Board Reviews Phase-out for Some Elementary Magnet Schools

June 22, 2007 - Plans that may be used for phasing out magnet programs at several Wake County Public School System elementary schools were discussed with the Board of Education during a committee of the whole meeting June 19.

The board is nearing completion of its examination of elementary magnet schools in its review of the school system’s magnet program. The board postponed any formal decision on the status of five elementary schools at its June 5 board meeting to allow school administrators the opportunity expand its dialogue with the affected schools and communities.

Phase-out Proposal
Dr. Ken Branch, WCPSS Magnet Programs Senior Director, talked with the board about a three-year phase out for magnet programs at Lincoln Heights, Olds and Root elementary schools. In the phase out plan, all schools would retain magnet staffing and additional resources for 2007-08. Magnet staffing and resources would be reduced during 2008-09 and 2009-10 and would not be provided in 2010-11.

Branch made recommendations on the status of students at the schools. He said students who have been accepted through the magnet selection progress may choose to remain at the school and to maintain their magnet status. By maintaining their magnet status, they will receive some priority when applying to the next level of magnet school. Siblings of existing magnet students who are listed on an intent form will be allowed to enter the school with magnet status. It is the school system’s standard procedure to send intent forms home with magnet students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Magnet students, application and siblings, will continue to receive transportation (if it is currently provided) until the end of the program phase out in 2009-10.

Branch said the parents of current magnet students at Lincoln Heights, Olds and Root would have the option to apply to a different magnet elementary school for the 2008-09 school year. As with any application, the parents would be required to choose from the list of magnet programs available to them based on their home address. The magnet application for the students would be given a priority in the selection process.

Branch said he had discussed these staff recommendations with educators and parents in meetings June 5 at Olds Elementary and June 18 at Lincoln Heights Elementary. Branch said parents generally were appreciative of the options the phase-out plan provided families.

Magnet Program Review
Since November 2006, the board has been reviewing the magnet program. The review has included exploring the history of magnet schools in Wake County, revising the magnet program's county-wide objectives, and beginning a process of evaluating which magnet schools are currently aligned with those objectives.

WCPSS Magnet Programs Review

At its meeting earlier this month on June 5, the board postponed any formal decision on the status of five elementary schools -- Forestville Road, Lincoln Heights, Olds, Root and Wake Forest -- determined to be no longer aligned with those objectives, and asked WCPSS staff to expand its dialogue with the affected schools and communities. Earlier that day at its Committee of the Whole meeting, the school board began its discussions of WCPSS's magnet middle and high schools.

The WCPSS magnet program's objectives are to foster healthy schools throughout the Wake County Public School System by using choice to help:

During the June 5 meeting, board members noted the magnet school evaluations were based on whether the school system's resources were properly aligned with the three objectives. The board members said the evaluations were not a reflection of the strength or quality of the schools' programs.

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