His comment on magnet schools is interesting... Different areas must implement it differently. In south Florida magnet schools isn't just for smart people. High schools specialize in medical, engineering, law etc. and you can apply for those. I went to one that had the International Baccalaureate program which is suppose to be for the "smart" kids and had academic requirements. Unlike Nick, who went from a poor mostly black high school to a mostly white... The IB program was in a mostly black, and poor high school.
The same template was used for a few other schools, till the rich white schools wanted a piece of the "smart" kids and got their own program. Now the IB schools at the black schools floundering and are suffering (I think mine closed down)
Although most of my classes were different from the rest of the school, I shared some classes and of course extracurricular activities. The IB program gave me a more diverse education due to being around a population of people I woukd never be around.
I have a similar experience to yours, as I went to an IB Magnet school in Central Florida. I believe in Florida at least, they purposefully put the magnet schools in the poorer districts, as a way of allowing the local disadvantaged youth to excel in school, and give them the best education possible in their district.
They also then bus in the kids from elsewhere in the greater district who purposefully chose the magnet school due to the IB program, as another way of helping these same disadvantaged kids. I'm not sure quite how effective it is, but I understand the logic.
The same template was used for a few other schools, till the rich white schools wanted a piece of the "smart" kids and got their own program. Now the IB schools at the black schools floundering and are suffering (I think mine closed down)
Although most of my classes were different from the rest of the school, I shared some classes and of course extracurricular activities. The IB program gave me a more diverse education due to being around a population of people I woukd never be around.