Boston, January 14. Tuesday's Boston Pilot Schools Expo at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School drew 450 people on a frigid night. The packed exhibition hall featured tables for over 20 schools and programs.

Busloads of parents arrived from elementary schools. Young and old circled the hall with stacks of literature. According to exhibitors, the most common parent refrains were about wanting to know the chances of enrolling children in a Pilot, and about choosing among the Pilots.

The two new Pilots - Orchard Gardens (K-8) and Columbia Road (6-8) - opening next year had displays and staff, as did the Small Schools from South Boston HS. Prospective teachers showed up from graduate schools of education, and recruiters greeted them from the Boston School Department. At intervals, students entertained with music, dance, and poetry.

One father approached Expo organizer Nadia Chamblin, of the Center for Collaborative Education, to ask for a strategy. "I love, Harbor, Mission Hill, or Young Achievers," he said. "Which should I list as our first choice?"

According to Young Achievers Principal Virginia Chalmers, "Many parents said they just wished there were more options for families and students in the school department. With only a very few kindergarten slots at the K-8 schools, many talked about the slim chances they had."

Talk was as much among parents as between parents and school representatives. One father, his arms loaded with printed materials, explained to a mother who was approaching a table, "I just want to know what's a school that's safe that's going to be engaging and challenging that I can trust my daughter at."

Fenway School Principal Luz Padua said she was caught in traffic and arrived a few minutes late at the Expo. "Parents were already lined up waiting to talk to students and me. This should send a message to critics of public education and Pilot schools. Parents care about their children's education."