School community in different magnet program structures

This study utilizes self-reported survey data from teachers to compare indi cators of school community in whole school-dedicated magnets in which all s tudents are enrolled in the magnet program and program within school (PWS) magnets in which only a portion of the students participate in the magnet p rogram. The indicators of community assessed in this study are categorized as internal (i.e., within the school) and external (i.e., involving home-sc hool relations). Whole school magnets were found to be characterized by hig her levels of internal and external community. Specifically, whole school m agnet teachers report greater goal congruence, teacher commitment, and pare nt involvement. These findings are purported to result from all teachers an d students choosing whole school magnets, differences in SES of the student s enrolled in these school types, and dilution of indicators of community i n PWS magnets from mixing magnet students and teachers with those in the tr aditional school program. The results varied by school size.