Tampabay.com

JANUARY 19, 2012

Should Pasco County start up magnet schools?

As we told you more than a week ago, the Pasco school district is exploring the option of launching elementary magnet schools to meet growing demand for educational choices.

Now the district wants to know if you think it's worth the effort. It launched a survey this morning to see what parents would want -- and not want -- from such a concept.

It asks participants to rate seven possible themes -- academic fundamentals and college prep, environmental and marine studies, fine arts, global learning, language immersion, STEM and 21st century literacy. It also asks whether families would prefer a traditional school day, online learning or a blend of the two.

Another question centers on how far parents would be willing to drive for specialty programs.

District leaders hope to have collected enough information within about a month to begin making preparations for next year, if the response is positive. Which themes would you go for? Would it matter how far you have to go to get there?  

 

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going in on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.

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THE TEAM

Rebecca Catalanello covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail her: rcatalanello@tampabay.com.

Cara Fitzpatrick covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail her: cfitzpatrick@tampabay.com.

Tony Marrero covers Hernando County schools. E-mail him: tmarrero@tampabay.com.

Marlene Sokol covers Hillsborough County schools. E-mail her: sokol@tampabay.com.

Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Pasco County schools. E-mail him: jsolochek@tampabay.com.

Kim Wilmath covers the University of South Florida. E-mail her: kwilmath@tampabay.com.

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