Magnet school application process underway for next school year

Thomas Magnet School students paint ceramic tiles as an art project while family members watch as part of last month's well-attended "showcase night" at the school. (Submitted photo)

As Thomas Magnet School approaches the midpoint of its first academic year, the application process has begun for the 2010-2011 school year, according to principal Tim Harwell and Betty Farrar, the county school system's supervisor of elementary instruction.

A realignment of elementary school classrooms this fall transformed the building previously known as Thomas Intermediate School into the county's first magnet school serving high-achieving students in kindergarten through fifth grades from throughout Bedford County.

Parents who wanted their children admitted to the school had to apply, and the guidelines for admission included high TCAP test scores (for incoming fifth graders) or evidence of high achievement in language, mathematics, abstract thought, critical thinking, creativity and inventiveness. Harwell was named principal of the school and assembled a faculty to meet its particular needs.

A total of 340 students currently attend Thomas Magnet School, and Harwell said the student body should increase by about 40 in the next school year. The school system hopes to add a third kindergarten class, and 20 more students in other grades.

It's certain that there will be spaces available for incoming kindergarteners and first graders. There will probably be at least a few vacancies in every other grade, depending on how many current students don't return next year for whatever reason.

Parents of existing students will need to notify the school system of their interest in keeping their child at Thomas. Existing students will not need to be re-tested as long as they have a good academic record with no particular problems or special situations.

Applications for the school for the 2010-11 school year are now available. They can be downloaded from the Bedford County School System web site, www.bedfordk12tn.com (click on "magnet" in the left column) or picked up from Thomas or from the school system central offices on Madison Street.

All applications must be turned in to the central office, regardless of where they were obtained. The deadline for applications is Jan. 29, 2010. Students will be evaluated in January and February, and acceptance or denial letters will be sent out in March. Parents must then confirm their child's attendance by April 1.

Transportation to the school is available. Students ride a bus to their zone's normal school and then transfer to a second bus to go to the magnet school.

Harwell said he's pleased with the way things have gone so far at the school. Last summer, parents and teachers cooperated to redecorate the school for its new identity, and that high level of parental involvement has continued during the school year. When the school had a showcase night last month, Harwell said 95 percent of all parents attended, which he calls an outstanding turnout compared to most schools.

"The involvement of the parent is so important," said Harwell.

Farrar said she is pleased that the student body is diverse and noted that immigrant groups such as Hispanics often place a high value on education which contributes to that same level of parental involvement.

The school brought in Becky Thomasson, an educator with experience in magnet programs, to conduct a staff development day for Thomas' faculty and to consult with the school on an ongoing basis. She has been invaluable in sharing strategies for working with high-achieving students.

The school offers enrichment programs, with more than half of its population staying after school hours for either the science club or the drama club. The school also has a fourth grade / fifth grade choir.

But Harwell said he wants continued improvement. A program to teach Spanish hasn't progressed very far, he said.

"We have a long way to go," Harwell said.