Indigo, I'm working in my community about this particular issue. I also shared my opinion about this practice when my child attended the school in question. So no need for the lecture.
But even if none of this were true, I certainly feel it's okay to voice my opinion that there are issues of inequity in how schools operate in my communuity regardless of whether I am advocating at this particular moment.
The examples you give, while unfortunate, also are experienced by "majority culture" parents who are not in the field of education, did not themselves attend public schools and/or participate in gifted programs, may be new to a neighborhood, etc. Therefore, these are not evidence of "bias".
I said " parents who are not from the majority culture (this can mean a lot of things)." In the case of this school (not a gifted school, FTR) the school wants to keep recruiting parents who are "their kind of parents" by word of mouth. How best to do this? Make it so you can't figure out how to get a spot unless you know someone who goes there. Don't do any outreach, or advertise the school or how to get in. In fact, this excludes a lot of families, but it especially affects certain groups.
As to your point #1, I disagree. Most parents cannot be expected to realize that to enroll their child in a public school in September, they must call the school the previous December to schedule a tour. Yes, the same information is given once you call--but the information that YOU MUST CALL IN DECEMBER is not disseminated to the community in any way.
