Education taking on a whole new look!

Hollister’s two magnet schools will each have a separate focus.

The first, Gabilan Hills School, a dual immersion campus, is designed to allow students to not only meet and exceed state standards in all subject matter, but that they are proficient in both the English and Spanish languages by the time they finish the program.

The second magnet school program will be located at Ladd Lane School and is intended for students who are quick learners and work well on their own.

In August, Hollister School District trustees approved implementation of two new magnet schools, beginning with the 2007‑08 school year.

The approval should give students and their families more choices regarding their educational opportunities, according to Superintendent, Ron Crates.

The idea behind magnet schools is not new ‑ more than 1,000 such schools have been built in the United States since the 1970s. Although still a public school, a magnet school program focuses on one particular subject area. These programs are created with a purpose ‑ to attract students whose strengths lie in that specific area.

Hollister’s two magnet schools will each have a separate focus. The first, a dual immersion campus, is designed to allow students to not only meet and exceed state standards in all subject matter, but that they are proficient in both the English and Spanish languages by the time they finish the program. Students would ideally begin the program in kindergarten and stay with it through eighth grade.

The dual immersion program is scheduled to begin next year at Gabilan Hills School.
The second magnet school program will be located at Ladd Lane School and is intended for students who are quick learners and work well on their own.

Called the Accelerated Achievement School, this program is designed for students with higher academic potential and self‑discipline. Curriculum is taught at a faster pace than in the normal classroom,
leaving time for advanced work and more in‑depth research projects.

Local officials believe the Accelerated Achievement School will attract students who currently participate in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program; however, GATE will continue to exist in its current form and students presently enrolled in GATE will not automatically be shifted to the Accelerated Achievement School. Parents may prefer their children attend a neighborhood school, Crates said, and enrollment in the magnet schools program is optional.

But by offering new and specialized options to parents, district officials are hoping to lure parents away from private schools and lower requests for interdistrict transfers, where parents ask that their child be allowed to attend a different district that may offer other types of programs HSD doesn’t.

The two magnet schools will be operated separately from Gabilan Hills and Ladd Lane, complete with different staffs and administrators. The only thing they will share are facilities, Crates said.

District officials say they are hoping that at least 350 students enroll in each magnet program, which would promote smaller school environments not only in the magnet schools, but on the other, mainstream campuses as well.

Crates has said that he believes the magnet school program will be relatively inexpensive to implement, as the schools will use pre‑existing facilities. New teachers and administrators will have to be hired, however, and other costs will include curriculum development and additional training for existing staff.

Not only will the curriculum and staffing look different due to the magnet school program, but the student population will change as well. Both magnet schools will be designed for grades K‑8; there are currently no other K‑8 schools in the Hollister School District. HSD now has only K‑5 schools, along with two middle schools with grades 6‑8. The district hopes to evolve over the next few years to include four K‑8 schools, four K‑5 schools, and two middle schools.

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