This report discusses findings from a comprehensive national survey of the effectiveness of magnet schools in improving the quality of public education and in assisting school desegregation. Chapter I provides background information on the concept and evolution of magnet schools; discusses the purposes of the national survey and several issues…

This handbook was prepared to provide guidance and suggestions primarily for school officials who are developing a plan for school desegregation or who are trying to revise an existing plan. Indications of what has and has not worked in other districts are based on experts' recommendations, on case studies from other communities, and on the…

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of the process of mobilizing and allocating resources for desegregation in large cities. Examined were the effects of budgetary constraints on school desegregation and desegregation impact on educational finance. Four urban school districts were selected for site reports. Section one of this…

This report presents a study of issues involving magnet schools in big city school districts. The study consisted of three parts: (1) an analysis of the attitudes of educators familiar with part-time desegregation; (2) an investigation of the role of magnet schools that have been making a positive contribution to the redevelopment of big city…

This paper presents a case study of a collaboration between the St. Louis (Missouri) Public Schools and Maryville University (Missouri) to develop an early childhood magnet center and professional development school (PDS), the Wilkinson Early Childhood Magnet School. This school serves a diverse population of children from age 3 through second…

Analyzes the history and outcomes of parent choice and magnet schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Finds that parent choice has resulted in greater interracial exposure than the prior mandatory reassignment plan, and that student achievement has increased. (FMW)

Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)

Examines efforts to increase school effectiveness. Topics addressed are evaluation of effective schools research, successful school effectiveness projects, exemplary instructional interventions, process of school improvement and reform, cooperation with other institutions, magnet and alternative schools, school choice proposals, year-round…

Describes a "virtual" magnet school in Massachusetts for high school math and science that uses telecommunications to link students, universities, and corporate advisors. University and corporate roles are discussed, a summer institute is described, and sample research activities are included. (LRW)

We examined the effectiveness of the PATHS curriculum in a magnet elementary school serving a distressed urban area. Aspects of social-emotional competence were examined for second graders who had, and had not, received the PATHS intervention. The intervention groups differed, with the control group having lower social-emotional competence than…

The United States is quick to celebrate the Brown v. Board of Education decision, but there is an insidious trend toward resegregation in the public schools. For the first time since 1954, school segregation is actually increasing for African American students. In several rarely discussed decisions, the Supreme Court has opened the door for the…

A summative evaluation is presented of the 3 years of implementation of the Central Foreign Language Magnet School in Kansas City, Missouri. Two types of instruction are featured: language-only instruction and partial immersion instruction. All students in the program had daily language classes. The language-only students had their core courses…

GENESYS is a GENeric Evaluation SYStem for data collection and evaluation through computer technology. GENESYS gathers and reports the standard information (student characteristics, achievement, attendance, discipline, grades/credits, dropouts, and retainees) for specific groups of students. In the Austin (Texas) Independent School District's…

This is one part of an evaluation of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Other Non-Anglo (PHBAO) student integration programs. The evaluation is based on data collected from staff, students, and parents during 1982-83 at schools that are at least 70% non-Anglo. This volume contains the last three of…

This report summarizes programs under the Plan for Racial Integration which was developed by the San Diego, California, Unified School District to alleviate the racial isolation of minority students in the district's public schools. Described are elementary and secondary school integration programs, including magnet programs, learning centers, and…