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DONNA WINCHESTERWith an attractor program, a school can focus on one area such as arts and music.
Each school has created a brochure that includes an "attractor statement." To view the brochures, go to the district's Web site, www.pinellas.k12.fl.us Click on the school choice plan link and then on the school brochures link.
With the advent of the "controlled choice" method for student assignment, the school district realized schools would have to develop programs to distinguish themselves from each other in order to attract parents.
At first, district officials thought schools would develop "attractors" - defined as programs, curriculum themes or ideas that choice attendance area schools use to attract students - with the help of a federal grant.
But in the fall of 2002, they learned the government had denied their grant request. The $2-million they hoped would be available to principals and School Advisory Councils to develop attractors dwindled to about $400,000.
Some schools realized they would have to scale back on their plans to create groundbreaking programs. Others, including those that never planned to make major changes in the first place because they were sure they already were offering what their communities wanted, recommitted to staying on their current paths.
Five schools - Osceola High, Pinellas Park High, Fitzgerald Middle, San Jose Elementary and Sandy Lane Elementary - called themselves "the best-kept secret in Pinellas County." Fourteen schools were "family friendly." Fifty-six boasted that they had a "safe learning environment." Twenty-six said they were molding "lifelong learners."
About 30 schools introduced more ambitious programs for the 2003-04 school year. One of them was Skycrest Elementary in Clearwater, which created an arts and music focus. The school used grant money to develop curriculum, purchase stringed instruments and build a darkroom. Lakewood Elementary in St. Petersburg formed community partnerships to develop a center for wellness and environmental studies. Riviera Middle School, also in St. Petersburg, set up a fundamental-style program within the school that emphasized parental involvement.
The district has been more successful in obtaining magnet assistance grants. Three south Pinellas schools - Campbell Park, Gulfport and Maximo elementaries - created highly specialized programs with the aid of a $6-million grant the federal government offers to encourage voluntary desegregation in schools that would otherwise be sought out primarily by minority students. Campbell Park developed a marine science program, Gulfport began a Montessori program and Maximo started a "microsociety" that teaches children how to manage businesses.
The schools became known as "attendance area magnet schools" because their programs are similar to those found in countywide magnets, but they are available only to students in Attendance Area A (and they follow the application rules and procedures for attendance area schools). That's because a stipulation in the court order that ended mandatory busing in Pinellas prevents the district from creating additional countywide programs until after 2007.
Three additional south Pinellas schools - Lakewood, James B. Sanderlin and Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. elementaries - recently received a $6-million federal grant to launch magnet-type programs. Lakewood will feature a medical sciences program. Sanderlin will continue to create a Primary Years International Baccalaureate program, and Jamerson will expand its math and engineering focus.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of choice attendance area schools continue to market features that may or may not distinguish them from other schools.
North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, for example, claims a "caring community of staff, parents and volunteers (who) work to preserve valued traditions while implementing the most innovative teaching methods." Joseph L. Carwise Middle School in Palm Harbor views "technology and the arts as important components in preparing students for the future." And East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs wants to "increase student achievement by aligning curriculum, instruction, assessment and classroom learning tools in order to establish a safe, quality environment."
When it comes to choosing the best educational setting for your child, the school's "attractor statement," included in each school's brochure, can be helpful. But don't hesitate to ask principals the meaning of claims such as: "Our staff, parents and the community work collaboratively to align resources" or "We help every child reach his or her highest potential through the teaching of essential skills combined with an emphasis on problem solving and higher-level thinking."
If their answers don't make sense to you, keep looking.