November 2023 Magnet Schools Newsletter

Magnets and Community Schools

The pandemic highlighted long-standing disparities in educational outcomes and created an unprecedented learning loss for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. This galvanized the rethinking of the role of public schooling, and the community school movement emerged.

So, what is a Community School? A community school is a public school that serves prekindergarten through grade twelve and has community partnerships that support improved academic outcomes and family engagement. Community schools use a community-driven shared decision-making approach to increase access to nurses, counselors, social workers, and other supports. These community-hub campuses afford students and families easy access to the services needed to close opportunity gaps.

The work to lower disparities and provide equitable learning opportunities for all students has long been taking place in our state’s magnet schools and programs. Based on information from Encyclopedia.com Magnet Schools web page, magnet schools were stablished in the 1970s, magnets schools were intended to promote diversity, improve educational outcomes, and offer programs to satisfy individual student talents and interests.

Magnet schools are based on the premise that all students do not learn in the same ways and that offering a unifying theme for students of similar interest will result in students learning more in all areas. Given that those who participate actually want to be there, the voluntary nature of magnet schools is a successful model for both students and teachers.

Recognizing California’s Magnet Schools

Reseda Charter High School Police Academy Magnet (Police Academy) , Los Angeles Unified School District, Reseda, California—The Police Academy has been a recurring recipient of MSA Awards , yet this only begins to scratch the surface of what makes the Police Academy worth recognizing and celebrating.

The Police Academy magnet began as an educational solution to building a positive relationship with the police and providing a recruitment platform for students who wish to be a part of law enforcement change. It is a thriving ninth through twelfth grade college-preparatory high school program designed to prepare pupils for careers in law enforcement and forensic science. A priority of this magnet has been to promote academic achievement and multicultural tolerance through a rigorous, thematic curriculum. The Police Academy affords its students a structured and nurturing environment enriched by an on-going partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles School Police Department. In addition to its business partnerships, the program is distinguished from others due to variables that include:

• Thematic Instruction: A law enforcement theme is pervasive throughout the Police Academy, starting with the police officers who are firsthand resources and active influences in curriculum and expectations for students. All magnet teachers use thematically linked instruction to connect career exposure and skill set preparation. As an example, English courses strengthen writing skills through report writing and reinforce narration, interrogation, and critical thinking skills by examining literature through a detective lens.
  
  
• Uniform: The Police Academy students dress in a law enforcement type uniform once a week where they are assessed on their uniform dress according to an academy model. This model adheres to specific grooming and uniform guidelines in alignment with the California Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission . Students adhere to an academy model of behavior, standing at attention when an adult enters the room and referring to adults as “Ma’am” or “Sir.” This has proven to be successful, and students thrive on the academy structure.

Significant Accomplishments

• Increased its basic/proficient attendance to 92 percent
  
  
• Maintains a 100 percent graduation/post-secondary education
  
  
• MSA Program of Excellence in 2019 and a Distinguished program 2018, and 2020 through 2023
  
  
• Chosen to address the audience at the 2019 Career Network Conference
  
  
• Thirty seven percent of students graduated with Honors (2022)
  
  
• Police Academy coordinator chosen to serve on a Youth Law Enforcement committee headed by the Department of Justice and the Rand Corporation
  
  
• Police Academy was named a model law enforcement school for the nation to emulate (Program Exemplar)
  
  
• Former graduate Caroline Menjivar now a California State Senator

Magnet Schools of America Upcoming Events

• Magnet Schools of America Standards of Excellence Certification Program and Application Process
  National certification program is designed to recognize the most exemplary magnet schools in the nation and to help them as they continue to provide high-quality, innovative instructional programs that promote choice, equity, diversity, and academic excellence for all students.
  
  
• February is National Magnet School Month.
  
  
  • 2023 MSA Magnet School Month Toolkit (PDF)
    Consider using the MSA digital toolkit to create excitement for magnet schools.
    
    
  • National Magnet School Month Student Poster Contest
    Keep an eye on the MSA web page for information on the 2024 student poster contest.
    
    
• MSA 2024 National Conference in New York City, New York, April 16–20, 2024

Resources

The resources contained herein are intended solely to provide access to information. The inclusion of an opportunity or resource is neither an endorsement nor recommendation by the California Department of Education (CDE).

• Magnet Schools of America
• U. S. Department of Education, Magnet Schools Assistance

The CDE Educational Options Office compiled this newsletter to provide information and resources to local educational agencies, parents, and other interested parties.