Magnet Winners

Once again we are in magnet selection season.  The new selection criteria are not well publicized, but it still isn't a true lottery.  After siblings and feeder pattern magnet students are placed, priority goes to applicants who live in 'high performing nodes'.   You can look up your node's performance rating here.

What exactly does this mean?  I decided to map the high performing nodes to see who gets first choice of magnet seats.  It confirmed what I'd suspected--that large swaths of the county will be virtually shut out of the magnet 'lottery'.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing?  Disgusting, even? Superintendent Tata recently explained this priority, as reported by Keung Hui on the Wake Ed blog:

"The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnets schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don't want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools.  That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive."

Does anybody really think that WCPSS staff is worried about a sudden rush of low performing or low income kids applying for magnets?  Or is the fear the same as it has always been: that high performers/middle to upper income kids from low performing/high poverty schools will leave for magnets?  Looks like if you live in Eastern Wake or Garner and have your sights set on a magnet, you'd better move.   

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.” 1323026393 Magnet application period opening amid changes and questions The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.” 1323026393 Magnet application period opening amid changes and questions The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.” 1323026393 Magnet application period opening amid changes and questions The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.” 1323026393 Magnet application period opening amid changes and questions The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy

“The magnet program is designed to prevent the creation of high-poverty schools, at least for the Group 1 magnets," Tata said. "If you connect economic disadvantage or economic advantage with achievement and performance as the research shows, what you want to do is get higher-achieving students into the magnet schools and then as you displace students that have traditionally lower performance, you want to give them priority as I just talked about in some of the higher-performing schools. What we don’t want to find ourselves in is a situation where we have the magnet program yet what we do is we invite more poverty into the magnet schools. That would seem to be a little bit counterproductive.”

Read more here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/magnet-application-period-opening-amid-changes-and-questions#storylink=cpy