Distinct by Design


What Educators Should Know About Generative AI

By Rachel Scott, Ed.D. By now, you have no doubt heard a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) and why it’s the best—or the worst—thing to happen to K-12 education in a long time. I can’t tell you what to believe, but I can help explain a little about how generative AI might be used in […]

Why School Culture Matters

By Ashley Berner As the title of this newsletter suggests, magnet schools are distinct by design. From the first magnet school that opened in 1968 (McCarver Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington) until today, magnet schools have specialized in having distinctive missions. Magnet schools operate with clear purpose and practices; teachers, students, and parents know what […]

With a Fiscal Cliff Looming, States Must Ensure Districts Maximize Every Dollar for Students

By Marguerite Roza, Ph.D. The last few years have seen states and districts flush with cash, thanks to historic sums of pandemic relief aid in the form of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER. But come September 2024, districts–which have collectively spent more than $60 billion in ESSER funds for each […]

In a Challenging Environment, Magnet Schools Offer Compelling Solutions

In a Challenging Environment, Magnet Schools Offer Compelling Solutions

By Robert Brooks, Ph.D., and Gladys Pack, Ph.D. As this first issue of Distinct by Design makes clear, American public schools are facing a range of challenges, from dwindling federal funding to dizzying and disruptive technological advancements to entrenched segregation. In our book, Magnet Schools: Public Schools of Choice in a Changing Education Landscape, we […]

Fulfilling Brown’s Promise

By Saba Bireda This year, as we mark the 70th anniversary of the Brown decision, schools are at least as racially segregated as they were in the late 1960s and students of color continue to be systematically excluded from schools with greater resources. Schools and districts with high numbers of students of color and students […]

Welcome to Distinct by Design

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Distinct by Design, the digital magazine of Magnet Schools of America. Distinct by Design is a quarterly periodical intended to provide information and expert opinion on issues important to magnet schools, their students, educators, administrators, and supporters, and anyone working to advance the five pillars that serve as the […]

Region VI Teacher of the Year: Andrea Barry

Region VI Teacher of the Year: Andrea Barry

Andrea Barry's first glimpse of Earhart Environmental Magnet was volunteering as a monster in the annual Fall Festival’s hayrack ride.

Region VI Principal of the Year: Jamie Cole

Region VI Principal of the Year: Jamie Cole

In the six years that Jamie Cole has been at Hyde, she has successfully transformed what was previously a magnet “in name only” into a robust program that exemplifies all facets of MSA’s five pillars.  

Region V Teacher of the Year: Cristina Manzanares Mariscal

Region V Teacher of the Year: Cristina Manzanares Mariscal

Becoming a teacher had always been Cristina Manzanares Mariscal's lifelong dream, a passion intricately woven into the fabric of her being.

Region V Principal of the Year: Kimberly Kindred

Region V Principal of the Year: Kimberly Kindred

As principal of Richardson West Junior High Arts and Technology Magnet, Principal Kindred said she has been dedicated to exploring new ways to celebrate student achievement, growth, and positive behavior.


Learn how to become a Nationally Certified Magnet School

Raise the level of performance consistent throughout school districts nationwide and creates a platform from which all magnet schools can flourish. Magnet Schools of America’s national certification process is designed to recognize the hard work of the best magnet schools in the nation and to help them as they grow.

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