ASME Volunteer’s School Wins Merit Award from the Magnet Schools of America

Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering in Raleigh, N.C., was recently named the winner of the Donald Waldrip Magnet School of Merit Award of Excellence from the Magnet Schools of America.

Emily G. Hardee, a member of ASME’s Committee on Pre-College Engineering, and her fellow teachers at Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering in Raleigh, N.C., were recently honored with a Merit Award from the Magnet Schools of America (MSA). The award was presented to Brentwood on April 25 at the 33rd National Conference on Magnet Schools in Raleigh.

MSA Merit Awards recognize member magnet schools and programs that demonstrate a high commitment to academic standards, curriculum innovation, desegregation and diversity efforts, specialized teaching staffs, and parent and community involvement. Magnet schools are free public elementary and secondary schools that are operated by school districts or a consortium of districts and have focused theme and aligned curricula, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or fine and performing arts.

Hardee’s school was selected as the winner of MSA’s second-highest honor, the Donald Waldrip Magnet School of Merit Award of Excellence, designating Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering as the No. 2 magnet school in the United States. The award is named after MSA’s founder and first executive director.

Emily Hardee, a member of ASME's Committee on Pre-College Engineering, is the STEM coordinator at Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering.

Now in its seventh year as a magnet school with an engineering theme, Brentwood has had its share of challenges, according to Hardee, a STEM coordinator at the school. With 80 percent of its student body receiving free or reduced-cost lunches, Brentwood’s students are disadvantaged compared to students from other magnet schools. The school hit a particularly low point in 2011 when it was identified as one of the four lowest-performing schools in its district, which resulted to the school being “emptied” and a major turnover in staff.

The school has rebounded in the past few years, however, as its recent MSA Merit Award win attests. "We are so extremely proud of the accomplishments of our staff and students," Hardee said. "Now the nation is seeing our efforts."