Arielle Taft is one focused 11-year-old.

She already knows what she wants to be when she grows up -- a U.S. Supreme Court justice, in part because she likes to argue -- and she's already got a good idea of how to get there: by tailoring her education around her goals.

But she's not talking about her college education just yet. She's only in sixth grade. Arielle is focusing on her high school education.

"I'm eliminating the schools that don't have law programs or good reading programs," she said.

Her eyes lighted up when she spotted a blue pamphlet with "Law" written across the front. It was on a table at the Northwestern High School booth yesterday during Baltimore City's high school fair for middle school pupils.

Arielle was among hundreds of kids and parents who braved the wet weather to come to the Polytechnic Institute's cafeteria for the fair's second year. There, representatives from the city's 30 high schools staffed colorful booths, handed out literature and tried to talk preteens into concentrating on their future.

"We began realizing that Baltimore City has to compete for its students just like any other jurisdiction," said Vanessa C. Pyatt, the school system's spokeswoman. "We needed to be more assertive."

So they developed the high school fair -- similar to a college fair -- last year to show off their goods, which include programs at various schools on art, science, technology, commercial cooking, house restoration, marine biology, accounting and landscape architecture.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School's science program pleased Cheryl Berry, while its football program satisfied her eighth-grade son, Tyron Brown.

"We worked together to find that one," Berry said.

The fair's purpose is threefold: to draw pupils attending private or parochial schools; to introduce children to the 15 citywide themed schools; and to help those who will attend their neighborhood schools determine the best selection of courses. "Parents have more choices in their kids' education now," said Jushin Yeh, a guidance counselor at Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School, formerly designated as school No. 420. "It's good for them to come out and see [what's available]."

It's all part of a five-year, $55 million high school reform plan designed to reduce enrollment at overcrowded neighborhood schools, improve student performance and academic offerings, and develop strong educational leaders.

The introduction of "innovation schools" and expansion of merit-based citywide schools are also in the plan.

The themed schools are still in the development stages, but could include a school dedicated to health and medical careers and another that would focus on law-based education -- right up Arielle's alley.

Citywide schools include Digital Harbor High School, a technology school that opened this year, and the National Academy Foundation High School, which focuses on travel, tourism and technology. Citywide schools accept students based on academic performance.

Cynthia Hailey and her 13-year-old daughter, Zenobia Hailey, were happy to know that Zenobia's good grades might get her into one of the citywide programs next year.

"She has more options because her grades are better," Cynthia Hailey said. "She doesn't have to be limited to her zoned school."

Most of the city's public schools are considered neighborhood schools, and their populations are chosen according to boundary line zones. But the federal No Child Left Behind Act makes it possible for children who meet certain criteria to transfer from their home school to another.

Chianti Ilyas was at the fair with her husband, Jamal Ilyas, and her eighth-grade son, Duane Jordon. They live in the city but are planning to buy a house soon and are closely examining school programs.

"We'll go wherever [Duane] can get a better education... That's what it's all about," Chianti Ilyas said.