District may get 6 magnet schools

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

Six new magnet schools -- among them an advanced academic program for elementary and middle schools -- may come to the Clark County School District, depending upon the success of a federal grant application.

The plan would bring to 17 the district's total number of magnet schools, which are specialized learning centers for advanced academics and careers ranging from aviation to teaching.

It also calls for the expansion of the International Baccalaureate program, a a college preparatory program.

"It's intended for children who want to get the kind of education that can get them into colleges like Harvard and Yale," Glen Cooper, the district's magnet school program director, said. "It's a very rigorous curriculum."

Students who successfully complete the program must pass six International Baccalaureate exams and participate in extracurricular or community activities. They also earn a diploma recognized by colleges throughout the world.

Presently Valley High School offers an International Baccalaureate program for juniors and seniors, along with a preliminary program for freshmen and sophomores.

The proposal would expand the pre-International Baccalaureate program to Martin Middle School in the 2001-2002 school year and to Sandy Miller Elementary School in 2003-2004.

Studies have shown the program is most effective when it continues throughout a student's school career, Cooper said.

Other plans include math and science magnet programs for Bracken Elementary and Bridger Middle schools, a technology academy at Desert Pines High School and an avionics and biotechnology program at Rancho High School.

"We are already recruiting for the programs," Cooper said.

To pay for the them, the district is trying to secure a federal grant of $12 million -- $4 million each year for three years -- starting in 2001-2002. The district should know by spring whether it will receive the grant.

In two out of three previous attempts, the district won the federal dollars to start up magnet schools.

"If we get the grant, we will have everything we need to start them," Cooper said. "If we don't, these (new) programs won't exist."

In the past the district has absorbed the cost of the magnet schools after the grant expires, Nicole Rourke, an administrative specialist, said.

Locations for the new magnet schools were chosen based on available building space and the availability of teachers willing to work in the magnet program.

"It's a lot of extra work," Cooper said.

Each magnet school within an existing school accommodates between 400 and 500 students. Advanced Technologies Academy, which has its own campus, can serve up to 1,000 students.