Magnet School Controversy
The Times and Elaine Woo are to be commended for the excellent article “Magnet Schools in L.A.--Elitism or Top Education” (Part I, Jan. 10). One of the most important things in the article is the table provided by the L.A. Unified School District. People could argue many hours over whether to label the magnet schools elitist or providers of a top education.
As an educator and a strong believer in the value of democracy, the date in the table made my heart tingle. It strongly suggests the following conclusions about magnet schools in Los Angeles:
--If educators, parents, students and the public have the will to make public schools succeed, they can.
--Minorities (blacks, Latinos, etc.) do not bring down test scores or school performance. This refutes the notion that excellence and integration are incompatible.
--More money invested per student does pay off with improved school performance.
Please check out the magnet school results which show that the reading and math scores are almost twice as high as the non-magnet schools across the 4th, 7th and 11th grades!
DAVID L. BAYER
Burbank
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