Parents of bright middle school students are angry with West Seattle High School because the ninth-grade honors program is being cancelled and now it's too late to register somewhere else.

Instead of being grouped together for advanced classes, the "highly capable" freshmen next year will take all of their classes mixed with the rest of the student body. Honors students could attend regular classes and be given extra assignments. Or they might go to school earlier to take an additional class.

About 50 parents expressed their irritation during a tense meeting in the school library last week with Principal Susan Ders/ and a small group of West Seattle High administrators and teachers. Not only are they upset that their youngsters won't be placed in honors classes, some parents feel hoodwinked.

Some parents allege representatives of West Seattle High touted the school's ninth-grade honors program in early April, only days before the program was cancelled. Some allege the school was more interested in securing the thousands of dollars in state funding that come with each student than in providing the honors program.

Cancellation of West Seattle High School's ninth-grade honors program is being reviewed by Ammon McWashington, Seattle Public Schools' high school director, and Carla Santorno, chief academic officer. They will try to come up with a solution to the problem, said Patti Spencer, spokeswoman for the school district.

The ninth-grade honors program has been paid for with money from the U.S. Department of Education in the form of a "smaller learning communities" grant. The money is intended to help divide schools into smaller groups so students get more attention from teachers.

Included among the grant's requirements: "each small learning community is comprised of randomly or self-selected students at all levels of achievement (low, medium, high) and that teaching is 'differentiated' (altered to accommodate each student's academic ability) to challenge and support students at each level."

There also was much talk at the meeting of "heterogeneity." Classes are supposed to be comprised of students of all levels of learning.

School officials interpret that to mean the honors program must accept students of even low academic achievement to fulfill the requirements of the grant.

"We segregate 70 highly capable kids in the ninth-grade (honors) class," said Bob Court, assistant principal at West Seattle High. "But our responsibility is to a very large group."

"How are you going to inspire my kid in a classroom that is so integrated with different kids?" asked the mother of a middle-school honors student.

The school's interpretation of the grant regulations appears to be philosophical as well as a legal. Ders/ said there isn't much support for the ninth-grade honors program among the faculty at West Seattle High School. Teachers would rather spend their efforts trying to improve educational programs for all students than devote resources to the highest academic achievers.

"The staff is not in favor of extension (of the Smaller Learning Communities grant) to implement honors next year," Ders/ told the parents.

"It's hard to promote honors sections to instructors who don't believe in the honors program," Court said.

Some parents think the school's interpretation of the smaller learning communities grant is hogwash.

A mother, who said she is an educator, is worried about how highly capable ninth-graders can be inspired to learn if regular students disrupt class.

"I'm terribly concerned about behavior," she said. "You have to engage children yet manage behavior."

Another parent who claimed to be an educator took a hard line on the issue of investing to assist all students.

"You've got to cut and run with the kids who have the best chance," he said.

Another criticism from parents was that the ninth-grade honors program is being eliminated without input from the public. "Community involvement" is required by the grant, they said.

"How do we know you won't end the 10th-grade honors program?" another woman asked school officials. Ders/ denied 10th-graders would be affected.

Another proposal was to offer an elective honors seminar at 6:45 or 7 a.m. before the regular school day begins, with an emphasis on essay writing. Court suggested holding Socratic seminars before school in which honors students would write about broad philosophical questions such as, "what is truth?"

Parents at the meeting laughed at the notion of getting their teenagers out of bed to go to school at 6:45 or 7 a.m. to do extra work.

Principal Ders/ acknowledged there's an impasse between school officials and parents over the honors program so there's much interest in what district officials will recommend.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.