I will also add that admission to the GT math program (seems to be the center of the controversy, but frankly the proposed changes are not that big, IMO) happens via parent nomination (red flag) and one high-stakes test (red flag). I'm confused about the program in a lot of ways because it's alternately presented by all sides as super-high-ability genius stuff and...not. And this is a question of serious interest for us here, too. Is it a highly gifted math enrichment program for the 1% with natural math gifts, or is it a double-accelerated math track that starts in elementary school in a very high-achieving district? I've seen the program referred to as two years ahead. In a district like this one (aeh is looking at those figures--the district is waaaaay out there...think Palo Alto ish) it would be reasonable to expect 10% or more of kids in there. Again, both sides of the issues are confusing me on this point. Maybe there needs to be a gifted math and an accelerated math, though how you would determine who goes where, heaven knows. My DD is supposedly two years ahead in math now (tracked into this class this year--6th--based on a test) and I don't consider her a math whiz. (Actually, I wonder how many kids in the district are in her track? At her school it would be about 5%.)
