Parents of students at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie made it resoundingly clear to Prince George’s County schools officials Tuesday night that they don’t want the school to become one that serves only talented and gifted students.

Currently about two-thirds of the school’s 375 students are in the TAG program, and the remaining third are referred to as comprehensive students. The TAG program offers challenging classes for high-performing students.

School officials have proposed making Heather Hills a TAG-only school, moving more than 60 comprehensive students to nearby Kenilworth Elementary School, with 40 to 50 Kenilworth students in turn going to Tulip Grove Elementary to create more compact school boundary areas.

Parents opposed to the change say the school, known for its high test scores, is working well as it is.

“Instead of breaking up a school, bring in some principals from schools that are not doing well, find out what works and replicate that in the county,” said parent Bonnie Lawson, suggesting that Heather Hills serve as a model for other schools.

Lawson’s daughter, Samantha Lawson, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Heather Hills, brought cheers from the audience when she said, “It’s the best school I know.”

“Don’t let us go,” said Samantha, a comprehensive student. “We love it.”

More than 100 parents attended the hearing in the Bowie High School cafeteria wanting to know more about that and other proposals by the Prince George’s County school system to change school boundaries and programs to even out enrollments and lower transportation costs.

The Board of Education is expected to vote on the changes Jan. 5, and if approved, they plans would take effect for the 2012-13 school year.

School board Chairwoman Verjeana M. Jacobs (Dist. 5) of Mitchellville, which includes Bowie, said Tuesday night she has not made up her mind yet about the proposed changes.

Jacobs said she understands there is opposition but also said she has received requests from constituents who want more TAG seats in the area.

Most of the county’s other dozen schools with TAG programs have proportionately fewer TAG students than Heather Hills and Glenarden Woods elementaries, which have two TAG classes per grade level instead of one, said Johndel Jones-Brown, director of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries for the school system.

Being outnumbered puts the comprehensive students at a disadvantage in terms of resources, Jones-Brown said.

But Heather Hills parents opposed to the changes said the current mix works well and that comprehensive students benefit from being around TAG students.

“They do just as well on tests,” said Heather Hills parent Cheryl Amitay about the comprehensive students. “Would they be better served [by moving]? I feel that you’d be doing them a disservice.”

Other parents also objected to their children being bused out of their neighborhood to another school, questioning the logic and cost.

Also up for discussion Tuesday night was a proposal by the school system to move about 100 students from overenrolled Rockledge Elementary School in Bowie to significantly underenrolled Yorktown Elementary, also in Bowie, which has lost full-time staff positions because of dwindling enrollment.

vterhune@gazette.net