Magnet Schools of America National Conference April 29 - May 4, 2007 

Patricia A. Grimsley, Coordinator
Florida School Choice Resource
Nova Southeastern University

Magnet Schools of America celebrated its 25 th anniversary among the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, Nevada. The over 1,700 conference participants made their way to Las Vegas to enjoy this one of a kind event from April 29 - May 4, 2007. What a perfect venue for the occasion. The conference planning committee did a fantastic job from registration to the closing event.

            On Sunday conference attendees were greeted with a reception in the Pavilion Meeting Rooms which featured local entertainment, hors d'oeuvres and an opportunity to renew old acquaintances and make new ones.

Monday, 7:15 A.M. began with a Continental Breakfast in the Penn & Teller Theatre, followed by the Opening General Session and Keynote Address. The students of Gilbert Magnet School for Communication and Creative Arts and Las Vegas Academy provided the entertainment. They sang and danced and welcomed us in grand style. Valley High School Color Guard of Las Vegas presented the colors. The opening speaker, Ed Barlow, Futurist of 21 st Century Literacies took us through the looking glass to the future of America and urged magnet schools to prepare students for an America that will be global; where English will not be the dominant language; and the majority population will be what we consider minority today. Students will need to speak a foreign language and according to Barlow this language will be Mandarin Chinese. What an eye opener. His speech sparked conversation in the halls as we left the theatre. You may visit his website at www.creatingthefuture.com password MAGEDB to view the PowerPoint.

The breakout sessions were numerous and varied over the two days. There seemed to be something for everyone. As a presenter, I was pleased with the amount of attention to detail and assistance that was available. There was a screen and an LCD projector in each room and a facilitator with the knowledge of the equipment. Dr. Teresa Baker and I presented after lunch, at the last session on Monday, 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. There were not many takers. This may be due to the time and the fact that the presentation was not in the conference program. It was announced at the end of the morning session. A look at the evaluation will let us know what was missing. I did have one person to come up after the session and share that she learned a lot. She is considering graduate school and now that she knows all courses are online, she will probably contact Nova Southeastern University.

Tuesday began with a Continental Breakfast and entertainment provided by the magnet students from various magnet schools in Clark County, Nevada, followed by Keynote Speaker, Dr. Olatokunbo S. Fashola, American Institute for Research (AIR). She is Senior Research Scientist for AIR and an adjunct Research Scientist for John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.   She discussed the plight of African-American males in our schools. She shared her findings and the findings of others on what is happening to this group of students. She further made recommendations on how educators might address the needs of this special population.

The red roses from the Florida Public School Consortium were presented to the President of Magnet Schools of America, Caroline Massengil, who presented the beautiful roses to Jhone Ebert of the Clark County School District and other sponsors of the conference for their hard work.

I attended the morning breakout session on "A Diamond in the Rough."    The presenters shared how they have motivated their students to want to do better in school by infusing technology in all areas of the school. Technology is not an add-on, but an integral part of the curriculum.

The Magnet Schools Awards Luncheon was the highlight on Tuesday. Again the magnet students of Clark County, Nevada entertained us and magnet schools from all over the nation received their Merit Awards. John F. Kennedy Middle School of North Miami Beach, Florida was among the top winners and received $2,500.00 from Magnet Schools of America. Magnet students Scholarship Winners were also presented to the group. Lunch ended with Chattanooga's invitation to the 26 th Annual MSA Conference in that city on April 28-May 1, 2008.

Following lunch, I attend a breakout session, "So I Am the Coordinator, Now What?" The presenters were witty and upbeat and gave real world information from the field on what one might expect as a magnet coordinator. They shared their successes and mistakes from the beginning of their assignments to the present.

On Tuesday night, the conference participants convened around the pool at Caesar's Palace for the Gala. What a spectacular sight to see, 1,700 people surrounded by pools and sculpted gardens. The evening was wonderful. Good food, good entertainment, dancing, and a good time were available for all. There is no spot like Caesar's for a Gala.

On Wednesday, after breakfast, the school tours began. I visited two magnet high schools, Rancho Senior High School and Desert Pines High School. These schools were inner-city high schools with outstanding magnet programs within comprehensive high schools. Rancho High is 54 years old high school and moved into a new facility last school term. The school has an aviation magnet and a medical magnet. Students participating in the aviation magnet can receive their student pilot's license and not only do they fly simulators, but real planes. I was so impressed. The student who served as the guide for our small group is a 2007 graduating senior and while she plans to attend the community college and then transfer to University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), has her pilot license. She can fly solo, but because of her age, she cannot take passengers. No matter where she goes or what else she does, she has this as her backup. The medical magnet program provides Emergency Medical Training (EMT) for the students and many take the exam at the end of their senior year in high school. These are wonderful testimonies for magnet schools. The high school has four academies. Each academy is referred to as a college. The principal asks every student, "Where are you going to college?"   from the time the students enter 9 th grade. College and university banners are hung throughout the mall area of the school along with all kinds of motivating signs. These students come from many areas in the "valley." The principal requested and received a full time recruiter from UNLV to assist the students of Rancho High. He requires every senior to complete an application to UNLV which he turns in to the university admissions office. He reports that many students are accepted into the university.

Desert Pines High School was our second school. This school's magnet themes are   Information Technology and Communications Technology. The principal is relatively new and so was one of the coordinators. However, there is a lot of pride in the programs. The equipment is state-of-the-art. When the group walked into the classrooms, the students stood and waited until we were inside. This may be a small thing, but the students of Desert Pines impressed me. We spoke to teachers and students. I was impressed with the student who served as our guide. It was evident that he was happy about being a part of the magnet program and proud of his school. The theatre students entertained us with a portion of a play they performed in April. There was a group of students at the end of the day cleaning the patio. When we inquired, we were told that this was a club and this organization cleaned the patio area at the end of everyday. I don't mean picking up paper, but mopping the area with industrial mops. I have been a high school teacher, and I know that it takes pride to have students do this kind of service.

Wednesday was the day to travel home. I began my long trek to Ft. Lauderdale FL, after a full conference agenda.   Again, I say, the Las Vegas, Nevada, Clark County School District did a fabulous job with this conference. Since this was my first MSA conference, I cannot make comparisons, but this one was wonderful. The conference committee made sure that there was fun as well as learning during this conference. I cannot say enough about the planning that was visible from beginning to end.