than a stereotypical rendition.

SUMMARY FOR Fully Implementing the Program

›› Build in time for teacher collaboration

›› Provide high-quality professional development

›› Coordinate the curriculum with state and 

district standards

›› Use outside resources, especially parents, 

to implement the program
31

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Evaluating and 

Continually Improving

comprehensive evaluation plans that outline the data 

to be collected and used in assessing various aspects of 

magnet schools. The important thing to remember is 

that data collected for evaluation purposes should ultimately be utilized to improve teaching and learning. 

Districts that receive funding from the Magnet Schools 

Assistance Program (MSAP) must meet certain reporting requirements, and these often form the foundation 

for the data collection process. But many districts find 

it is important to collect other information as well. For 

example, for MSAP-funded schools, Hamilton’s and 

Wake’s magnet schools directors collect information 

about professional development programs, alignment 

of the curriculum with state and local standards, infusion of the magnet theme into the curriculum, and 

parental involvement. The data collection process includes surveying parents, students, and teachers at the 

school to gauge their feelings about such things as the 

In this era of accountability, all school districts are struggling with how best to evaluate the effectiveness of their schools and how to use assessment and evaluation results to continually improve the 

quality of teaching and learning. For districts with magnet schools, which by definition are trying something unique or innovative, evaluation is all the more critical. Resulting data provide their schools with 

guidance for achieving their mission and education objectives, helping them iron out possible kinks, and 

identifying and correcting what’s not working. And, according to several districts in this study, as magnet schools continue to improve, they raise the bar for all schools in a district.

To keep their magnet schools both effective and relevant, districts have found it important to use data to 

guide improvements in teaching and learning, to revisit 

and evaluate magnet themes over time, and to keep 

parents and community stakeholders involved in the 

process of evaluation and improvement.

Use data as a basis for improving teaching 

and learning

Evaluation of magnet schools and subsequent efforts 

for improvement must be data driven. Knowing what 

data to collect and how to utilize that information to 

improve the magnet schools is essential. 

Many factors affect choices about what data should be 

collected to evaluate magnet programs. Some districts 

must collect certain data to meet state or funding institution reporting requirements; others have developed 
32

school’s student diversity and integration of its magnet 

theme. For schools not supported by MSAP funds, the 

director uses a different evaluation process, analyzing data from the five disciplines tested by the district 

and looking at attendance and graduation rates, which 

tend to be higher in magnets than in other schools. 

The director of magnet schools in Hamilton also meets 

with principals and curriculum facilitators to discuss 

strengths and weaknesses. 

Hot Springs uses state-mandated assessments to 

evaluate student progress and make adjustments to its 

academic programs. In addition, the district employs 

its own thrice-yearly standardized tests with a rational 

and easily interpretable growth measure to gauge student progress throughout the year. These measures are 

used in evaluating teacher efficacy and the success and 

failure of curriculum implementation at the district 

level. All student achievement and attendance data and 

other relevant information are collected and stored in 

a comprehensive student database maintained and utilized by the district’s Office of Research and Evaluation. 

The district uses an outside evaluator to determine on 

an annual basis if it is meeting its objectives. The evaluator visits every classroom in the elementary magnets 

and several of the middle- and high-school magnets to 

assess programs. Additionally, consultants are hired to 

determine whether themes are being effectively implemented and infused in the curriculum and instruction 

at each magnet school.

Most districts, even those no longer under a desegregation order, remain committed to a diverse enrollment in their magnet schools and track their student 

population mix at each site. This allows Duval to report 

that when it operated under a desegregation order, 

46 percent of its magnet schools were racially balanced. 

Now, even though the district no longer factors race 

into school assignments, 42 percent of Duval’s magnet 

schools have a student mix reflecting districtwide student demographics. Montclair is still under a compliance order from the 1970s that says its schools must 

be balanced racially within 10 percent of the population. However, in evaluating its magnet program, the 

district considers equally important the elimination of 

the achievement gap between students of color and 

white students, and the district has managed to reduce 

that persistent performance discrepancy in the course 

of improving student achievement overall. 

Knowing who is responsible for data collection and dissemination is also important. Having a central office for 

research and evaluation, such as that in Hot Springs, 

is one way to ensure that data collection is a priority. 

Hot Springs’ office uses a wide array of reporting and 

data analysis software to continually monitor district, 

school, teacher, and student progress. For example, the 

district reviews the results of benchmark assessments 

to evaluate schools, teachers, and students, using the 

information they find to plan professional development 

and other interventions around areas of weakness.

Wake has also centralized its data collection efforts. The 

mission of its Evaluation and Research Department is 

“to improve the effectiveness of the Wake County Public 

School System for all students by: providing objective, 

accurate, and timely information on system, school, and 

program outcomes, management practices, cost effectiveness, and compliance; collaborating with others to 

ensure high-quality data collection, interpretation, and 

data-based decision making; and ensuring grant-based 

programs are developed, implemented, and managed in 
33

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

ways consistent with district priorities, research findings, and applicable regulations.”14 The department 

consists of four offices: Testing, Program Accountability, School Accountability, and Grants Administration 

and Compliance Reporting. The Program Accountability office promotes continuous improvement and accountability through evaluations of district programs, 

including the magnet program. This office also supports 

individual schools through analysis of local assessment 

results and interpretation of school performance data. 

Among the evaluation-related activities of Program Accountability staff are monitoring program participation; 

monitoring program implementation and effectiveness 

through surveys, interviews, and site visits; analyzing 

achievement test results as well as other data on desired outcomes; and developing needs assessments and 

evaluation plans for grant applications.

The highly decentralized Houston Independent School 

District also has a district-level Department of Research 

and Accountability that in 2002–03 conducted a review 

to capture baseline data to use in evaluating Houston’s 

magnet schools. However, the district magnet office 

is continually engaged in monitoring and evaluating 

the overall magnet program, especially on an informal 

level. For example, the Magnet Department monitors 

program implementation at both the district and the 

school level through site visits and technical support. 

The Magnet Department routinely requests application, 

transfer, and enrollment information from individual 

magnet coordinators and conducts informal surveys to 

monitor magnets’ impact on diversity, equity, accessibility, and school improvement. 

Other districts without central evaluation and research 

offices have developed means to collect, disseminate, 

and review magnet school data. As previously noted, 

Hot Springs employs an outside evaluator. For its part, 

Duval has conducted peer reviews in the past, and the 

director of school choice and pupil assignment recommends this practice to other districts. During this 

process, a team of peers would visit a school over the 

course of one to two days, interview everyone involved, 

and then provide feedback. 

Perhaps the most crucial piece of any magnet school 

evaluation is understanding how to utilize the available 

data to improve teaching and learning, not just in magnet schools, but across the district. Montclair’s assistant 

superintendent puts it this way: “Getting the data is 

one thing. Understanding what it is trying to tell you [is 

another]. And using it as a blueprint for change—that’s 

where [data] can help.” With this in mind, Montclair 

has trained its principals in how to utilize data. Guided 

by the results from standardized tests, for example, 

they look to see if certain skills were taught. They also 

look for patterns in report card grades that teachers 

are giving. The superintendent notes that being able to 

analyze and use data in more sophisticated ways has 

allowed district and school staff to see that schools are 

making some progress in addressing the achievement 

gap. The district has been following a cohort of students between 4th and 8th grade and has seen the gap 

in reading narrow to 6 percent. 

Revisit and reinvent magnet themes to 

ensure appeal and relevance

As part of the evaluation process, districts must revisit 

and, as needed, make changes to magnet themes to 

ensure that themes remain relevant and appealing to 

the community. The attraction of a technology theme 

initially implemented at a time when it was still rare 
34

to find district teachers and students using technology for teaching and learning may diminish as schools 

throughout the district improve in integrating technology. It may be time to change the theme entirely 

or, instead, to ratchet up the curriculum by instituting 

new, specialized classes, in computer animation, for example. Thematic review is a necessary step in ensuring the long-term quality and sustainability of magnet 

schools. One way Duval evaluates its magnet program 

and schools is monitoring how parents “vote with their 

feet.” In other words, if a magnet school no longer 

meets the needs of students, parents will choose other 

alternatives, such as private schools. 

Montclair officials acknowledge that implementing 

magnet themes that make each school unique is a challenge they must meet if their magnet schools are to remain viable and true to the magnet school philosophy. 

Broad community input is part of the current effort to 

revise and improve Montclair’s themes. “The changes 

will not be top down,” the superintendent says, “they 

will start with parents and teachers.”

This reinventing process has happened before in Montclair. For example, Bradford was identified as the “backto-basics” school when it was set up in the 1970s. But 

back-to-basics eventually lost its appeal and Bradford 

enrollment began to drop. For two years the district 

tried unsuccessfully to re-market the school. Eventually, the theme was changed to communication arts 

and sciences and enrollment began climbing. Teachers 

and parents worked together to develop and enhance 

the new program. In the reinvention process, says the 

principal, it was “critical to keep what was working and 

to hear everyone’s voice.” Bradford’s enrollment has 

once again begun flagging and as part of the current 

revisiting process, its theme is likely to change again. 

One possibility is that it will become a “university” magnet affiliated with Montclair State University. 

Another example of Montclair’s emphasis on formative 

evaluation of its magnet schools is Northeast Elementary School. When this school first became a magnet it 

had an “international” theme, primarily because much 

of its enrollment consisted of English-as-a-Second 

Language students. When the current principal came to 

Northeast in 2002, she surveyed students, parents, and 

teachers and found that few seemed to like the theme. 

“It was one day a week and too focused on the adult 

experts,” the principal reported. “Many students said, ‘I 

hated it. I never got to be a part of it.’ Parents were unhappy, too.” Using this information, the principal wrote 

a rationale for a new theme and presented it to district 

officials. The school now has a Global Studies theme. 

Wake also takes steps to assess application numbers for 

its magnet schools. If numbers are low for a particular magnet school, the magnet office sends an internal 

survey to the campus, goes to the school, talks to the 

faculty, and, based on collected information, decides 

on another theme that might rejuvenate the school. 

As part of this process, the schools themselves conduct 

meetings with parents to seek their feedback. 

Keep parents and community stakeholders 

involved in evaluation and improvement

All of the same school stakeholders and community 

partners that are such an important part of creating, 

implementing, and promoting magnet schools should be 

included in their evaluation and improvement. As mentioned, parents are a critical resource for the reinventing or revamping of magnet themes. Paying attention to 
35

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

FIGURE 11. Wake Middle-School Parent Survey
36

parents and other stakeholders can inform evaluation 

and improvement efforts in other ways as well.

Most of the districts in this study collect data from 

stakeholders to use in their assessment of magnet 

schools. In Hot Springs, the schools keep records of 

parental participation in school activities, which is 

interpreted as an indication of parental satisfaction. 

Parents are also surveyed as to their satisfaction with 

after-school programs. Montclair currently is developing a parent survey instrument that will allow the 

district to learn more about what parents think of the 

school system and what their needs are. Wake surveys 

parents, students; and staff annually (see figure 11). In 

addition to these districtwide surveys, each magnet 

school can survey parents, students, and faculty to 

get feedback about its program. Hamilton also surveys 

teachers, students, and parents to gauge their feelings 

about diversity in the school, alignment of curriculum 

with state standards, integration of the school’s theme, 

and parent involvement. Teachers are also asked about

their professional development experiences. Survey results are analyzed at Brown University. In doing these 

surveys, the district intends to generate more data to 

inform school improvement efforts.

Stakeholders from outside the district management 

structure can also be involved directly in evaluation 

activities. One of the responsibilities of the Magnet 

Advisory Council in Duval—a diverse group including 

members from the community, higher education, private industry, district staff, teachers, and principals—is 

to “review program evaluations concerning the effectiveness of magnet programs and ... [to make] recommendations to the school system regarding the effectiveness of these programs.” 

In this district and elsewhere, ongoing review helps 

stakeholders identify and build on the strengths of 

their program and understand and address the areas in 

need of improvement. In this way, their magnet schools 

remain vital and effective.

SUMMARY FOR Evaluating and Continually Improving

›› Keep parents and community stakeholders 

involved in evaluation and improvement

›› Use data as a basis for improving teaching and 

learning

›› Revisit and reinvent magnet themes to ensure 

appeal and relevance
37

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Acknowledgments

The development of this guide was initiated and directed by 

Nina S. Rees, deputy under secretary of the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education. 

Sharon Horn was the project manager.

An external advisory panel provided feedback to refine the 

study scope and prioritize issues to investigate. Members included Barbara DeMaster, director of curriculum, instruction 

and assessment, St. Louis Park Public Schools; Phyllis DuBois, 

consultant; Joe Hairston, superintendent, Baltimore County 

Public Schools; Caroline Massengill, senior director, Wake 

County Public School System and president-elect, Magnet 

Schools of America; and Diann Taylor, principal, Kirby Junior High Math-Science-Technology Magnet School, Wichita 

Falls, Texas. Drafts of the guide were also reviewed by district 

staff of the six districts included in the study.

Staff in the Department who reviewed drafts include: Tom 

Corwin, Michael Petrilli, Steve Brockhouse, Cynthia Dorfman, 

Stacy Kotzin, Meredith Miller, Susan Wilhelm, John Gibbons, 

Jeff Sims, Alexander Choi, Adina Kole, Jodie Badgley, Courtney Philips, and Margaret West Guenther.

This guide was written, designed, and based on a report by 

WestEd.

WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service 

agency committed to improving learning at all stages of life, 

both in school and out. WestEd has offices across the United 

States and also serves as one of the nation’s ten regional 

educational laboratories.

WestEd’s partner in developing this series of research reports 

and innovation guides is Edvance. Created by the American Productivity and Quality Center, Edvance is a resource 

for process and performance improvement with a focus on 

benchmarking, knowledge management, performance measurement, and quality improvement initiatives in education.

The six districts cooperating in the development of this guide 

and the report from which it is drawn were generous with 

both their time and attention to the project. We would like to 

thank the district superintendents and the many district staff 

members who were instrumental in coordinating and participating in the site visits that inform the report and this guide.

Duval County Public Schools

1701 Prudential Drive

Jacksonville, FL 32207-8182

http://www.educationcentral.org/

John C. Fryer, Jr.

Superintendent

Dr. Sally Hague

General Director

School Choice/Pupil Assignment 

Operations

Hamilton County Schools

6703 Bonny Oaks Drive

Chattanooga, TN 37421

http://www.hcde.org/

Dr. Jesse B. Register

Superintendent

Joanne Smith

Director of Magnet Schools

Hot Springs School District

400 Linwood

Hot Springs, AR 71913

http://hsprings.dsc.k12.ar.us/

Roy Rowe

Superintendent

Don Waldrip

Magnet Director

Houston Independent 

School District

3830 Richmond Avenue

Houston, TX 77027

http://www.houstonisd.org/

Dr. Kaye Stripling

Superintendent

Dottie Bonner

Manager of Magnet Programs

Montclair Public Schools

22 Valley Road

Montclair, NJ 07042

http://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/

Dr. Frank R. Alvarez, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Dr. Jeanne Pryor

Assistant Superintendent

Wake County Public 

School System

3600 Wake Forest Road

Raleigh, NC 27609

http://www.wcpss.net/

William R. McNeal

Superintendent

Caroline Massengill

Senior Director, Magnet Programs

WestEd

730 Harrison Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

http://www.wested.org/

Glen Harvey

Chief Executive Officer

Nikola Filby

Associate Director, 

Regional Laboratory Program

Edvance

123 Post Oak Lane, Floor 3

Houston, TX 77024

http://www.edvance.org/

C. Jackson Grayson Jr.

Chief Executive Officer 

Kristin Arnold

Project Director
38
39

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Appendix A: 

District Profiles

Duval County Public Schools 41

 Hamilton County Schools 43

Hot Springs School District 45

 Houston Independent School District 47

Montclair Public Schools 49

 Wake County Public School System 51
40
41

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Duval County Public Schools, Florida

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

126,633 19,927 (16%) 178 61 850 Large Central City

Duval County Public Schools, serving Jacksonville, 

Florida, has been home to two magnet high schools 

since the 1980s. But like many other districts engaged 

in magnet programming, Duval’s magnet initiatives increased dramatically as a result of a court-ordered desegregation plan. The plan outlining the use of magnet 

schools took effect in the 1991–92 school year as an alternative to a forced busing plan implemented in 1969. 

Although in 1999 the district achieved unitary status, 

ending the court mandate for its magnet program, Duval has continued to grow its magnet program in order 

to continue its efforts to decrease racial isolation in 

schools as well as to provide a system of choice.

Duval’s magnet schools fall into two categories: dedicated and school-within-a-school. Virtually all of Duval’s school-within-a-school magnets serve students 

schoolwide, irrespective of their status as magnet or 

neighborhood students. The district sees this as the 

best way to eliminate one of the potential problems associated with the school-within-a-school model: that 

it can create a distinction between the magnet students and neighborhood students as the “haves” and 

the “have-nots,” respectively.

Primary responsibility for the magnet schools falls under the Office of School Choice and Pupil Assignment. 

The district magnet office, housed within School Choice, 

employs a general director, a magnet coordinator, and 

a magnet marketing and recruiting specialist. One of 

the main tasks of the magnet coordinator is working 

closely with each magnet school to ensure that all of 

the schools’ needs are being met. The magnet coordinator also oversees the student application process.

Duval’s magnet program is intended to create an environment in which students can excel by choosing what 

best meets their needs. Therefore, the magnet program 

in this district is diverse and academically focused. 

Some of its schools offer students a combination of 

vocational and college preparatory courses. One example is the Frank H. Petersen Academy of Technology, 

from which students graduate with both a diploma 

and a license in a particular vocational area. The local 

Chamber of Commerce has been a strong advocate for 

career academies such as Petersen. The Chamber has 

identified work fields that have a high need for graduates with certain skills and talents, and the district has 

responded by implementing complementary magnet 

themes. Another success story is the Andrew Jackson 

Medical Professions and Criminal Justice High School. 

Its enrollment, which is approximately 85 percent African American, represents one of the lowest average 

family incomes in the district. Because its high-quality vocational programs enable graduates to proceed 

directly into the work force, the school has been very 

popular. The district also fosters a culture of quality 

academic standards by offering students the opportunity to take college-level classes in some of the magnet 

high schools.

Admission into most Duval magnet schools is handled 

by lottery. The exceptions are the International Baccalaureate schools, which base admission on merit, and 

the schools of the arts, which require an audition. However, the lottery system assigns some degree of priority 

to certain categories of student: those residing in the 

magnet school’s surrounding neighborhood, those with 

a sibling attending the school to which they apply, and 
42

those who have attended a feeder school for the magnet. Also, students who attend a Title I school receive 

a priority in the magnet lottery when they apply to a 

magnet program in a school that is not a Title I school. 

Similarly, students who attend a school that is not 

Title I receive a priority in the magnet lottery when they 

apply to a magnet program in a school that is Title I.

Funding has been a critical factor in the evolution of 

Duval County’s ambitious magnet program. A federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant 

funded its start-up years, beginning in 1991-92. Then, 

in 1995 a second MSAP grant allowed it to revamp 21 

existing schools. Improving the appearance and infrastructure of schools in lower income neighborhoods 

has been important in creating a magnetizing effect. 

The district has sustained its magnet schools without 

the aid of any federal funds, dedicating $2 million 

per year to the program, money required to offset the 

higher costs of running some magnet themes. For example, a performing arts school requires more instruments than a neighborhood school that simply offers a 

music elective. 

Achievement scores in the district have risen as well; by 

2002–03, 54 percent of Duval schools had achieved a 

grade of B or better from the Florida State Department 

of Education.

Demand for admission to Duval’s magnet schools is 

high; for the 2002–03 school year, 7,699 students were 

put on the waiting list. District representatives have 

identified several key factors that contribute to the 

success of their magnet program:

›› Open lines of communication between administration, staff, and parents. As examples, the 

district points to the use of lead magnet school 

teachers, the advisory council, and its parent-focused telephone hotline and Web site. 

›› Initial research on the themes. Early research 

conducted with parents to determine attractive 

magnet themes resulted in well-chosen themes, 

and it also laid a foundation for the district’s marketing program, which is also a key success factor. 

›› “Scream Your Theme.” This is the mantra of the 

magnet office, indicating that each magnet school 

is responsible for making the whole campus and 

community aware of its magnet content. 

›› Strong Leaders. Strong principals and teachers, 

who have committed to the magnet theme and 

are willing to face all of the accompanying challenges, are vital to the program’s longevity.
43

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

a minimum of 18 hours a year at school. The result is 

increased parent involvement—a key to the success of 

magnet schools in general—and fiscal savings. Hamilton has also developed several successful community 

partnerships, which provide funding and other support, 

and the district encourages individual magnet school 

principals to forge community partnerships as well. 

Many Hamilton magnet schools have typical themes, 

such as Fine Arts, Math and Science, and Technology. But 

several magnets are organized around specific pedagogies, such as the two Paideia schools, which use unique 

approaches to student learning, including a focus on 

seminar discussions and coaching of academic skills.

Beyond their efforts to attract a representative student 

population, Hamilton magnet schools maintain their 

commitment to diversity by grouping students heterogeneously and setting a high standard of achievement 

for all students. Students with special needs and students with records of bad behavior are neither screened 

out in the application process nor separated in the 

classrooms.

The admissions process for Hamilton’s magnet schools 

varies by school. Two of the original magnet schools 

are open to students from throughout the district and 

offer admission on a first-come, first-served basis. The 

6–12-grade fine arts school requires student auditions. 

Students with good audition results receive preference; 

any remaining seats are then assigned using the lottery 

system the district has developed for its other magnet 

schools. The work-site schools offer priority to students 

whose parents work in the designated zones around 

Hamilton began operating some magnet schools in the 

1980s, but its program really began to flourish following the 1997 merger of the Hamilton County School 

System and the Chattanooga, Tennessee, City School 

System. Before the merger, the county district primarily served non-minority students, while the city system 

largely served minority students. The superintendent of 

the newly combined district championed creation of 

magnet schools to reduce, eliminate, or prevent minority group isolation within the schools.

To oversee its program, Hamilton created a district magnet office headed by the Director of Magnet Schools. 

The district further supports magnet schools through 

magnet resource facilitators. Some are specialists (e.g., 

technology coordinators, museum liaisons) who help 

teachers integrate particular theme-based content or 

instructional practices. There are also curriculum facilitators who assist teachers in developing standardsbased instruction related to the magnet theme and 

who provide professional development opportunities.

Like many districts, Hamilton was able to grow its magnet program through the use of federal funds. A 1998 

MSAP grant of $8.1 million allowed the district to open 

six new magnet schools, and a second MSAP grant of 

$6.5 million in 2001 supported creation of four additional magnets. Following expiration of the second 

grant in June 2004, the district was planning to sustain 

the existing magnet schools without federal dollars.

One way Hamilton has increased magnet school sustainability is by requiring parents whose child attends a 

magnet school outside their neighborhood to volunteer

Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

40,655 6,038 (15%) 80 13 554 Urban Fringe 

of Mid-Size City
44

the schools, as well as to neighborhood students wishing to attend. If more students apply than there are 

seats available, the district uses the lottery. 

In the lottery, an applicant pool is determined for each 

grade level at each school. The Information Services office analyzes each pool to see how its socioeconomic 

breakdown compares to the district’s overall student 

population and then uses a mathematical formula to 

award extra lottery numbers to students from underrepresented groups. For example, in the 2003–04 school 

year, 46 percent of district students qualified for free 

and reduced lunch. If only 40 percent of the applicant 

pool for a particular grade that year qualified for free 

and reduced lunch, those applicants may have received 

one or two extra lottery numbers to maintain a balance. 

The district may also award extra numbers to suburban 

applicants to maintain a balance between students who 

live within the city limits and those who do not. Finally, 

the district saves about 15 percent of available seats at 

each school for siblings of current students.

The lottery system has been critical in helping ensure 

that the magnet schools meet their desegregation 

goals. For example, in 1998, Barger Academy had a 

minority population of 96 percent; since becoming a 

magnet school, minority students account for 76 percent of the student body. Likewise, Chattanooga High 

School Center for the Creative Arts has gone from 

having a minority population of 71 percent in 1998 to 

40 percent in 2004.

The magnet program is also helping the district turn 

around low-performing schools and meet the requirements of NCLB. Three low-performing high schools 

have recently been targeted for inclusion in the 

magnet program to improve the quality of teaching 

and instruction. The district’s experience with magnets suggests that parents will support this approach. 

Many middle-class students who once attended private 

schools are now returning to the public schools, the 

district reports.

The district attributes the success of its magnet school 

program to several factors:

›› The right personnel. For its magnet schools, the 

district looks for leaders who are passionate, committed, hard working, and capable of establishing 

a culture of collaboration. 

›› A focus on professional development. District 

leaders look for multiple ways to support teachers’ 

professional development. 

›› Marketing and recruiting. The district and its 

schools use multiple avenues to recruit students. 

The district also contracts with a marketing firm 

to teach principals marketing techniques and to 

help them conduct focus groups and surveys. 

›› Magnet-savvy board members. The district sees 

school board support as pivotal in the success of 

the magnet program.

›› Learning from other magnets. Principals, magnet resource personnel, and community members 

visit other schools to get ideas and to solicit help 

in planning.

›› Parent volunteer requirement. The district 

requires parents to volunteer, and schools offer creative ways to volunteer, including weekend events.
45

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Hot Springs School District, Arkansas

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

3,555 3,382 (95%) 8 6 36 Mid-size Central City

Springs considered establishing a K–12 theme based 

on language immersion, but abandoned the idea due 

to concern that it would be unable to find and keep 

enough staff with the requisite language skills.

The district’s magnet themes are aligned vertically from 

the elementary level to the high school level (where 

they are called career academies). Within these themes 

are various strands across several grade levels. While 

the themes are essential to the magnet programs, the 

instructional focus on all campuses, driven by state academic standards, is twofold: mathematics and literacy. 

The themes, says the Hot Springs superintendent, are 

used to “build a better vehicle for learning” the core 

content.

Hot Springs Middle School houses three academies under one roof and organizes instruction using the “teaming” and “looping” concepts. Each academy consists of 

five core teachers who stay with the same students for 

students’ entire middle school experience (from sixth to 

eighth grade). This creates small and supportive learning communities for the students and teachers.

Hot Springs High School sorts each of the four middle 

school academy themes into five “Career Academies”: 

business/technology, communications/humanities/law, 

creative and performing arts, health sciences/human 

services, and mathematics/engineering/sciences.

The magnet school admissions policies in Hot Springs 

are influenced by the fact that the schools are part of 

an interdistrict program. Out-of-district and in-district 

applicants are given the same opportunity to enter a 

Hot Springs magnet school. However, priority is given 

Hot Springs School District is an all-magnet district; its 

only nonmagnet schools are alternative schools serving court-involved or emotionally challenged youth. 

Yet Hot Springs’ magnet program began only in 2000–

01 after a federal district court ordered it as part of 

a multidistrict desegregation plan. Arkansas law says 

that students may attend school in other districts if 

their transfer will improve racial integration, and Hot 

Springs’ magnet program serves students from 12 

other districts along with its own. Regional superintendents from 7 of the 12 districts in this plan, along with 

the NAACP, had agreed to the magnet plan before the 

court made its orders official. 

With its magnet program, Hot Springs also hoped to 

reverse a declining enrollment; it had been losing an 

average of more than 100 students a year since 1969 

to private schools or to public schools in other districts. 

Since the inception of its magnet schools the district 

has gained students every year. 

Support for the initial year of the magnet program 

came from state and local operating funds. But the 

following year, 2001–02, Hot Springs received a threeyear, $6 million MSAP grant, which it used to renovate 

buildings, hire theme specialists and literacy coaches, 

and purchase supplies.

Hot Springs now has four magnet elementary schools, 

one magnet middle school, and one magnet high 

school. To implement the elementary magnets, the 

original elementary structure was altered: The district 

moved from having three pre-K–3 schools and one 4–5 

school to four K–5 campuses. In its initial planning, Hot 
46

to students returning to a school or a theme and to 

those who have siblings in the school to which they are 

applying. A computerized lottery has been established 

in the event that a grade level at a particular school 

has been over-subscribed, but the district has yet to 

use this system. Ninety-five percent of applicants are 

placed in their first choice school and, to date, no one 

has been placed in his or her third choice.

To support the teachers, students, and overall program, 

each school has a magnet coordinator responsible for 

maintaining the integrity of the theme and supporting the core curriculum. The magnet coordinators work 

with each other to align the programs and experiences 

from one campus to the next as students progress from 

elementary to high school. They also monitor students 

to ensure that they are in the right program and are 

successful. Magnet coordinators also assist with the 

application process and recruitment of students. An additional avenue of support for each campus is a math 

and/or literacy focus teacher who works with teachers 

and students to improve achievement in those areas. 

The district also has a magnet director, a position originally funded by the district’s MSAP grant. 

The district reports having made significant progress 

toward its goal of reducing and preventing minority 

group isolation in its schools. However, the district is 

aware of and is carefully monitoring two campuses 

that are at risk of racial isolation. The district also reports that since the inception of its magnet program, 

it has found some indicators of student achievement 

gains. For example, across the district results on benchmark assessments in mathematics for the 6th and 8th 

grades have improved markedly.

The achievement gap is also closing: Minority students 

made greater gains than non-minority students over 

a two-year period in four of five comparisons. This 

success gives the district another angle on increasing 

enrollment—it has opened Hot Springs schools to students throughout Garland County who are eligible to 

transfer under NCLB.

The magnet director identifies the following factors as 

keys to magnet program success thus far:

›› Use of data. Hot Springs has built greater district 

and school capacity to administer assessments 

and access data to drive instruction and professional development.

›› Identification of an especially appealing theme.

The district has found its K-12 International Baccalaureate Program to be especially popular. 

›› Research. Sending teachers, principals, counselors, and coordinators to visit successful magnet 

programs across the country has paid off in multiple ways.

›› Use of outside expertise. Seeking out specialists and other experts in particular magnet themes 

has helped ensure their success.

›› An all-magnet approach. Creating a district in 

which all schools have a magnet theme has infused energy and interest districtwide.
47

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Houston Independent School District, Texas

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

211,499 37,562 (18%) 307 108 301 Large Central City

conduct, past attendance and merit. DeBakey students 

consistently perform above district and statewide averages on the SAT and ACT examinations.

The district oversees magnet schools through its Magnet Department, which operates under the Assistant 

Superintendent of School Support Services and Athletics. Staffed by a manager, a specialist, and an administrative assistant, this department assists schools in the 

design, development, implementation, and/or modification of new and established magnet themes. Department staff also facilitate curriculum development for 

specialized courses, coordinate staff development for 

magnet coordinators, and plan and implement awareness and recruitment activities. In addition, the department monitors the types of programs offered at various 

levels and locations and seeks to maintain a balance 

among a variety of programs offered and the needs expressed by the community.

To ensure quality, continuity of services, and on-site 

technical assistance, all magnet schools have the option to have a magnet coordinator placed on their 

campus. This position is paid for by site funds and is 

assigned at the discretion of the campus administrator. Magnet coordinators perform the following duties: 

develop magnet program goals and objectives; recruit 

students for the school’s magnet program; maintain 

program quality; assist with curriculum development 

and/or revision; and assist with the magnet budget to 

maintain financial reports, requisitions, and inventory.

Houston received a grant from the Magnet Schools of 

America Program for the 1985–88 period. Since then, 

In 1975, Houston Independent School District received 

a court order to desegregate. It decided early on to use 

a magnet program as its tool for desegregation. So, in 

the 1975-76 school year, the district opened 32 magnet schools. In 1980, Houston successfully petitioned to 

be declared unitary, thus ending the court mandate for 

desegregation. As part of this process, the Texas Education Agency accepted Houston’s Voluntary Interdistrict 

Education Plan with the goal of educational enrichment for both urban and suburban students. Houston’s 

magnet program was included as an integral part of 

this voluntary plan. 

Houston now supports 54 magnet elementary schools, 

28 magnet middle schools, and 27 magnet high schools. 

These magnets are tasked with meeting two objectives: 

to provide academic programs whose quality and special focus will attract students from across the district 

and to increase the percentage of students attending 

integrated schools. However, Houston does not use 

race as an admissions factor. Each magnet campus or 

theme may have different entrance requirements. Secondary campuses use a matrix that helps to determine 

students’ qualifying status. 

DeBakey High School for Health Professions, located in 

the renowned Texas Medical Center, is an example of a 

magnet with a unique theme strong enough to attract 

excellent students from all over this huge district. The 

school provides a rigorous and comprehensive pre-college program for students pursuing careers in medicine, health care, and the sciences. Students apply for 

admission to DeBakey and are selected based on past 

academic performance, nationally normed test scores, 
48

the district itself has funded the schools. Houston is 

highly decentralized and each school has control of its 

own budget, though magnet schools may apply to the 

district magnet office for additional funds for special 

projects. Many magnet schools also receive additional 

support from local businesses and other community 

sources. From the state’s desegregation busing funds, 

Houston also receives approximately $19 million, 

which covers 50 percent of the district’s transportation-related operating costs.

Students from outside the school district may attend 

Houston’s magnet programs, but they are required to 

pay tuition equal to the difference in the cost to educate a student in Houston and the funding that is reimbursed by the state. Houston’s magnet schools receive 

applications from all over the country and world, from 

people intending to relocate to Houston and who want 

their children to attend a magnet school. Its widespread 

appeal is a testament to the success of Houston’s magnet program. Testing data routinely show magnet students outperforming other students in the district. 

Administrators in Houston attribute their success with 

magnets to the following factors:

›› Magnet coordinator position. This on-campus 

position has as its first priority successful implementation of the magnet theme. 

›› Regular meetings. The Magnet Department 

meets on a monthly basis with all magnet coordinators. The magnet coordinators also meet 

monthly in theme and grade-level clusters.

›› Commitment from top levels at district. School 

board members, superintendents, and central office staff are all supportive of magnet schools.

›› Formal, established policies and procedures. 

The district has adopted and monitors non-negotiable policies and procedures that support 

the continuity of services and opportunities at its 

magnet schools. 

›› Rich variety of choices. Parents and students 

can choose from dozens of themes in 108 schools 

and can apply to as many programs as they wish.
49

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

The Montclair Public Schools has over 30 years of 

experience in the planning and implementation of 

magnet schools. Like so many other districts, Montclair began its program as a desegregation solution. 

Since then, Montclair has become essentially an allmagnet district, providing a high level of choice for 

Montclair families. 

The district’s one comprehensive high school is not 

considered a magnet school although it has programs 

to complement all middle school magnet themes. It 

has developed several Small Learning Communities 

that have specific themes and function in accordance 

with magnet philosophy. The Small Learning Communities were recently selected by the U.S. Department 

of Education as a national model and were awarded a 

federal grant.

Montclair’s Assistant Superintendent and the Assistant 

to the Superintendent share responsibility for conducting elementary and middle school orientations annually to provide parents with information about registration procedures, districtwide curriculum and academic 

standards, and the specific unique features of each 

school’s magnet theme. Montclair also has a Parent Coordinator who spearheads the provision of a variety of 

parent classes throughout the school year. The district 

attributes a great deal of its success to the high level of 

parental involvement in the schools.

When parents register their children for school in 

Montclair, they must rank their school selection 

choices in order of preference from first to last choice. 

This ranking provides more flexibility for district staff 

in student placement in the event that a child is 

not assigned to either the first or second choice of 

a magnet school. Ultimately, student assignment to 

an individual magnet school is predicated upon space 

availability. All of the magnet schools are popular and 

draw considerable interest from Montclair’s parents. 

The fact that all of the magnet schools are popular 

helps alleviate the possibility of having an inordinate 

number of requests for one school, requests that cannot be accommodated because of lack of space. Special consideration is given to students who already 

have a sibling enrolled in a particular school or who 

have special education or English-as-a-second-language needs. After these considerations have been 

addressed, a computerized lottery system is utilized to 

fill remaining seats in each school.

The district has received federal funding for magnet 

programs linked to school integration efforts since the 

1970s. Over the years, Montclair has received three 

multiyear federal grants from the highly competitive 

Magnet Schools Assistance Program. The last grant 

awarded in 1998 provided $1.8 million to improve the 

overall quality of the three middle schools over a threeyear period.

The Montclair Board of Education has demonstrated 

support for the magnet program by providing adequate 

budgets in the absence of federal funding. This is not an 

easy task. The Montclair Board of Education was forced 

to eliminate a popular pre-kindergarten program due 

to lack of space and rising program costs that were 

negatively impacting the K–12 program.

Montclair Public Schools, New Jersey

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

6,340 4,600 (73%) 11 10 6.25 Urban Fringe 

of Large City
50

The township does not have an abundance of ratables 

to ease the property taxes of Montclair residents. Approximately 86 percent of school budget costs are 

derived from local taxes. Despite the considerable tax 

burden, Montclair parents have lobbied for and are 

supportive of the school budget.

The local community also assists in providing financial 

support for the magnet schools. In addition to local 

nonprofit organizations, such as the Montclair Fund 

for Educational Excellence, the district is fortunate to 

have several resident philanthropists who have donated considerable funds to the schools for a variety 

of academic programs, as well as the renovation of 

athletics facilities.

Although significant national attention is now focused 

on the “achievement gap,” Montclair has been focused 

on this issue for 15 years or more. A 1989 independent 

evaluation of its magnet program found that racial 

balance had been attained but that the achievement 

of students of color was considerably lower than that 

of white students in the district. As the only charter 

member from New Jersey in the national Minority 

Student Achievement Network, Montclair has been focusing considerable attention on closing this achievement gap and is attaining incremental success. The gap 

persists, but is smaller in many cases. Although six of 

Montclair’s eleven schools are Title I schools, none of 

them have been designated as low performing under 

NCLB. Overall, 93 percent of the district’s high school 

graduates attend college, including 87 percent of its 

African American students.

Montclair attributes the success of its magnet program 

to five key factors:

›› High-quality teachers and administrators. 

Montclair has made it a priority to have wellchosen, well-prepared principals working with an 

integrated staff of well-trained, committed teachers. It is revisiting its approach to teacher supervision and evaluation, recognizing that teachers 

with different levels of experience (e.g., a veteran 

master teacher vs. a newcomer) require different 

kinds of support and development.

›› Rigorous standards-based curriculum. To support a partnership among all stakeholders in the 

system, Montclair disseminates a series of brochures that outline what every student is expected to know and be able to do at each grade level 

in core subjects.

›› Continuous parental involvement. The district 

has successfully marshaled parent support to help 

in the classroom and in other ways on-site, as well 

as to raise money through direct fund-raising and 

through lobbying for public funds. In addition to 

identifying key contacts and explaining question 

and complaint procedures, Montclair’s “Parent’s/

Caregiver’s Quick Guide to Navigating Through 

the School System” lists ways in which parents 

can get involved in their child’s education.

›› Voluntary (not mandatory) busing. Montclair 

offers bus transportation to elementary students 

who live 1.25 miles or more from school, middlegrade students who live 1.5 miles or more from 

school, and high school students who live more 

than 2.5 miles away. Each bus route is designed 

to take only 18-20 minutes to complete. Over the 

past several years the district has been able to 

bus students who live one mile from the school 

they attend.

›› Staggered school opening and dismissal 

schedules. This approach helps ensure that students don’t miss instructional times due to the 

complex busing schedule. 
51

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Wake County Public School System, North Carolina

Districtwide 

Enrollment Magnet Enrollment

Total Number 

of Schools

Number of 

Magnet Schools

District Size

(in square miles) Population Type

108,970 25,130 (23%) 127 43 832 Urban Fringe 

of Large City

In 1976, the predominantly minority urban school district in Raleigh, North Carolina merged with the Wake 

County Public School System, a predominantly nonminority rural district. The new district implemented a 

magnet school program in 1982 as part of a voluntary 

desegregation plan, beginning with 13 schools. Since 

then the magnet program has grown quickly, to 50 

magnet schools in 2004–05. This rapid growth is partially due to very high growth rates in the district in 

general. The district has been growing by approximately 3,500 students every year and is projected to have a 

student population of approximately 160,000 by 2020. 

Wake takes an unusual approach to its magnet program. Instead of each magnet school having a unique 

theme within the district, a number of individual 

themes are available at more than one school. For example, a number of schools offer the “magnet” of a 

year-round school calendar. So instead of applying to 

a specific school, a student essentially applies for a 

particular theme and is then assigned to whichever 

school offering this theme is nearest to his or her 

home address. 

In 1997, Wake schools began using a computer selection model to manage the admissions process for 

magnet schools. Applicants to magnet programs are 

selected through a weighted lottery. While diversity is 

still a criterion for selection, in 1997 race was removed 

from the selection process and the district now uses 

socioeconomic status as a key indicator for diversity. 

The last 10 percent of available seats at any magnet 

school are chosen totally at random after the “weighted” priority list.

Some members of the community served by Wake do 

not support the magnet school program and would like 

to see a return to a neighborhood school system. However, a computer model designed to model what would 

happen if Wake returned to such a system revealed 

that the schools would become resegregated. 

Despite the criticism some community members have, 

there continues to be a very high demand for the magnet program. For the 2004–05 school year, Wake received 

6,883 applications for the magnet programs; 42.9 percent were accepted and 57.1 percent denied. The yearround schools received 4,299 applications; 40.6 percent 

were accepted and 59.4 were denied. Second round offers are made to students if space is available.

As in many other districts, community partnerships 

have greatly impacted magnet schools. The Centennial 

Magnet Middle School, for example, is actually located 

on the campus of North Carolina State University. The 

students, parents, and teachers of this magnet school 

frequently interact with the faculty and students and 

make use of the facilities of the university. 

Wake County has a magnet office with a staff of 

11 people. The senior director of magnet programs is 

responsible for the entire magnet program. The senior 

administrator of magnet curriculum works with all 

magnet schools to help them develop curriculum and 

implement their themes. This person meets regularly 

with magnet program coordinators at each campus to 

address all magnet issues. The magnet marketing and 

communications coordinator designs marketing and 

recruiting strategies. 
52

The Wake superintendent sees the district’s magnet 

schools as incubators of innovation. He credits the 

magnets with having had a positive impact on the 

entire district because they have created a culture of 

healthy competition between schools within the district, which he believes has made all schools stronger. 

As a testament to this belief, the district cites the fact 

that in 2003, 91.3 percent of students tested at or 

above grade level, up from 81.9 percent in 1998. Also, 

the gap in achievement scores between white, African 

American, and Native American students is narrowing, 

especially for K–8 students.

According to the superintendent, the success of Wake’s 

magnet program can be attributed to the following:

›› Commitment by district leadership. Both the 

school board and top district administrators support the program.

›› Dedicated magnet program office. Having a 

magnet-focused administrative structure has facilitated magnet implementation.

While the magnet office has direct responsibility for 

the magnet program and magnet school operations, 

constant collaboration between the magnet office and 

other district departments, such as the office of growth 

management, curriculum and instruction, evaluation 

and research, human resources, and transportation, is 

critical to the program’s success. The curriculum and 

instruction office ensures that magnet courses address 

state standards, and the communications department 

assists with magnet marketing and recruitment efforts 

by coordinating media outreach. The student selection process is run through the office of growth management, which is completely disconnected from the 

magnet office. 

The magnet program has its own budget and disperses 

money to the schools. Magnet schools can also write 

their own grants and solicit community partnerships 

to help bring in more funding. The schools also seek 

parental support to create alternative funding mechanisms. Federal grants, Title V money, and limited local contributions have helped support the magnet 

program to date. 
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Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

The project methodology is an adaptation of the four-phase benchmarking process used by the American Productivity and Quality Center, along with case descriptions of individual districts and cross-site 

analysis of key findings. A brief description of this project’s adapted methodology follows. 

researchers looked for districts that offered at least three 

different magnet themes and that had adopted aggressive marketing efforts. Finally, districts were selected to 

represent a variety of geographic locations and contexts 

with which district administrators could identify.

Collect Data 

Collecting detailed descriptive information from project participants was key to understanding the district’s 

practices, the outcomes or impact achieved, and lessons learned in implementation from which others 

could benefit. The major steps to this phase were finalizing the site-visit interview guide and arranging and 

conducting site visits to the innovation sites. 

Each of the six innovation sites hosted a two-day site 

visit that included interviews with district staff, magnet 

school principals, parents, and others to obtain multiple 

perspectives on the questions in the site-visit interview 

guide. In addition to these semi-structured interviews, 

the researchers also held more informal conversations 

with a range of stakeholders. They also collected artifacts from the sites, such as magnet program or school 

Appendix B: 

Research Methodology

Plan

First, a conceptual framework was developed based on a 

review of the magnet school literature, interviews with 

researchers and educators, and the input of an advisory 

panel consisting of researchers, association leaders, and 

educators who work with schools, districts, and states 

on magnet school implementation. The resulting study 

scope guided all aspects of the study (see figure 12).

Site selection was a multistep process to ensure that the 

guide would feature strong districts with evidence of 

success and an array of practices covering the elements 

of the framework. An initial list of 30 magnet school districts was compiled through primary and secondary research by WestEd with suggestions from the expert advisory panel. Sixteen districts provided enough data for the 

screening process, with six then chosen for further study. 

In making this selection, priority was given to districts 

that could show improvements over time in both student 

learning and school integration. It was also important 

that districts, while perhaps using federal funds to start 

their magnet program or ramp it up, had committed to 

sustaining it without further federal dollars. In addition, 
54

brochures, marketing materials, teacher contracts, and 

letters to parents, to provide concrete examples of district practices. The study team collated the information 

collected during the site visits and developed a case 

study for each site. 

Analyze and Report

Once all the information was collected, the project 

team analyzed the data to understand the promising practices uncovered throughout the benchmarking project, both within and across sites. Key findings 

emerged from this cross-site analysis.

Two products resulted from this research: a report of 

findings and this practitioner’s guide. The report of 

findings provides an analysis of key findings across 

sites, a detailed profile of each site, a collection of artifacts, and key project documents. The practitioner’s 

guide excerpts from and summarizes the findings and 

case studies and is intended for broad distribution.

Adapt

Ultimately, readers of this guide will need to select, 

adapt, and implement practices that meet their individual needs and contexts. Dissemination will take 

place through a variety of channels. The guide will be 

broadly distributed around the country through presentations at national and regional conferences, as well 

as through national associations and networks.

Districts coming together in learning communities may 

continue the study, using the ideas and practices from 

these sites as a springboard for their own action research. In this way, a pool of promising practices will 

grow, and districts can support each other in implementation and learning. 

FIGURE 12. Study Scope and 

Guiding Questions

Organizing Profile

What is the overall goal of the district magnet program 

and how did the program get started? What are the 

funding sources for the district magnet program and 

how are they sustained over time?

Create Effective Leadership, Strategy, and Culture

How does the district magnet program contribute to 

meeting the state, district, and NCLB Act goals? How 

do leaders support the culture of the district magnet 

schools and themes?

Support School to Fully Implement the Program

How does the district determine magnet school 

theme/standards? How does the district implement 

content of the themes?

Involve Stakeholders

How does the district involve parents in the magnet 

program? How does the district involve local business 

and community partners in the magnet program?

Carefully Select and Develop Human Resources

What is the process for selecting principals and 

teachers for a magnet school or theme? What are 

the special professional development activities at the 

school/theme level?

Evaluate and Ensure Accountability

How does the district evaluate the effectiveness of the 

communication relationship with stakeholders? How 

does the district monitor program implementation and 

ensure sustainability of the magnet program?
55

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

Appendix C: Resources 

The Web resources listed below that were not developed by the U.S. Department of Education are provided as examples of materials that may be helpful to the reader. The listings should not imply an endorsement by the Department of the resources or the Web sites. There may be many other useful Web sites on these topics.

The Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) of the 

U.S. Department of Education provides grants to districts whose magnet program is implemented under a 

mandatory (e.g., court-ordered) or federally approved 

voluntary desegregation plan. The MSAP Web site provides details of the grants competition, including eligibility criteria, as well as abstracts of sample programs 

and a detailed “Frequently Asked Questions” section.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/magnet/index.html .

The Policy and Program Studies Service of the U.S. Department of Education contracted an evaluation of the 

Magnet Schools Assistance Program 1998 Grantees. 

The final report of this study conducted by the American Institutes for Research and published in 2003 includes both a cross-site report and case studies of eight 

districts. http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ods/

ppss/reports.html .

Magnet Schools of America is a membership organization that: promotes goals of desegregation, equity, and 

excellence through the expansion and improvement of 

magnet schools, encourages the passage of legislation 

at both the state and national levels that will promote 

the development and improvement of magnet schools, 

and promotes networking among magnet schools. It 

hosts an annual conference and publishes books and 

resources, including the Blueprint CD-ROM described 

below. http://www.magnet.edu/.

Blueprint for Understanding and Operating Successful 

Magnet and Theme-Based Schools. Authors: Drs. Judith S. Stein, Phyllis M. Olmstead; Editors: Dr. Robert G. 

Brooks, Mr. Phale D. Hale. This Multimedia PC CD-ROM 

provides a “how to” approach to understanding, planning, and operating magnet and theme-based educational programs. Specific guidelines for designing an 

academic program, staffing, budgeting, and marketing 

are offered. 

The Education Commission of the States includes magnet schools as one of the key issues in K-12 education 

on its Web site. The site presents the issue and provides 

references and links. http://www.ecs.org/.

There are ten regional Equity Assistance Centers funded 

by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV of the 

1964 Civil Rights Act. They provide assistance to public 

schools in the areas of race, gender, and national origin 

to promote equal educational opportunities. http://

www.edgateway.net/pub/docs/eacn/home.html .
56
57

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs

1 Blank, R. K., Dentler, R. A., Baltzell, D. C., & Chabotar, K. 

(1983). Survey of magnet schools: Analyzing a model for 

quality integrated education. Prepared by James H. Lowry 

and Associates and Abt Associates for U. S. Department of 

Education, Washington, D.C. 

2 The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title V, Part C, 

Section 5301. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/policy/

elsec/leg/esea02/index.html . 

3 From the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data public school district data for the 

2002–03 school year.

4 Data for Duval, Hot Springs, and Montclair are from 

2003–04 and are taken from the Florida, Arkansas, and 

New Jersey State Department of Education Web sites, 

respectively. Data for Hamilton, Houston, and Wake are 

from 2002–03. Hamilton data are from the State of Tennessee Department of Education Web site, Houston data 

were supplied by the district, and Wake data are from the 

district Web site. 

5 Data for Duval and Hot Springs are from 2003–04 and 

are taken from the Florida and Arkansas State Department 

of Education Web sites, respectively. Data for Hamilton, 

Houston, and Wake are from 2002–03. Hamilton data are 

from the State of Tennessee Department of Education 

Web site, Houston data were supplied by the district, and 

Wake data are from the district Web site. No data were 

available for Montclair.

6 Data for Duval, Hot Springs, and Montclair are from 

2003–04 and are taken from the Florida, Arkansas, and 

New Jersey State Department of Education Web sites, 

respectively. Data for Hamilton are also from 2003–04 

and were supplied by the district. Data for Houston and 

Wake are from 2002–03. Houston data were supplied by 

the district and Wake data are from the district Web site.

Notes

7 Data for Duval and Hot Springs are from 2003–04 and 

are taken from the Florida and Arkansas State Department of Education Web sites, respectively. Data for Hamilton, Houston, Montclair, and Wake are from 2002–03. 

Hamilton data are from the State of Tennessee Department of Education Web site, Houston data were supplied 

by the district, Wake data are from the district Web site, 

and Montclair data are from the NCES Web site.

8 Dentler, R. A. (1991). The national evidence on magnet schools (Occasional Paper Series). Los Alamitos, CA: 

Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research 

and Development, p. 6. 

9

 Ibid, p. 12.

10 Ibid, p. 13.

11 Brooks, R. G., Kammel, L., Olmstead, P. M., Pack, G., & 

Stein, J. S. (2004). Blueprint for understanding and 

operating successful magnet and theme-based schools, 

2nd edition: Voluntary public school choice. Washington, 

D.C.: Magnet Schools of America. 

12 Dentler, p. 7.

13 See, for example, Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. London: Falmer 

Press; Fuller, B. & Elmore, R. (Eds.). (1996). Who chooses, 

who loses? Culture, institutions, and the unequal effects 

of school choice. New York: Teachers College Press.

14 Wake County Public School System Web site, Evaluation and Research, mission statement: http://www.wcpss.

net/evaluation-research/mission_stment.pdf .