Within existing public school systems are various innovations geared toward improving on the way these systems are organized, managed and delivered. More specifically, there are innovations in instructional techniques - such as the use of new technologies in the classroom � as well as innovations in the way teachers are recruited, prepared and compensated.
Many public school districts have taken an innovative approach that moves away from one-size-fits-all programs to expand choices available to parents. The most prominent approaches include:
Magnet Schools
Many school systems have established magnet school programs for a small percentage of their students. Magnet schools, sometimes called specialty schools, gained popularity during the 1970's as alternatives to mandatory desegregation plans. They provided specialized programs such as science and technology or the performing arts to attract a racially diverse student body from across a school district. By the early 1980s, there were approximately 1,100 magnet schools in 140 urban school districts nationwide.
Some magnet schools require students to compete for admission, setting grade point average or test score requirements for eligibility. Magnet schools do not generally have attendance areas. Although, in places like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, so-called �walk zones� were established to give some children living near magnet schools more access to these special programs. Such a policy was necessary because in many cities, where the early magnet schools established to foster desegregation were located in poorer urban neighborhoods, the children living in those areas were routinely denied access.
Alternative Schools
Alternative schools typically focus on �at risk� students who have been unsuccessful in traditional schools. Student assignment to alternative programs can be decided by school officials or may be based on parent or student request. These schools are operated - with differing degrees of independence - either by school districts or by other providers under contract with school districts.
Interdistrict/Intradistrict Transfer Programs and Open Enrollment
Interdistrict transfer programs allow for the transfer of students from one school district to another. Generally, these programs were established to promote racial integration. Receiving school districts typically have the option of determining the conditions of the transfer through agreements between the sending and the receiving school districts. The state sometimes encourages such transfers by providing special aid.
Intradistrict transfer programs allow students to choose schools within a given school district. Again, desegregation plans often have provided the impetus for intradistrict transfer programs. The state may provide financial incentives to encourage districts to implement such policies. In most instances where these programs have been used to foster desegregation, black children have accounted for a disproportionate percentage of students being bused.
Open Enrollment Programs
These programs allow students to enroll in any public school district statewide, exist in a number of states. In some instances, the state pays some or all of the transportation cost.
Post Secondary Enrollment Options
Students in many public high schools throughout the United States are allowed to take courses at an accredited two- or four-year college or university while still in high school - usually beginning with their sophomore year. Credits earned often are applied to the student's college record. In some instances, they count as dual credits for college and high school graduation. BAEO recommends that interested parents check with their local public high school to see if such an option is available.