The School of Science and Engineering was created in 1982 as part of a federal court desegregation solution to increase the number of under-represented minorities in the career fields of professional science and engineering.
Nationally, employers and colleges were also clamoring to find qualified minority students and degreed professionals in these areas. The Science and Engineering Magnet has responded by creating one of the most comprehensive college preparatory public high schools in the nation. SEM is NUMBER ONE in the nation with the number of minority students passing the AP Calculus test and obtaining college credit for it.
The school currently has students of all ethnicities in prestigious universities like MIT, Stanford, Rice, the University of Texas at Dallas, Austin, Arlington and University of Texas A&M.
SEM has been a Texas Exemplary School for nine straight years. The school is recognized as a College Board Advanced Placement World Leader School.
In 1995 SEM moved to the newly constructed Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center. This is a wonderful new facility with six magnet high schools in one building. They include:
- Science and Engineering,
- Talented and Gifted,
- Health Professions,
- Business and Management,
- Judge Barefoot Sanders School of Government,
- Law and Law Enforcement, and the
- Rosie Sorrells Education and Social Services Magnet.
The teaching staff at SEM share a common goal of preparing our students for the rigorous demands that today’s colleges of science and engineering place on students. Their faculty includes a number of exceptional teachers with over 75 percent having advanced degrees in the areas they teach.
The advantages of enrolling for training at SEM include the opportunity to get a scholarship to prestigious universities like:
- Baylor University
- Columbia University
- Cornell College
- M.I.T.
- Notre Dame University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Purdue University
- Rice University
- Southern Methodist University
- Stanford University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas Christian University
- Texas Tech University
- United States Naval Academy
- University of Arkansas
- University of Dallas
- University of Texas at Austin/ at Dallas/ at Galveston
- Yale
- And many others.
Requirements:
To be placed in the initial selection pool, each student must have a GPA of 80 in the core subjects of English, math, science and social studies and must pass standardized tests.
- Standardized test, such as ITBS, Stanford 9 – with a score of at least 160 points total for math and reading combined. (No score lower than 65th percentile).
- STAAR requirements:
Grade 7 – Combined scale score for ELA/Reading and Math must be at least 3488 with no score below Reading/ELA – Raw Score 38 or Scale Score 1685 Math – Raw Score 36 Scale Score – 1668
Grade 8 – Combined scale score for ELA/Reading and Math must be at least 3573 with no score below Reading/ELA – Raw Score 41 or Scale Score 1783 Math – Raw Score 37 Scale Score – 1713
To be placed in the final selection pool, each student must:
- Pass an on-site English essay exam, timed and held under SEM supervision. (40% of total).
- Pass an on-site math exam consisting of problems, timed and held under SEM supervision. (40% of the total).
- Pass an on-site interview which includes a logic/reasoning component. (20% of total).
TO APPLY
For your convenience, apply online at www.dallasisd.org beginning December 5, 2016. Paper application will be available at any Dallas ISD school beginning December 5, 2016. Paper applications may be submitted to your first choice school beginning January 12, 2016. Only complete either an online or paper application, not both. However, if you have more than one child, an application must be completed for each child applying for a Magnet Program. Falsifying information on the Magnet application will invalidate the application, and the students application will be excluded from the selection process.
Download the Online Application Instructions
DEADLINE
The application deadline is January 31, 2017 at 4 pm.
NOTE: Students who applied online must submit required documents the first choice school by Wednesday, February 1, 2017 no later than 4 pm.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION
- Application (If you applied online, bring a printed copy of the application)
- Copy of student’s semester report card
- Norm Referenced Test (For Dallas ISD students, STAAR results are required)
- Any existing IEP and/or 504 plan/accommodation plan, if applicable.
- Proof of residency (only current electric, gas, water bill or lease/mortgage will be accepted) If you are residing with someone else, a Notarized “Proof of Residency Affidavit” along with an original utility bill will be required.
