This school is ALL magnet, meaning, you have to apply for one of the programs in order to attend. Even if you live next to the school, you can't attend unless you're picked in the lottery. But there are a lot of kids who the local neighborood who attend.
The magnets are art, business, leisure medicine, agriculture, & International Baccalaureate/International Studies. Hmm..am I forgetting one? (Since I was the journalism adviser, I wasn't a magnet teacher; I was just part of the Language Arts dept.)
You didn't have much freedom in choosing an elective, because you had to take whatever you were "majoring" in. Obviously, this made it hard for non-magnet elective teachers (journalism, debate, etc) to maintain an experienced staff/team all 4 years.
School website.
http://coralreef.dadeschools.net
BTW, it's not "rich kids" who are bused into this particular school. It's kids from within the same region, of all socio-economic classes. It's all based on race, and the school is 1/3 of each: non-hispanic white, hispanic, and black/African-American.
Now, back to the episode: the girl was definitely trying to take on too much, with chorus, school, work, and then adding on the gym & dance lessons...not to mention having it all taped for TV! No wonder she was exhausted.
It was entertaining, but I agree that she was a longshot for making the team.