By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Last month, the Jet City Maven reported, in an article about several Meadowbrook parents who oppose busing their kids to Hamilton Middle School, that the middle school was one of six in the city that did not fill their incoming 6th grade classes for the fall of 2001. This information was based on a Seattle Times article published last May.

Lynn Steinberg, a spokeswoman for Seattle Public Schools, and representatives for Hamilton would like to set the record straight.

Yes, Hamilton was, in fact, one of six schools whose incoming 6th grade classes for the 2001-02 school year were under-enrolled when the school district's "on-time assignment period" ended last spring.

However, between May, when the Times article was published, and this fall, Hamilton managed to completely fill its incoming 6th grade class - and then some.

Kathy Smayda, who chairs an advisory committee called the Hamilton International Middle School Site Council, reports that by August, Hamilton's total enrollment, for grades 6-8, stood at 777 students, with a waiting list of 33.

As of early December, Hamilton has an total enrollment of nearly 750 students.

Smayda listed several reasons for Hamilton's appeal: the school's actively involved parents and community members; its offering of international language and culture classes; and its relatively small size.

"One of Hamilton's biggest challenges in recent years has been countering the effects of misinformation, especially that perpetuated by the press," Smayda said.

Hamilton is located at 1610 N. 41st in the Wallingford District. The school will conduct tours of its facilities for prospective 6th graders (for the 2002-03 school year) and their parents on the following dates: Feb. 5, 12, and 26 and March 7, 14 and 21, from 8:45-10:45 a.m. Those interested in participating in a tour should call Ellen Henderson at 252-5822. b