Contemporary Magnet School System: Role and Mission

Abstract

Using a single case study design, the study attempts to answer the following questions: What are the role and the mission that the magnet schools have in the school choice system today? How are magnet schools positioned within the context of the school choice system in Washington? To answer the questions, document analysis of public school choice review portals, official administrative codes, the state school choice law, and the state register was conducted. Also, a series of interviews with professionals who were the experts in Washington public school choice was conducted. Results of the study indicate that in Washington, there is a number of public school choice types (charter schools, traditional public schools with intra- and inter-district transfers, magnet schools, alternative schools and innovation/innovative schools) that have had the same goal of serving the student body “at risk”, to work with families and local communities, to provide exceptional innovative curricula and to innovate the practice of teaching and learning on the daily basis. Magnet schools are not listed on the Learning by Choice law. Even though the magnet school program was eliminated, magnet schools still provide educational services in Washington. Education policy professionals expressed concerns about education equity and financial sustainability, and an urgent need for a social change. They preferred to illustrate their statements with the help of references to the charter school system. They presented opposing points of view about the possibility to improve the system – a claim for social change was paired with concerns for financial sustainability and basic functionality of facilities.