Four schools selected to receive Merit Awards from Magnet Schools of America
February 2, 2022
Four schools in Richland School District Two are 2022 Magnet Schools of America (MSA) Merit Award winners. MSA is the national association for magnet and theme-based schools. Sandlapper Elementary School and Ridge View High School have been designated as National Magnet Schools of Excellence. L. W. Conder Elementary Arts Integrated Magnet School and Spring Valley High School earned National Magnet Schools of Distinction honors.
National Magnet Schools of Excellence
Sandlapper Elementary School is a Computer Science Immersion School (CSIS). Sandlapper offers a full computer science integrated curriculum and provides computer science coding experiences to students as early as kindergarten. The purpose of the program is to prepare students in work, life and citizenship by providing computer science coding skills to become effective collaborators and communicators, computational and creative thinkers, and problem solvers with a global perspective. The magnet theme is integrated through the school’s core classes using project based computer science learning units. CSIS is a whole-school magnet.
Ridge View High School has three magnets being recognized as Schools of Excellence. The Med Pro Magnet, a whole-school magnet, focuses on engaging students in creating healthy communities through developing their medical knowledge and skills to advocate for their current and future needs. The magnet theme is centered on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math, and Medical (STEAMM), and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). AVID’s writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading skills anchor the STEAMM curriculum.
The Scholars Academy Magnet for Business and Law program, a school-within-a-school magnet, is an energetic smaller learning community of highly motivated students committed to achieving the goals of a challenging academic curriculum focused on law and business through a four-year Honors/Advanced Placement track. Scholars Academy provides rigorous academic and experiential learning opportunities necessary to help participants become knowledgeable professionals in the fields of business and law.
The Institute for Health Sciences houses the BioHealth Sciences magnet and Allied Health Sciences magnet. BioHealth is designed for highly motivated Honors students with interests directed toward careers in health science professions. Allied Health Sciences is designed for highly motivated College Prep students with interests directed toward careers in health science professions. These are school-within-a-school magnets.
Magnet School of Excellence Awards are only given to a select group of magnet schools. Schools of Excellence are eligible to receive monetary awards and are eligible to be named the nation’s top Elementary, Secondary, or New & Emerging Magnet School. One of the Schools of Excellence will also be selected to win $5,000 and the Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, which is considered the most prestigious magnet school award in the nation.
National Magnet Schools of Distinction
L. W. Conder Elementary Arts Integrated Magnet School offers an arts infused education to enrich, motivate and broaden student learning. Teachers integrate the arts into the core curriculum which plays a vital role in the learning experiences provided to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Students at Conder Elementary are given opportunities to learn in and through the arts giving them unique exposure to music, dance, strings, visual art, and world drumming. All students at Conder Elementary participate in the magnet program.
Spring Valley High School offers the Discovery and Explorations, school-within-a-school, magnet programs. Discovery is a rigorous, Honors/Advanced Placement, four-year program designed for students with special motivation, interest, aptitude, and commitment to the study of science and math. Students focus on problem-based learning with an emphasis on both the theory and application of science and mathematics. Students complete independent research projects during their sophomore and junior years and present their results at regional and state competitions.
Explorations is a magnet program designed for motivated college-bound students with a focus on forensic science. Critical thinking skills are taught through problem-based learning strategies, and students complete a 200-hour internship between their junior and senior year in a career they are interested in pursuing in college and beyond.
Principals and magnet teachers will be recognized and receive a National Magnet School of Excellence Merit Award on behalf of their school during an awards ceremony held at Magnet Schools of America’s 39th National Conference hosted by Clark County School District in Clark County, Nevada, April 18-22, 2022.
To receive a national merit award, members of Magnet Schools of America must submit a detailed application that is scored by a panel of educators. These schools are judged and scored on their demonstrated ability to raise student academic achievement, promote racial and socioeconomic diversity, provide integrated curricula and instruction, and create strong family and community partnerships that enhance the school’s magnet theme.
