Make magnet schools in HISD diverse again
With a budgetary shortfall in excess of $200 million, a proposal to revamp 15 struggling schools and calls for a new billion dollar capital campaign, the Houston Independent School District once again finds itself in the cross hairs of public opinion.
But even more than these issues, it’s HISD’s potential changes to the celebrated magnet programs that are causing angst for many parents and community leaders.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that HISD’s magnet schools were created for the specific purpose of helping desegregate Houston’s school system. As a result of the 1975 landmark court case, Ross vs. HISD (the Texas version of the more famous Brown vs. Board of education) Houston’s historically segregated school system was ordered to be integrated. In this quest to create a unitary school system that would be race neutral, HISD rejected busing, school consolidation and other more controversial forms of integration. Instead, the district turned to magnets, which were specifically referenced in the consent disagree that ultimately settled the case. HISD owes its legality to the magnet school system.
The novel approach of creating schools that would attract students from all communities was the brainchild of then Superintendent Dr. Billy Reagan and became a model for school districts across the country. Schools like HSPVA, DeBakey and numerous programs within existing schools have been celebrated nationally.
However, over time the original mission of magnets as a vehicle for desegregation was almost entirely lost. Today’s magnet schools use these programs to either attract neighborhood students back to an area, or serve as beacons of high achievement based on admissions criteria. Diversity plays virtually no role in admissions or program location.
While some of the highest achieving schools in the state are HISD magnet schools, not enough exist throughout the district. So it’s easy to applaud HISD’s proposal to expand them into every corner of the district to insure equity.
Unfortunately, HISD is also proposing to designate specific “quadrants” that would limit magnet options for students. This approach is a mistake. It further segregates communities by limiting choices to geographic areas that because of historical reasons are often racially and socioeconomically isolated.
While a pure neighborhood system makes some sense in suburban school districts, in a diverse city that is as racially and socioeconomically segregated as Houston, the result of such a policy is the equivalent of redlining schools and neighborhoods. HISD is in effect telling parents to keep their kids in specific areas — further isolating them.
Instead, HISD should consider expanding magnet options and returning to the original mission of promoting diversity. In math terms: More addition and less subtraction.
Rather than limit where kids can attend school, HISD should work to duplicate successful schools throughout the district while expanding capacity and opportunities within high-demand schools where it’s possible. Given limited resources, a robust magnet program will be difficult. But in the same way that magnets can attract students to provide diversity, they can also attract students back to HISD.
Declining enrollment is in many ways the biggest challenge HISD currently faces. It directly affects the bottom line of school finance, because districts are funded by total enrollment and, as enrollment drops, districts like HISD that are high poverty but property wealthy are forced to pay even more in recapture fees. While the effect of Hurricane Harvey on enrollment can’t be dismissed, this decline has been an ongoing issue even before the storm. A robust magnet program that is rooted in excellence and promoting diversity remains a unique offering, immune from charter and private school competition. More high quality magnet options can mean more students at HISD.
HISD’s commitment to improving magnet programs is laudable, but it’s changes need to be rooted in expanding educational opportunities, not limiting them.