The Nov. 19 article, "The New White Flight," which was picked up by newspapers across the country, discussed an influx of Asian students into Fremont Union High School District schools. In particular, its author, Suein Hwang, focused on Monta Vista and Lynbrook high schools.

Both schools have the highest population of Asian students among the district's five high schools, with each reporting its population of students of Asian heritage to be about 70 percent in 2004-05.

In her article, Hwang emphasized the intensifying academic pressure at the two schools, asserting that the rise in Asian students led to a more demanding academic atmosphere. As a result, she wrote, white students were more likely to leave the school district or be classified as underachievers.

Her conclusions upset many in the community, as well as district teachers and staff.

"Any time you make blanket statements, you are bound to sensationalize," said Stephen Rowley, the district's superintendent. "I absolutely refute the central contention of it."

Instead, Rowley and others said the increase in academic pressure had to do with other factors.

"Pressure is a concern, but I think it's a by-product of the extraordinary pressure students feel to get into a top-five college that contributes to the frenzy over high-performance," Rowley said. "Both Asians and whites have high test scores, and both can be found in the under-achiever category."

"It upsets me that they made it a racial issue, where it's really an academic issue," said Cathy Gatley, a member of Monta Vista's Parent Teacher Student Association, who was quoted extensively in Hwang's piece.

"We have seen academics change, and schools have become less about community and more about academics," she told the Courier, noting the loss of such activities as school carnivals.

Rowley told the Courier that he attributes the increasing academic focus to socio-economic factors rather than race.

"The [recent] influx is driven by skill sets and economics, just like the 1950s when the aerospace industry attracted workers to the area that were alike," Rowley said of the information technology boom over the last decade that has attracted many families to the region.

Hann So, a parent of two children at Kennedy Middle School--which feeds into Monta Vista--also said the national effort to improve math and science scores (the United States has consistently lagged far behind other nations) has contributed to the pressure.

"It was very shocking," Liz Yang Tadman, a member of Lynbrook's PTSA, said of the article. "We don't feel tension. It's competitive, yes, but not just academically. She pointed to the mix of students involved in activities such as art and soccer and described the Lynbrook campus as a "wonderful melting pot."

Many in the community believe the article narrowed the focus to academic competition and the influx of Asians and neglected other relevant factors.

"I don't see why they had to differentiate between races," So said.

"Our cultures are so complex and rich and all of that complexity is lost in the article," Rowley said, pointing out Lynbrook students earned $800,000 in scholarships to art schools last year.

Even so, the district and the community hope to use the article as a catalyst for a broader debate on the intense academic climate in the schools.

"In the long run it is opening up dialogue; we are going to have parent seminars to talk about pressures on students and teachers," Gatley said. "It has really bonded the school."