The Special Partners programs at Mill Swan Communications Skill Center Magnet School brings together 16 special needs students, aged 9-17, with fifth- and sixth-grade tutors. The program results in enhanced academic skills and in the development of mutual respect between the special needs children and their partners. (GC)

Provides a brief history of the Brooks-Hobb magnet school program (originally the Hervey magnet school) in Medford, Massachusetts, and presents excerpts of an interview with the school's current principal, Shirley Kountze. (GC)

Describes a policy adopted in 1981 in Cambridge public schools: No child is assigned to school on the basis of residence, and all parents and students are given the opportunity to gain admission to their preferred desegregated school within the city. Such systemwide, controlled open enrollment is working to prevent resegregation. (GC)

Reports on teacher, principal, parent, and student reactions to a desegregation plan implemented in Buffalo, New York, which permits teachers to choose the magnet schools in which they desire to teach and parents to select their children's schools. (GC)

Discusses questions about Massachusetts magnet schools, including (1) reaching parents who do not choose magnets; (2) how the school affects different groups of children; (3) how equity is embodied in life at school; (4) how magnet schools achieve unity; (5) whether parent choice leads to parental empowerment; and (6) why the magnet schools have…

Describes the production of a survey investigating what kinds of magnet schools parents and teachers want. Discusses: (1) the information sought; (2) pre-survey information-gathering and public discussion; (3) the creation of a citywide parent planning council; (4) constructing, conducting, and distributing parent and teacher surveys; and (5)…

Describes the voluntary, interdistrict transfer plan implemented to accomplish desegregation in the public schools in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. (GC)

State governments are losing more desegregation cases. The basis of liability change from local agencies to state ones during the 1970s and 80s. The consequences are that some states continue to deny responsibility and others, more wisely, acknowledge responsibility and develop programs to desegregate as a matter of state policy. (VM)

Presents profiles of eight Massachusetts magnet schools: Nathan Hale (Boston); Burncoat Preparatory (Worcester); Rafael Hernandez (Boston); Mill Swan Communications Skill Center (Worcester); Sumner Avenue (Springfield); Arts (Lowell); Graham and Parks Alternative (Cambridge); and City (Lowell). Each profile includes information on school size and…

Parents from Buffalo, New York, talk about desegregation, magnet schools and parent choice over the past ten years. (GC)

The City School is a K-8 magnet school in Lowell, Massachusetts. Student, teacher, and parent participation in the school's curriculum and governance have resulted in a strong sense of ownership and an effective and exciting educational environment. (GC)

The state of Missouri opposed the desegregation plan in St. Louis but the court approved it. Three components of the plan are the following: (1) voluntary interdistrict transfers; (2) magnet schools; and (3) improvement of the quality of education and major capital improvements. Implementation and achievements are described. (VM)

Presents and discusses enrollment statistics for nine Massachusetts school systems undergoing desegregation. Focuses on Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, and Cambridge. Describes each system as successfully promoting desegregation through magnet schools and parental choice. (KH)

Describes how a Parent Council and school system administrators collaborated to develop a citywide magnet school desegregation plan, which increased parents' choices and introduced competition among public schools for the patronage of parents and students and for achievement of academic excellence. (RDN)

School choice means instant empowerment for those who receive it, and it significantly alters the relation of chooser and chosen. Six distinguishable sets of positive and negative dynamics that the provision of choice in schools seems to set in motion are discussed. (BJV)