To provide a school choice program for purely political reasons is reprehensible. The St. Louis (Missouri) model, based on a court-approved desegregation settlement, has demonstrated that citizen commitment and adequate funding can create a successful, equitable program. (MLH)

This article compares Reagan's and Thatcher's redirection in school policy. Devices of "privatization" include the effective schools movement, devolution of authority, and magnet schools, and the new buzz words are "choice" and "competition." The challenge in school reform is to decentralize, deregulate, and even…

Intradistrict programs that allow parents to consider different neighborhood schools are desirable. However, choice programs that encourage a wide spectrum of specialty schools (mostly magnet, charter, and custom-designed schools) represent a serious threat to the core (democratic) purpose of public education. Neighborhood schools will be at the…

The desegregation effectiveness of voluntary plans with magnet schools was compared to that of mandatory reassignment plans with magnet schools using a sample of 20 school districts. Results show that a voluntary magnet plan will provide more long-term interracial exposure than a mandatory plan with magnet components. (SLD)

Describes the great variety of observations surrounding the auroras (both borealis and australis), and provides photographs from the space shuttle, Discovery. Discusses where and when the auroras can be observed, the process that the Earth's magnetic phenomena fulfill in how and why auroras appear, and the effects of solar wind upon auroras. (JJK)

Discusses the record of magnet schools in increasing and equalizing student opportunity, building educational quality, and improving student learning. (SR)

Although the District of Columbia school board requested additional study on student performance in schools where private firms currently have contracts, the superintendent explains his rationale for requesting private management for some 10 to 15 schools. (MLF)

Magnet schools, created, sponsored, and regulated by states and public school districts, embody a top-down organizational philosophy. Charter schools, started by parents and teachers with distinct minority educational views and sponsored by various agencies, represent bottom-up, innovative philosophies. Connecticut's 1996 law allows only local…

Although many superintendents remain leery of the charter reform movement, some (in Flagstaff, Arizona; Springfield, Massachusetts; and San Carlos, California), see beyond threats to a districtwide innovation model. Taking charters' lead, Flagstaff opened a magnet school and a full-day kindergarten. Another superintendent chartered his entire…

Presents three examples of hands-on experiments that use an inexpensive magnetic-field sensor to quantitatively study magnetic fields. (WRM)

In a partnership with a technology magnet junior high, preservice teachers mentored public school students through an electronic learning community, an e-Professional Development School. The approach blends critical thinking, problem solving, and the Internet to help preservice teachers articulate their vision of teaching in a technology-driven…

Describes Alabama's Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School, which was built for only $70 per square foot. Explores the relationship between its school-to-work, collaborative-learning approach and the building's design. (EV)

Currently 15 percent of K-12 students attend public schools of choice, including charter, magnet, and controlled-choice schools. Support for choice is growing, but a recent report says 81 percent of adults surveyed know little about charters or vouchers. Profiles of successful choice schools are presented. (MLH)

Describes the family-based administrative structure of the Alicia Chacon International School, a magnet elementary school in El Paso, Texas. Students are motivated to learn within the school's family environment through involvement in cultural activities, multilingual instruction, and family participation. (PKP)

The international mindedness of native Qatari students attending public, magnet and international schools was examined on three domains: awareness of other cultures, universal affiliation and cultural tolerance. The findings showed that although Qatari students scored high on international mindedness in general, no significant differences were…