www.masbakersfield.com

Melting pot of students drawn to magnet schools

larger view

In 1971, Sharon Roxburgh began her career as a teacher in Montreal, Canada, only a few years after an 8-foot-tall yellow bird and grouchy, green trash-loving “thing” moved onto 123 Sesame Street and into televisions around the world, spearheading the development of nontraditional teaching methods.
“I remember we were allowed to show ‘Sesame Street’ in the classroom,” Roxburgh said. “And what it taught us all was that the world was this big melting pot.”
At that time — at least in the United States — many classrooms did not reflect the multicultural society that was developing in our cities or being portrayed by the yellow, orange and green characters of Sesame Street.
Then came magnet schools.
According to Publicschoolreview.com, an online Web site that provides parents detailed information about U.S. schools and programs, magnet schools were developed in the ‘60s and ‘70s to desegregate public schools. The special program came to Bakersfield almost 25 years ago, according to Steve Gabbitas, spokesman for the Bakersfield City School District (BCSD).
The schools allow students who are not within the usual school boundaries to attend — based on a first-come, first-serve application process and a very long waiting list.
The draw?
Stellar academic programs, normally delivered after school, that entail performing arts and science — subjects taught less and less in traditional classroom settings as schools must focus on standardized test performances in math and reading as mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and as governmental budget deficits threaten programs that are seen as nice to have, but not necessary.
Today, Roxburgh sees a well-stirred “melting pot” within the walls of the magnet program at Juliet Thorner School, where 60 percent of the students are Hispanic.
“We supposedly started out with a white base, but now we have such a variety that no one even thinks about it,” Roxburgh said.
It seems that magnet schools have achieved what they set out to do and in fact, according to Gabbitas, all schools within BCSD meet federal guidelines based on demographics.
But magnet schools still play an important role in our public education system, especially when it comes to giving parents options as to what type of education they want their child to have. The focus of magnet schools today has moved from creating multicultural hubs of learning to creating centers for academic excellence known for specialized curricula that provide students with what many parents and magnet teachers say is a more well-rounded education.
There are seven magnet schools in Bakersfield, each with a program that emphasizes either performing arts or science. Performing arts-based magnet programs, like the one found at Thorner, allow students to experience everything from yoga and Mexican folk dance to drama, keyboarding (piano) and tap dance.
“As opposed to just test, test, test, our children have a chance to taste the variety of life,” Roxburgh said.
And their test scores might be just the better for it. Thorner has been acknowledged by the State of California as a Distinguished School three times for meeting NCLB Guidelines, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Academic Performance Index (API) guidelines.
“Children who take keyboarding tend to perform better at math,” Roxburgh said. “Studies show that music and math have a direct correlation to each other.”
Participating in performing arts also seems to boost the kids’ confidence levels, something Thorner mom Eva Ramirez has seen with her son, first-grader Andres.
“It’s certainly improved his social skills. He interacts a lot more with kids and adults,” she said.
And, Andres definitely loves school.
“He always tells me, ‘Mom, don’t pick me up on time, pick me up late,’” Ramirez said.
While Thorner is a breeding ground for future political leaders, CEOs and lawyers, science-based magnet programs like the one found at Cesar E. Chavez Science Magnet School are developing our next doctors, computer engineers and astronauts. 
“The two areas where we are weak as a country are math and science, yet most jobs require those skills,” said Adam Camps, program specialist for Cesar Chavez’s magnet program. “At Chavez, we’re giving our students a head start in learning those skills at the earliest level: elementary school.”
Like Thorner, Chavez is a recognized Distinguished School and they recently received an API of 836 — one of the highest scores in Bakersfield. Students and parents also get to choose from a number of elective classes to take during the after-school program, though one of those choices must be a science.
Camps will tell you there are lots of options: “Students participate in everything from biology to chemistry based activities, botany, horticulture, computer…” the list goes on.
What makes these classes so much more engaging is the lab component, complete with hands-on activities, according to Chavez science teacher, Bruce Hamilton.
“Most schools do not have lab time or there's not even a dedicated time to teach science,” said Hamilton, who also tries to do unusual experiments with unexpected results that keep kids on the edge of their seats.
Even parents like Chavez father, Jesus Garcia have a chance to get involved in the projects.
“We spent an ‘astronomy evening’ with our girls, where we sat there and looked at the stars while one of the teachers explained what exactly we were looking at,” Garcia said. “It’s one thing to read about the stars, it’s another thing to be out in the evening, looking at the night sky and learning about astronomy.”
In addition to getting a head start in preparation for a science-driven world, Camps believes the multi-elective magnet programs also prepare students for a more rigorous junior high and high school schedule.
“When they start junior high classes, where they have six or seven classes a day, they already have a core concept of what that is like,” he said.
While magnet schools easily provide students with a more in-depth and diverse educational experience, they have a much harder time when it comes to the number of kids they can accept into their program.
Because students are accepted into magnet programs on a first-come, first-serve basis and the waiting list is so long, parents literally sign their kids up the day they are born.
“Andres was 3 months old when I signed him up for Thorner, but I knew of the school’s reputation because I worked at the city school offices at the time, so I got him on that list as soon as I could,” Ramirez said.