North Hollywood High Magnet

* I am a student at the North Hollywood High School Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM). I am very disappointed in the misleading nature of the article regarding our school (“Advanced Placement Adventurers,” Dec. 9).

I appreciate your recognition of our school, but there are two major flaws in your reporting. First, you have created an image of the HGM student that I find extremely offensive and utterly incorrect. Second, the students you have selected to interview (or to publish interviews of) do not represent the majority of the student population.

You have implied that all HGM students not only enjoy school but are overly enthusiastic about their AP classes. The fact is, unless we elect to take the standard class in any particular subject, we must take the AP class. Due to the small size of the school, there are no other options. Either take the only magnet class in the subject, the AP class, or take a class that we could get anywhere else, eliminating the point for us to attend North Hollywood.

On the second matter, the group of students from which you have extracted your sound bites represents only the most quirky and / or Type A personalities. Students enrolled in this program are extremely diverse, and not all are so eccentric or enthusiastic about their studies. I understand that this is a public-interest story, but that does not, by any standards, allow you to mislead the reader. The pretentiousness portrayed, common in articles regarding the HGM, is highly offensive and quite erroneous.

MICHAEL R. MEISEL

Encino

* Contrary to the opinion of many of my colleagues, I’m thankful that the article regarding our highly gifted program was printed. It is time that academic magnet schools become recognized as an important component of every school district.

It is true that the students achieve a lot. This is not because of a genius IQ measured by a notoriously inaccurate test; it’s because we have been attending schools where teachers have belief in our abilities. We went to schools where a lot was expected from us, and as a result, we grew up to fit the part.

If more school programs would emulate this belief in students’ abilities and provide the necessary academic courses, our magnet program would not seem like something unusual.

OLIVER WANG

Los Angeles

* I commend you for your positive article on North Hollywood High School. I am a student here, yet I learned many facts that had previously not been brought to my attention and that made me more aware of the achievements of my peers. Also commendable was your equal inclusion of both the magnet and non-magnet in your article.

However, there was in my opinion an unnecessary emphasis on student eccentricities, which does not reflect the majority of students on campus. Granted, we are all unique, but we are no more eccentric than any other population of students. And the guidance and support of our teachers is an invaluable component of our success.

MICHAEL SAJI

West Hills

* While I believe that the hard-working North Hollywood High School students who take AP exams deserve some recognition, I believe that the article gave the wrong impression about the students. It appears as though one of the objectives was to label North Hollywood Highly Gifted Magnet students as freaks who indulge in all sorts of odd behavior. Why is it that the reporter only makes an effort to write about the strange acts that a minority of students happen to partake in? Gone are the days of factual, unbiased journalism, and here are the days of entertainment reporting.

JUNIE DAHN

Northridge

* The picture that Elaine Woo painted of the students involved in the AP curriculum was accurate and appreciated. Too often we are perceived as “nerdy,” “high-brow” and “elitist.” Woo was able to recognize that although many of us are atypical in some way, we fit in easily in the high school scene. Thank you.

JOCELYN GREENE

North Hollywood

* The media in recent years have been attacked for becoming more and more shallow, and this can only be added to the list of articles without substance. The focus of the article was misplaced. I cannot doubt that readers finished the article thinking more about the banana-popping English teacher than the fact that, even spread out among 24 AP tests, North Hollywood had a phenomenal pass rate, and that half of last year’s junior class were National Merit semifinalists.

GREGORY MARSDEN

West Hills

* I was quite impressed on the interest in our school. The small details made it interesting to read.

I believe that we are not as different or special as the article seems to portray us. We just have a program that allows us to take more APs and perhaps the extra intellectual curiosity and wish to learn that allow us to go ahead and enjoy learning.

It would be beneficial to the American educational system to offer more APs and other more challenging classes nationwide. I am certain there are many students out there who are willing and able but do not have the program to do as well.

ANNA KIM

Granada Hills

* I would like to express my utter distaste for the article regarding AP tests taken at North Hollywood High, with regard to the Highly Gifted Magnet.

From a newspaper as established and respected as The Times, I would expect a higher level of journalistic integrity. As a student in the highly gifted program, I found that the article was full of inaccuracies and unfairly caricatured the students.

The article seemed to portray the situation as disadvantaged, inner-city students achieving extraordinary results against impossible odds--the analogy to Jaime Escalante and his students was completely unwarranted and undeserved. I see at NHHS capable students who work hard in a difficult program and achieve results on par with that effort. This is no miracle, just hard work and good teaching.

I felt it a gross disrespect to the professionals that they are that the extent of discussion of teachers was the singular statement that Mr. Vail hands out bananas. What about how they teach? The qualifications of our teachers are undisputed, and time should have been taken to give them the respect they deserve.

RYAN TASHMA

North Hollywood

* I was very happy to see an article as positive as this one. It correctly depicted the magnet program, its relationship with the resident school, and the students that make up both schools. This is one of the first articles written about North Hollywood Highly Gifted Magnet that has given the public an opportunity to fully understand what the magnet really is.

That is not to say that the entire article was completely positive. There were sections that, as a member of the student body, I felt were inaccurate and detrimental to the magnet’s reputation. Woo wrote about a student in the 10th grade taking two AP classes who “is a slacker by North Hollywood standards.” That is completely untrue. I am in the 10th grade and am taking only two AP courses. I juggle homework from those classes and the other courses that I’m taking. In addition, I am involved in extracurricular activities and deal with a two-hour total commute every day. I am not a slacker, by any standard. Woo’s assertion that students with fewer AP courses than the number possible are slackers was unfounded and untrue.

ARIANNA HAUT

Topanga

* In response to your article, I would like to clarify what our school represents. Although the curriculum is generally directed toward passing the AP tests, the focus is on providing an open environment for the learning and appreciation of knowledge. Acquisition of knowledge is not solely based on book work, but on labs, projects, discussions and creative writing. School involvement in clubs, sports, competitions or leadership, is also highly esteemed.

Due to these activities, students here do tend to be individualistic. And we do work hard here independently to succeed; our IQs do not miraculously eliminate the need to study. However, one cannot ignore the vital role that teachers play. The credit belongs not only to the motivated student, but to the motivating teacher. Our teachers are dedicated and involved, if not absolutely vital to the growth and development of our program. They create the challenging curricula that nurture creativity, eccentricity and curiosity--the very curiosity that at times make teachers “the last resort.” It was absurd to heap all the kudos on these students.

EMILY KUWAHARA

Woodland Hills

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