Gilroy - Turnout was a trickle at Gilroy High School's third annual information night for eighth grade parents, but those who did attend were so full of questions the 90-minute event ran a half-hour long.

About 20 parents, along with a few future freshmen, gathered in the GHS theater on a rainy Tuesday night to learn more about the school, its courses, students, sports and other extracurricular activities.

Members of the GHS Parent Club say the low turnout is the result of poor planning on the part of the administration, which has organized the event for the past two years and narrowed the number of parents targeted.

"We sent a mailing home that directly targeted those families that were thinking about a private school option, and if they wanted some information, this was for them," Principal Bob Bravo said.

He acknowledged that the small number of parents in attendance Tuesday could be due to the late notice given to parents, or a lack of interest in the event.

"I don't judge it for the number of people as much as, what was the quality of the information we were giving to people," he said. "And it seemed we were able to answer people's questions pretty well."

For parents choosing between a private high school and Gilroy high, a trade-off will be made between a smaller campus and school population and a myriad of course choices, sports and music groups, Bravo said.

Each department chair spoke briefly about courses ranging from French to marine biology to Advanced Placement calculus, and answered questions. Both the jazz band and Chamber Singers, an honors choir, performed, and Athletic Director Jack Daley briefed parents on GHS's sports choices.

Two mothers of Brownell Academy Middle School eighth-graders left the session saying they enjoyed the chance to visit and learn more about the school with their children.

"I just wanted them to get familiar with the facilities, and some of the people that are here, and what the school is like," said parent Terri Lindsteth.

She and Didi Howard both said they appreciated learning the answers to many of their questions about Gilroy High directly from students and teachers.

"I'm very encouraged," Howard said. "Listening to the students speak was helpful, and the teachers were helpful and well-spoken. They were very knowledgeable and ... (students) approached what we, as parents, are concerned about."

Specifically, the issues of safety and quality of academics at the campus. One member of a student panel of sophomore, junior and senior class leaders said much of what she had heard in middle school about dangerous behavior at GHS turned out to be false.

Bravo told parents six campus supervisors are present at all times, and three vice principals help supervise during breaks, plus a Gilroy police officer.

Joel Tovar, student body president, said the school's teachers helped motivate him to get involved in campus groups, after he tried to blend in his first couple years.

"It doesn't matter what school you go to, as long as you make the best of it," Tovar said.

He said he takes three Advanced Placement classes, for which he completes an average of six hours of homework, every other day thanks to the block schedule.

Parent Club Co-President Jackie Stevens, who welcomed parents to the session, said that with better planning, it could have been a positive, informational evening for dozens to hundreds more incoming freshmen and their parents.

At the first eighth-grade welcome in 2003, hundreds of parents and students attended, whether or not they were considering private school.

Bravo said it was nice to see a large audience that year, but it seemed some parents did not understand that the evening was for information only, which was why Brownell, South Valley and St. Mary middle school parents considering private school were targeted this time.

Still, Stevens would like all parents to be encouraged to attend the event, which she said was well-received by all accounts the first time.

"If one person got something out of it, that's a positive thing," Stevens said. "But you had every department chair there, band, choir, students, administrators, and everybody's time is extremely valuable, and if you're going to do something and ask all those people to come, you want to maximize attendance and make it something that will serve a broader purpose."

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