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By Dr. Harry Tennant
Thursday, February 24, 2011 Trends: New Technology High Schools.........And Other Magnet Schools Magnet schools---and other 'track-specific' campuses---have been making rapid progress towards establishing relevance and a sharper focus for students who already have a strong sense of what career field they'd like to be in after schooling. These schools are in very high demand, where they exist at all. Budget woes across the country are threatening to slow this trend. Dallas ISD, for instance, is considering cutting 50-80% of the faculty and staff at their award winning magnet schools. The superintendent is proposing that staff levels at all schools in the district should be equitable in such tight times. Since magnet schools tend to have lower student:teacher ratios, cuts based upon establishing equity of staffing will disproportionally affect the magnet campuses. As previously mentioned, demand for spots in these schools is high: "In Coppell, some parents are spending days camping out in line, vying for a spot at the district's New Tech High. The school is part of the New Tech Network, which includes 62 schools nationwide. It will feature a new technology curriculum pioneered by New Tech High School in California." The entire WFAA.com video story is here. Below is an image of the New Tech Network web site. It has valuable technology best-practices information, plus information about how to bring a New Tech campus to your district! 
Posted at 12:22 PM Keywords: Trends , Magnet Schools , Budget Cuts , School Finance , Student Options 2 Comments |