Schools must attempt to identify and develop those gifted young people who, because of environment and background, are faced with limited opportunities for achievement. At Hunter College High School, New York City, a program was instituted in which"disadvantaged, but potentially gifted" students made up 25% of each entering seventh-grade class. Identified largely by subjective means, the students attended a required special summer orientation program but, once admitted, they became an integral part of the student body, receiving no special treatment as a group. The first-year attrition rate proved high, but the number of dropouts decreased as selection techniques improved and as faculty and students matured in dealing with the special problems of the program. Tasks not yet completed in the program include (1) incorporating in the reading program material of literary distinction that relates to students with ghetto backgrounds, (2) deciding on the meaning and importance of grades for "intellectually gifted" secondary students, and (3) developing techniques for giving needed supplementary help to special students without setting them apart. If gifted disadvantaged students are not adequately educated, many potentially valuable members of society will be lost. (LH)