Magnet school plan gets mixed reception

Facing its first public hearing today, the proposal to convert Airline Park Elementary in Metairie into a magnet school for advanced students is eliciting mixed reviews in the early going.

Not all current Airline Park students are likely to qualify for admission if it becomes a magnet school. But those who do could benefit from a more challenging curriculum, as could families who might choose the tuition-free public magnet school over expensive private schools.

Ronnie Bonnette, co-president of Airline Park's Parent Teacher Organization, said he's spoken to several parents, some of whom are enthusiastic about the change and others who think like "they are being shoved out in the street."

The Jefferson Parish School Board wants to hear reaction to the proposal from parents, teachers and other interested individuals before deciding whether to open Airline Park as Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies. The public hearing will begin at 5 p.m. at Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School in Kenner.

The board is scheduled to vote on the conversion Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. at Bonnabel. If approved by the School Board and then by the federal judge overseeing the school system's desegregation order, the conversion would take place for the 2010-11 school year.

At that point, Airline Park would become the second advanced studies elementary school in East Jefferson, matching the number in West Jefferson. As part of the Dandridge desegregation order, equivalent services must be offered on both sides of the Mississippi River.

Under the proposal, Airline Park students who qualify for the magnet school would be allowed to stay. The remaining students would be transferred to one of three schools -- Rudolph Matas Elementary, Green Park Elementary or Phoebe Hearst Elementary -- depending on where they live and on school redistricting.

Like parents, Airline Park's teachers are of two minds on the proposal, said Principal Lynda McVille, who plans to retire at the end of the current academic year....