Support for magnet schools waning despite their success

Support for magnet schools has foundered nationwide even though they continue to shine compared to other types of public schools, including charters, researchers concluded in a report released today.Magnet programs, created to promote voluntary integration, have suffered court setbacks, stagnant federal funding and local budget cuts.

But they have frequently delivered on their purpose, while also producing many high-quality and sought-after academic programs, concluded researchers with the UCLA-based Civil Rights Project.

In fact, they said, magnets embody a key advantage over charter schools, namely, integration: Magnets promote it, while charter schools can exacerbate racial isolation, said study director Erica Frankenberg.

A black student in a magnet school, for example, is far more likely to have classes with a white student than a black student in a charter school, she said. Specifically, about 70% of black charter school students had virtually no white classmates. Magnet schools do substantially better: 47.3% of black students attend magnets that are similarly segregated.

Both magnets and charter schools typically appeal to families seeking accelerated academics, special course offerings or other enticements. Charters are different in that they operate independently of local school districts, free from some regulations that apply to traditional schools. While many charter schools value diversity, the report found that a focus on integration makes a difference.

Magnet schools achieve ethnic balance by actively recruiting and by paying for student transportation, the report said. Charter schools don't receive funding for transportation and rarely provide it, which means that low-income families can't get to desirable charters in higher-income areas.

A market with educational choice produces competition, but not necessarily equity, said UCLA professor Gary Orfield, who co-directs the Civil Rights Project.

The market for good magnets in Los Angeles has long been oversubscribed: More than 25,000 applicants ended up on a waiting list last year, which has partly fueled the local explosion of charter schools. And for many parents, a quality program has outweighed any imperative for integration.