PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 90: 128–155, 2015 Copyright C  Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0161-956X print / 1532-7930 online DOI: 10.1080/0161956X.2015.988545 The Desegregation Aims and Demographic Contexts of Magnet Schools: How Parents Choose and Why Siting Policies Matter Claire Smrekar and Ngaire Honey Vanderbilt University This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators, and scholars to realize the practical aims and strategic advantages envisioned in magnet schools. The paper is divided into three distinct sections. In Section I, we examine the extensive research literature on parents’ choice patterns and school preferences in magnet schools and other school-choice programs. In Section II, we compare the reasons parents choose particular schools with the criteria school districts use to select magnet school locations (and themes). This section highlights desegregation goals and district-level magnet school policies pegged to the following questions: What is the policy context for siting decisions in districts with magnet schools? Are siting policies strategically aligned with what is known from the research literature about parents’ school preferences? Do neighborhood characteristics play a part in magnet school siting policies and specific decision-making? In Section III, we use geographic information system (GIS) tools to add both clarity and complexity to the convergence of parent choice patterns and sociodemographic diversity in our four selected school districts. The maps depict the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of the magnet schools in each district, as well as the demographic characteristics of surrounding census tracts (extended school neighborhoods). We conclude that GIS can be a viable option for improving the citing decisions for magnet schools, and that this can allow for the merging of parent choice priorities with educational equity and diversity goals of the district. INTRODUCTION Magnet schools are public schools designed to attract parents and students through specialized curricular themes or instructional methods. Unlike traditional public schools that operate with student enrollment linked to specific neighborhood attendance zones, magnet schools enroll students from a wide array of neighborhoods across a school district in order to produce a racially diverse school population. Federal aid for the development and operation of magnet schools was first created in 1976 as an amendment to the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) and was designed to provide an additional or alternative tool (e.g., redrawn attendance zones and cross-town busing) for districts engaged in Correspondence should be sent to Claire Smrekar, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 404 Magnolia Circle, Nashville, TN 37203. E-mail: claire.smrekar@vanderbilt.edu Color versions of one or more of the figures in this article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/hpje.