That's funny. I taught at a magnet school on the west side that operated the same way. Many magnet schools do not operate as they were designed. Each magnet s

That's funny. I taught at a magnet school on the west side that operated the same way. Many magnet schools do not operate as they were designed. Each magnet school was supposed to offer an original line of programming in which the school specialized. Perhaps it was like that at one time, but those days are gone. The school I taught at was supposed to teach aviation. I guess there was one guy who taught that program once, and then he retired. He was not replaced. Magnet schools give preferential enrollment of up to 40% to neighborhood students and siblings, but they can recruit selectively, unlike a neighborhood school that must accept any student that lives in the attendance boundary. The situation that I was describing in my original post was more pertaining to high schools than elementary schools. There are over 100 high schools in Chicago, but most students want to get into the same 5. If you live in a decent neighborhood, your neighborhood school may be alright, but if you live in the South or West sides, the selective enrollment high schools are pretty much your best chance to get out. Therefore, if you fuck up in the sixth or seventh grade on either homework or standardized tests, the consequences can be severe.