Voluntary Racial Integration in a Magnet School

Magnet schools have become the latest answer to the problem of racially segregated schools. Political backlash and the specter of "white flight" have begun to turn some political leaders and courts away from compulsory integration programs and toward voluntary plans to accomplish integration. Magnet schools, so called because they attract-rather than force-students to attend, have been discussed as an approach to integration for at least a decade, but it is only in recent years that the idea has attracted national attention, has been implemented to a significant extent, and has been held out as the answer for accomplishing integration. In the spring of 1976, President Ford was reported to be "considering the use of Federal money to produce a substitute for busing, perhaps by establishing magnet schools."' A search through the ERIC file reveals that at least a dozen cities are planning or have initiated magnet school programs, including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Houston, Los Angeles, Mt. Vernon (New York), New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Stamford (Connecticut), and Tacoma (Washington). Magnet schools are premised on the belief that quality education, not integration, is the real issue and that if they can provide high quality education in an integrated setting, then blacks and whites will choose to attend them. Reports in the ERIC file indicate that magnet schools rely on similar kinds of features to attract students: additional resources, individualized instruction, specialized programs tailored to students' individual talents. The reports also suggest that these schools are glowing successes, and, although these claims may be exaggerated, they convey an image of hopefulness and enthusiasm