The Pittsburgh Public Schools tonight will raise the idea of expanding the proposed science and technology high school to include sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

Carey Harris, executive director of the Downtown education group A+ Schools, said the suggestion will be aired at a community forum on the new high school from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the former Reizenstein Middle School building in Shadyside.

The session will debut the A+ Schools' "Pathways to Student Success" series of forums. The second forum, on magnet schools and other educational choices in the school district, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Center for Creative Play in Regent Square.

Officials plan to open the science and technology school next fall as part of an overhaul of district high schools. The district asked Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy and Management to design a prototype, and a team in February unveiled a design that would allow students to graduate in three to five years, while majoring in one of four fields.

Instead of a traditional, 9-12 grade configuration, the CMU design would have students spend one year at the "associate" level; one, two or three years at the "manager" level, depending on individual needs; and a year at the "executive" level. Until now, there had been no public discussion of incorporating sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders into the school.

"It's a big change," Ms. Harris said.

While some districts have "junior high schools" that reach into seventh grade, the Pittsburgh Public Schools does not use that configuration now. Derrick Lopez, the district's chief of high school reform, said the 6-12 science and technology school would be called a thematic learning community for secondary students, not a junior high school.

"There are models of this all around the country," he said.

Mr. Lopez said one goal of the 6-12 design would be to better serve students during the turbulent middle-grade years and to smooth students' transition to high school.

He noted that the district's decision in 2006 to shift students from middle schools to new K-8 schools also was designed to improve middle-grade learning. Just as the K-8 schools separate elementary and middle-grade students, he said, the science and technology school would separate middle-grade and high-school learners.

"There will be schools within a school," he said.

Ms. Harris said the district asked A+ Schools to host the forum to solicit ideas for the school. She said the district is considering a weighted admissions lottery that would favor high-performing and low-income students.

School district spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said neither the applications process nor the school's possible location are issues the district plans to discuss tonight. Mr. Lopez said the district could announce the school's location in about a month and a half.

The forum will give the public a chance to meet Mr. Lopez and Sam Franklin, project manager for the science and technology high school. Mr. Franklin, a former teacher, helped design the school as a CMU graduate student.

Ms. Harris said Thursday's forum is designed to help parents navigate the thicket of magnet school options and other school choices available to city school students.

About 50 people have signed up for tonight's forum and about 160 registered for Thursday's session. Child care is still available for tonight's session. To register for either session, call A+ Schools at 412-258-2660.