MISSION HILLS : Parents Protest Shift of Gifted Students

Parents of children who attend a highly gifted magnet program at San Jose Street Elementary School are mounting a protest against next year’s shifting of San Jose’s sixth-graders to Portola Junior High School, part of a districtwide reconfiguration.

The parents say the shift, which is expected to reduce the small magnet program’s enrollment by more than half, will weaken the program, make it more vulnerable to cutbacks, and increase pressure to admit students with lower levels of aptitude.

But Los Angeles Unified School District officials say they are unlikely to make an exception for the school.

Officials concede that it is possible that the program, which now serves 179 students, will be asked to accept a slightly broader spectrum of students to avoid cuts. But Sheila Smith, district coordinator for gifted and talented programs, said acceptance of students who do not qualify for the designation “highly gifted” will not hurt programming at the magnet.

Smith said that if the sixth-graders are kept at San Jose, and enter middle school a year later than their peers, they would have a more difficult time getting into the programs they want.

The parents say they plan to meet Thursday to discuss a possible petition to the district to keep the sixth-graders at San Jose.

Debbie Plat, a magnet parent, said parents fear that with only about 80 students in the magnet program, there will be pressure to expand its enrollment by admitting students who are designated simply “gifted” or “high-achieving” as opposed to “highly gifted” students who score higher than 145 on IQ tests.

Because schools for the gifted--as opposed to highly gifted--don’t rely on IQ tests for admission, said magnet parent Bert Stern, some students who are average or slightly above average intelligence can get in. And that, he said, increases the chances that the brightest students will be taught below their level.

District officials reply that even with fewer teachers and a change in the student body, the program should be able to remain challenging for highly gifted students through greater individual attention and careful planning.