Fairfax schools propose expansion of gifted programs School officials said the new programs will make the system more efficient and provide more opportunities to gifted elementary and middle school students in their own neighborhoods. But in a series of community forums last month, hundreds of concerned parents said they adamantly opposed the plans. Linda Dempsey, the mother of two children enrolled in gifted programs, said she felt ambushed by this new plan to fix a system she thinks doesn't have any apparent problems. Parents say the proposal, tentatively scheduled to be implemented next fall, is being rushed into action. Why the rush to change something especially when parents are not behind this? Dempsey said. Our input wasn't sought until very late in the process. The proposal came to life last spring, when administrators formed a task force to address the county's gifted population. As the county's overall school enrollment has grown to 181,000, the number of students eligible for gifted programs also has risen dramatically. The number of students in third through eighth grades enrolled in the top levels of gifted education in Fairfax has nearly tripled over the past decade, with about 13,180 students this year, according to the county schools. As a result, some schools that house centers for gifted students - notably Haycock, Hunters Woods and Louise Archer elementary schools - have become severely overcrowded. Carol Horn, the coordinator for Advanced Academic Programs, said the county's services for gifted students ensure scholastic success, with about 95 percent of students enrolled in the top levels of gifted instruction achieving the highest county scores on Virginia Standards of Learning exams. Expanding the Advanced Academic Program, Horn said, would provide more access to students closer to their home community. Sloan Presidio, assistant superintendent for instructional services, said the expansion of the Advanced Academic Program would help alleviate crowding by moving eligible gifted students to schools with more capacity. He said it would also cut down on transportation costs and would open centers in areas that did not before have such services. The plan also would allow groups of students who start gifted programs together in elementary school to move as a cohort through the Fairfax system as they grow older, which studies show improves the quality of students" education, Presidio said. "This expansion doesn't get us all the way, but it starts to tighten this up for us and moves in the right direction," Presidio said. Presidio acknowledged that parts of the proposal might be "imperfect," and that the administration is open to community feedback.