| Magnet school no more George Kelly School won't have communications theme By Jessica M. Scully Record Staff Writer Published Sunday, December 14, 2003 TRACY -- The Tracy Unified School District has backed away from making its newest school a magnet. Given the circumstances in the district, the reversal of policy isn't surprising. What is surprising is how different Tracy's magnets are compared with others in the county and the country. The new school, called George Kelly School, is due to open in 2005. Initially planned as a communications magnet, the school will be a neighborhood school with a communications theme, according to district officials. Officials said they made the change after parents who had moved into the neighborhood complained that they couldn't get their children into the existing magnet schools, Art Freiler and Gladys Poet Christian School. These schools have long waiting lists. "My priority is that kids are in the neighborhood school as much as possible," said board Trustee Joan Feller. The change "is protecting the neighborhood school first and primarily," she said. District officials said they wouldn't change the emphasis of Poet Christian School, which has an arts focus, and Art Freiler School, which has a science and technology focus. Magnet schools, which emphasize a particular education theme, developed initially in large cities to prevent the flight of affluent, primarily white parents from public to private schools. They were seen as a way to keep schools from becoming segregated. Of the county's larger districts, Tracy and Stockton unifieds are the only ones to have magnet schools. There are key differences between the two districts' magnet schools. ::: Advertisement ::: While Stockton's magnets are in older parts of town generally considered low income, Tracy's are in newer, wealthier parts of town. George Kelly, the newest school, will draw students from the Redbridge subdivision, the toniest neighborhood in the city. Stockton gets federal funds for its magnets. Tracy doesn't. "The way that Tracy Unified operates magnets is not necessarily a match for the federal funding," said district public information officer Christy Rinauro. Stockton's magnets are open to all students with no preference given to students who live in the neighborhood. In Tracy, residents get preference. While test scores at magnets are usually higher than the schools surrounding them, one of Tracy's magnets, Poet Christian, has significantly lower test scores than two other elementary schools within about two miles. All this makes Tracy's magnets baffling to magnet experts. Judith Stein, executive director of Magnet Schools of America, said Tracy's magnet schools did not look like true magnets. "They're close enough to Stockton to really know what magnets are, and Stockton has the federal funds," Stein said. "To be 25 miles from Stockton and not really know what magnets are, it just seems strange to me," she said. Tracy Superintendent Jim Franco defended the magnet schools. He said they were about finding a way to offer choices to parents. "It provides some different options, which the public looks for now," he said. And there's no denying the schools are popular with parents. The waiting list at Art Freiler, for example, has 800 names on it, 600 of them from outside the neighborhood. But the current status of the schools is frustrating for some who run them. Bill Maslyar, principal of Poet Christian, said he'd prefer the school not give preference to neighborhood residents. "I just feel if it's going to be a magnet school, then make it a magnet school," he said. Maslyar said with the current system, he wonders whether people come to the school for the arts focus or because they live in the neighborhood. "I think it kind of dilutes the magnet, because there's always that question," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * To reach reporter Jessica M. Scully, phone (209) 833-1143 or e-mail jscully@recordnet.com |
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