DISD’s magnet program was the best thing Susan Lewis could have done for her three sons.
“I was concerned about the school in our neighborhood,” Lewis says. “And private school was not an option.”
“This was the best option.”
Lewis learned about DISD’s magnet program from friends. She went through the application process for Hotchkiss Montessori, and Chris, her oldest son, was admitted for kindergarten. He attended the Montessori program through the eighth grade.
The school worked so well for Chris that Lewis enrolled her next two sons in the program. Last year, Hotchkiss changed to a science-based curriculum, and her sons switched to DISD’s G.B. Dealey Montessori Academy.
Dealey is one of two magnet elementary programs that accept students throughout the district from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
All other magnet programs for elementary students are only for fourth through sixth grades, says Leon Hayes, who oversees DISD’s magnet programs.
Chris is now a sophomore in the Talented and Gifted High School. He says he considered attending Woodrow Wilson, but chose the magnet school to be with friends from Hotchkiss. Plus, Chris liked the smaller classes – only nine students – in the magnet programs.
The Talented and Gifted program provides an enhanced general curriculum. But other magnet programs have specialized curriculums ranging from science to the arts to law and government, Hayes says.
This school year, DISD opens Townview Center, which houses many of the high school magnet programs and will provide state-of-the-art technology, Hayes says.
The magnets are designed to expose students to unique curriculums and specific careers, Hayes says. And the schools have been successful: Hayes says the magnet programs have a low drop-out rate and a high attendance record.
The application process begins in January, and the district hosts a magnet fair each year for parents and students to learn about the programs in DISD, Hayes says.
Hayes says the application process is competitive. For the Booker T. Washington School of the Arts, students are assessed by their grades and must show a portfolio of their work.
But the competitive environment makes the schools and students better, Lewis says.
“It’s a privilege to be there,” Lewis says. “We’ve never had to worry about drugs, violence or gangs.”
For more information about the magnet programs and the information fair, call Hayes at 841-5366.
