18 LAUSD Schools Seek Magnet Status

Motivated by falling test scores and the loss of high-achieving students, 18 schools--three times the number that typically apply--want to become part of the highly prized magnet system of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The schools hope to offer specialized courses ranging from Latin music to journalism and media technology.

Magnets--considered the gem of the school system--offer smaller classes, more money for special activities and facilities, and a handpicked faculty. Students must apply for entrance and the competition is stiff. Application brochures are available beginning today at all schools and Los Angeles public libraries.

But while the pull of the magnet is strong, funding could prevent many schools from achieving their goals.

Because the students and teachers choose magnets rather than being assigned to them, principals report lower absenteeism, higher staff morale, greater parent involvement, even higher test scores.

“Our test scores are going down, down, down,” said Jan Walsh, principal at Gledhill Elementary in North Hills. “We feel something is needed. We have to find something to turn these kids around. We’re in a desperate situation.”

The new magnets also could attract students who plan to leave regular schools. Principals across the district say they lose some of their high-achieving students to magnets. About 38,000 students apply to magnets every year for 9,500 openings.

“I lose many good kids,” said Marilyn Erickson, principal at Haskell Elementary School in Granada Hills, which wants to specialize in math, science and technology. “It would be a way of keeping kids at my school and provide a program for parents who want magnet schools for their children.”

At Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks, which is proposing to offer performing-arts courses, Principal Pete Ferry said the campus could tap parents who work in the entertainment industry for support. Students at the school already are excited about the prospect.

“One boy told me he has to check with his agent to see if he could do these kinds of things for free,” Ferry said. “But there’s a lot of interest.”

Millikan also loses students to magnets and other campuses, Ferry said. The magnet center could attract students to the campus. “We’re trying to plug up the drain,” Ferry said.

But whatever their intentions, the principals have hurdles ahead. The Board of Education must approve their requests and limited funding could be the death blow for schools’ plans. The board likely will consider the applications in the next few weeks.

Board member Julie Korenstein, whose daughter attended magnet schools, said the problem is strictly financial. “I wish I could make every school a magnet,” Korenstein said. “It’s going to be a tough choice with the limited amount of funding we have.”

Korenstein represents the district with the most magnet students: 8,086. She also has the greatest number of students on the district’s waiting list--6,367. The district expects to receive about 38,000 applications for the 108 magnets next year.

“Wherever they are and whatever they specialize in, students are doing better,” Korenstein said.

The district receives about 80% of the magnets’ funding from the state. A onetime, $10-million federal grant from the National Guard is paying in part for the math and science magnets.

That grant could be another reason for the increased number of schools applying to be magnets. “When there’s money and the word goes out, applications start coming in,” school board President Leticia Quezada said. “My preference is to establish the spirit and the environment in all our schools.

“The greatest benefit will be when all our schools become much more like our magnets,” she added.

Created during the divisive busing battles of the late 1970s, magnets are intended to provide students from across the sprawling district with smaller, ethnically diverse student bodies and specialized educational programs.

To many principals, the change will benefit parents who are seeking a better education for their children.

“Magnets carry an aura of superior programs and instruction,” said Merle Price, the principal of Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades. “With all the recent concern about the quality of public education, I think there’s a built-in constituency.”

Added Anna McLinn, principal at Marvin Avenue Elementary in West Los Angeles: “I think it’s a last chance for our district. To me, it’s the answer to low test scores.”

District officials are cautioning schools that becoming a magnet takes commitment and a strong desire to make the change.

“You can’t just pin a label on the school door,” said Richard Battaglia, who oversees the district’s magnet program. “Doing a good job in a magnet takes work.”

Aside from students, teachers also select magnets. Principals interview and hire teachers who are interested in their particular programs. At Granada Hills High, which launched a magnet last year, 60 teachers applied for seven openings.

After a month’s delay, the magnet brochure and application--entitled “Choices”--is available and the deadline is April 15. Students who are currently enrolled in magnets are given priority, along with siblings of magnet students and those whose names already are on the waiting list.

If any new magnets are approved, a supplemental application and brochure will be printed, officials said.

On a recent day at Gledhill Elementary, about 20 students lined up to use the sole computer in the third-grade classroom. On another day, students showed up before and after school to use a classroom terminal.

Along with eight other schools, Gledhill proposes to specialize in math, science and technology. “Children are so turned on by technology,” said Walsh, the principal. “They need to be entertained all the time. The computers give them another vehicle for learning.”

The Pull of the Magnet

Eighteen Los Angeles schools have submitted applications to become magnet centers next year. The following is a list of the schools with their proposed specialties. San Fernando Valley campuses are in boldface and with an (*) asterisk.

Belvedere Middle School: Latin music * Birmingham High: Journalism and media technology Buchanan Elementary: Math/science/technology * Canoga Park High: Environmental/agricultural sciences Curtiss Middle School: Math/science/technology Dorsey High: Law and government Downtown Business Magnet and the Los Angeles Public Library: Electronic information * Gledhill Elementary: Math/science/technology * Holmes Middle School: Humanities * Haskell Elementary: Math/science/technology Humphreys Elementary: Math/science/technology Marvin Avenue Elementary: Multilingual/language arts * Millikan Middle School: Performing arts Multnomah Elementary: Environmental studies Palisades High: Math/science/technology * Polytechnic High: Math/science/technology * Reseda High: Math/science/technology 32nd Street Elementary: Math/science/technology

The following magnet schools have requested changing their specialties to become math/science/technology magnets:

* Broadous Fundamental Franklin High Los Angeles High * Monlux Fundamental * Nobel Middle 107th Street Paseo del Rey Fundamental San Pedro High