Foreign Language and International Studies High Schools (continued)

At the present time, the most prevalent magnet school model is the school-within-a-school concept. An example of such an organization is the North Fulton Center for International Studies in Atlanta, GA. The Center is located within the walls of North Fulton High School (NFHS). Of the 500 students enrolled at NFHS, approximately 200 are official participants in the Center. A unique feature of this magnet school is its racial mixture and cultural diversity: 52% of the students are black; 41% are white; and 7% are foreign-born. Applicants are admitted to the Center in grades 9 and 10. Criteria for admission are a reading score at grade level or above and a minimum grade-point average of 2.5 in social sciences, language arts, and any foreign language(s) studies. To remain enrolled in the Center, students must maintain an overall 2.5 grade-point average.

How are These Schools Funded?

Dependence on federal support in the form of grants is not encouraged. The National Seminar on the Implementation of International Schools, sponsored by Exxon Education Foundation in 1980, strongly advocated that Language and International Studies High Schools be developed through local resources, with federal funds playing at most a temporary supporting role in the beginning. The essential feature that will permit such schools to run at a relatively low operating cost is that the community, as distinct from only the school district, contributes its time and service. The assumption is that local industries and institutions will provide their services and expertise at a very low cost, if not free of charge, to an international high school. Indeed, the most effective schools are built on local ethnic concern and private corporate support.

What Unusual Problems Exist?

While such schools do afford choices to students who have different learning styles and interests, certain issues still need to be addressed. Staffing is a particularly crucial problem in international high schools as it is difficult to find faculty within a school district fluent enough in a second or third language to teach their particular subject matter (for example, world history) in the target language. In some cases, present faculty have to be retrained and/or native speakers from the community sought.

The issue of elitism is often raised as magnet schools are sometimes equated with selective schools. Yet, "selective" schools have contributed to public education (e.g., the Bronx High School for Science, alma mater to three Nobel Prize winners) and private education as well. Nevertheless, to avoid this issue, some international high schools have adopted a two-pronged approach: students choose between (1) preparing for and participating in a career-focused internship with an international company abroad or in an urban American center during the junior and senior years and (2) preparing for the International Baccalaureate Examination during the last two years of school.

The International Baccalaureate Program (IBP) was developed and is sponsored by a Swiss Foundation with headquarters in Geneva. The IBP offers standards of achievement in subjects traditionally studied in the last years of high school, leading to a diploma that is recognized by a large number of universities and colleges in 35 countries for purposes of admission, course credit/advance standing, advanced placement without credit, or a combination of these.