Get ready for a rumble over a draft school district proposal to change the way children are admitted to the Philadelphia school district's magnet high schools. Superintendent Arlene Ackerman wants the district's central bureaucracy to take over the job of deciding who gets into the schools. Now, admission is decided by either a lottery among eligible students or by competitive admission tests. The proposal calls for this school-based process to be replaced by a central lottery that awards points not only for academic performance but also for "diversity" based on a student's zip code or income level. The Inquirer obtained a copy of the draft proposal and ran a
piece on it today (March 18). This is going to set off a major fight. For years, these magnet and niche schools have served as havens for middle-class parents trying to avoid the district's general high schools.
