One of the most appealing aspects of Carlsbad's quality of life is the ability residents have to receive high quality public education. Despite its already impressive selection of educational institutions, the Carlsbad Unified School District is in the process of assessing whether or not to convert Jefferson Elementary into a primary magnet school.
A magnet school is a public school that draws students interested in specific subjects, such as academics or the arts, from a variety of neighborhoods in a metropolitan area (typically a school district or a county). They do this by providing specialized curriculums and instructional approaches like those provided by the International Baccalaureate Program (IBP).
Founded in 1968, the IBP is a rigorous academic program that offers students a larger and more inclusive perspective of education and learning. To address the educational needs of all students from elementary to high school, the International Baccalaureate Program is broken down into three separate programs: the Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Program and Diploma Program.
Magnet schools place a strong emphasis on teaching students to learn from a global perspective, encouraging students as young as the second grade to study a foreign language. At the elementary level, magnet schools work to build a foundation that is strong in math, science, social studies, language and the arts. In addition to the California curriculum standards, the Primary Years Program focuses on six areas of development: who we are; where we are in place and time; how we express who we are; how the world works; how we organize ourselves and sharing the planet.
Despite the fact that there are no costs to attend the school and that the student body is composed of students from all school districts, magnet schools are still public schools. These elements, the fact that Jefferson is currently under-enrolled and the strong multi-cultural composition of the current student body, make the elementary school an ideal candidate for the International Baccalaureate Program.
However, transitioning to a magnet school is a long and costly process that could take up to three years. However, should Carlsbad Unified School District continue to progress with the magnet school plan, Jefferson Elementary will be one of only four elementary schools in California offering the primary International Baccalaureate Program.
A magnet school is a public school that draws students interested in specific subjects, such as academics or the arts, from a variety of neighborhoods in a metropolitan area (typically a school district or a county). They do this by providing specialized curriculums and instructional approaches like those provided by the International Baccalaureate Program (IBP).
Founded in 1968, the IBP is a rigorous academic program that offers students a larger and more inclusive perspective of education and learning. To address the educational needs of all students from elementary to high school, the International Baccalaureate Program is broken down into three separate programs: the Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Program and Diploma Program.
Magnet schools place a strong emphasis on teaching students to learn from a global perspective, encouraging students as young as the second grade to study a foreign language. At the elementary level, magnet schools work to build a foundation that is strong in math, science, social studies, language and the arts. In addition to the California curriculum standards, the Primary Years Program focuses on six areas of development: who we are; where we are in place and time; how we express who we are; how the world works; how we organize ourselves and sharing the planet.
Despite the fact that there are no costs to attend the school and that the student body is composed of students from all school districts, magnet schools are still public schools. These elements, the fact that Jefferson is currently under-enrolled and the strong multi-cultural composition of the current student body, make the elementary school an ideal candidate for the International Baccalaureate Program.
However, transitioning to a magnet school is a long and costly process that could take up to three years. However, should Carlsbad Unified School District continue to progress with the magnet school plan, Jefferson Elementary will be one of only four elementary schools in California offering the primary International Baccalaureate Program.