I read your article in the December issue about busing and found it very interesting. I am a parent in the Seattle School District who has been concerned about this issue for several years. My concern came two years ago when my son enrolled at Eckstein Middle School. There were many far north and east parents who were unhappy their children did not get into Eckstein and didn't want to go to Hamilton. The superintendent, for whatever reason (I believe it was some powerful parents in Laurelhurst), gave the parents an immediate meeting and allowed about 85 extra students into Eckstein. The superintendent did not notify other parents in the 6th grade class about this addition so many parents were unaware of the large 6th grade class their children were entering.

 Make no mistake: Eckstein is a good, well-run school. However when you have a school of nearly 1,300 students (larger than five of the School District's 10 high schools), it is impossible to not have resources tightly stretched. A strong PTA with generous parents help fill in the gaps as much as possible. But when you think of one counselor per grade level dealing with nearly 450 students each, you can see how large the job is.

 Despite the fact that I believe Eckstein has some fine and hardworking teachers, I am very against a middle-school this large.

 At the time, it was also suggested that Jane Addams become a middle-school again. I concur with Mr. Boyd for his reasons and also because it would help take the strain off Whitman Middle School. It is also a very large school at about 1200 students. I believe that many parents want Eckstein and Whitman because they are good schools but I believe there are also parents who would like a smaller middle school nearer to their home and would work to support that effort. I find it sad that the District is talking about opening yet another new high school and yet, still claims there would be no money to move Summit to the Wilson Pacific building and reopen Jane Addams.

 It's interesting that we keep hearing that smaller schools are better and yet the Superintendent still bows to parental pressure and packs Eckstein and Whitman as well as Roosevelt and Ballard. The only principal I know of who has withstood the pressure is the principal at Nathan Hale who has told me he wants to keep his school small and is going to work to keep it that way.

 Hamilton is getting a better reputation. I was told it did have a waiting list this year but perhaps that was for 7th/8th grades, not 6th. Hamilton is going to be the international middle school (although not without some public prodding to get the District to actually help the process along without putting all the burden on Hamilton administration. But it is very hard to change perceptions in parents' minds and for this new program to change that perception will probably take years.

 A recent article surprised me by saying that Seattle has one of the highest private school enrollments in the country at about 36 percent. But that probably is not surprising when parents are unhappy about their choices and what the District does or doesn't do when told of this unhappiness.

 - MELISSA WESTBROOK, Green Lake