TJ admissions decision - repercussions for Class of 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

Legal tactic. But they didn't care about the disruptions to the class of 2025. So why now?

The new system seemed to be fairer to all areas not just hose wealthy parts of the county that can afford to spend $10k on prep and the kids selected may be less prepped but seemed to struggle less once they were at TJ.

You can stop with that talking points. Seen it plastered dozens of times. Spout some original thought if you have any.

I wonder what would have happened with the admissions reform if FCPS had approached it from a “prep” standpoint vs racial justice?

Curie Learning Center publicly stating on their FB page that 133 of their students were admitted to the class of 2024 and listed our first and last names. There was some rumblings apparently that some kids had seen the test ahead of time, but I don’t think that was ever clear if it was accurate. I personally don’t have an issue with prep, but curious as to why the FCPS school board didn’t say that they wanted to level the playing field by addressing the issue that prepping seemed to be trending as a defacto requirement for admission? Race is clearly extremely problematic from a legal standpoint, but prep isn’t. (Unless it’s being used as a proxy for race of course.)

Overall, it’s just embarrassing how incompetent the school board is. They managed to make both sides furious.

They rushed something that is complicated to figure out. The quick and dirty method, which antagonized large swaths of people interested in the school, was never going to work out. They spent huge amounts of taxpayers money (PR firm, etc.), tons of hours and resources, and are now managing to piss off all sides. One could have done something a lot more gradual (just eliminating test and fees, for example, while keeping recommendation letters, etc.) or even on a limited basis (experimenting with new method for letting in half of the student body). But now we are in a s*tstorm and families are in limbo. The fact that the 9th graders are not doing that well in AMC tests, dropping out in far greater numbers than in previous years, and many forced to take remedial classes in Algebra--all of this is not helping. The gradual approach would have helped with this too and they could correct things as they progressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

Legal tactic. But they didn't care about the disruptions to the class of 2025. So why now?

The new system seemed to be fairer to all areas not just hose wealthy parts of the county that can afford to spend $10k on prep and the kids selected may be less prepped but seemed to struggle less once they were at TJ.

You can stop with that talking points. Seen it plastered dozens of times. Spout some original thought if you have any.

I wonder what would have happened with the admissions reform if FCPS had approached it from a “prep” standpoint vs racial justice?

Curie Learning Center publicly stating on their FB page that 133 of their students were admitted to the class of 2024 and listed our first and last names. There was some rumblings apparently that some kids had seen the test ahead of time, but I don’t think that was ever clear if it was accurate. I personally don’t have an issue with prep, but curious as to why the FCPS school board didn’t say that they wanted to level the playing field by addressing the issue that prepping seemed to be trending as a defacto requirement for admission? Race is clearly extremely problematic from a legal standpoint, but prep isn’t. (Unless it’s being used as a proxy for race of course.)

Overall, it’s just embarrassing how incompetent the school board is. They managed to make both sides furious.

Yes, Curie attendees made up a third of the admitted class but between them and the other prep centers apparently it was the majority of students. In fact, people who didn't prep had a slim chance of admission apparently. It seems like a way to keep out the poor and cater to the wealthy.

There were rumors that some students bought the test even.

There is no truth to the rumors that students bought the test or had seen the entire test beforehand.

It has been confirmed by multiple Class of 2024 students that they saw some questions on the Quant-Q that they had seen before at Curie. Most likely explanation is that previous Curie students returned after having taken a previous exam and fed them the questions. Hard to see how else it could have happened.

[Anonymous]

Two things that should have been the focus of a reform discussion instead of race

1) remove the Math acceleration admissions bump - for prior years, almost 90% of the applicants who were in Algebra II or higher were admitted. Less than 20% of the applicants in geometry were admitted and less than 10% of the applicants in Algebra I were admitted. Families knew that if they could get their child into Algebra II by 8th grade, TJ was close to a lock.

This is something that I think MANY won’t agree with, but it needs to be said. At least in the schools have I have worked at in FCPS, the only way that a child, even a gifted child, is in Algebra II in 8th grade is that their parents have either 1) paid for them to take the FCPS summer geometry class or 2) driven them to/from the local middle school to take Algebra I in 6th grade. Both of these cost money and while it might not be a lot to most families, it’s not insignificant for many. It should not defacto cost money to attend TJ. Period.

2 - Prep is clearly happening for many/most applicants. It’s an interesting question as to if this makes stronger students? The Admissions office has the names of the kids that prepped at Curie from the FB posts. How have those kids done at TJ? Have their admissions test scores tracked with their grades? If so, that should inform how we think about prep and if we should actually expand access to prep programs. If prep, however, is actually artificial and *doesn’t* translate to higher grades etc, than it’s just an arms race and might be harming children. The old TJ admissions process WAS rewarding and in some manner and they should be responsible for answering questions such as the above before a test is re-instated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

When did FCPS even need any sense? All they need is to have liberals vote them in for them to become the dictator.

Oh I hate those liberals and their democracy! They are always far too concerned with others and not doing what benefits me!

I didn't know a democracy can have only 1 party and 1 view. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's another thread where folks can debate the merits of the old and new admissions policy, level accusations of racism, etc. As the parent of a current applicant, what I want to know is what is likely to happen to the current applicants (the Class of 2026), who started the process months ago? There isn't realistically time to start a whole new admissions process. Isn't the thing to do to eliminate the experience factors (i.e. bonus points for being economically disadvantaged, an English language learner, or attending a historically underrepresented school) and evaluate the current applicants based on the remaining factors (i.e. GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay)?

Just got this email-

Dear TJHSST Applicants & Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to clarify, as best we can at this stage, the current situation regarding the Class of 2026 application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the light of the recent court ruling.

While many questions remain unanswered at this point, we wanted to let our prospective applicants and their families know that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be requesting a “stay” in anticipation of an appeal regarding the judge’s ruling that invalidated the existing application process.

If the “stay” request is granted, it gives us time to formulate an approach that we hope will allow the current evaluation of applicants to be completed in line with the existing process and anticipated release deadline of April 29th.

We are aware that failure to grant the request to “stay” would cause you undue uncertainty. Applicants have met the stringent minimum academic criteria for application, including a GPA of 3.5 or above, along with enrollment in honors level courses. While also completing the short answer/essay responses for the Student Portrait Sheet and Problem-Solving Essay.

The students accepted to the Class of 2025 using this process have proven that increasing diversity in the school has not led to a drop in academic standards.

Fairfax County School Board believes the ruling is not supported by law and is considering all options around an appeal. We believe that our current application process will eventually be proven to meet all legal requirements.

As developments unfold in this matter, we will be sure to reach out again as soon as we have an update for you. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone in the TJ community for your patience and understanding at this time.

Regards,

The stay has been requested:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/04/fairfax-requests-stay-tj-admissions/

Good! Is there a GoFundMe or something to support the stay legal efforts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's another thread where folks can debate the merits of the old and new admissions policy, level accusations of racism, etc. As the parent of a current applicant, what I want to know is what is likely to happen to the current applicants (the Class of 2026), who started the process months ago? There isn't realistically time to start a whole new admissions process. Isn't the thing to do to eliminate the experience factors (i.e. bonus points for being economically disadvantaged, an English language learner, or attending a historically underrepresented school) and evaluate the current applicants based on the remaining factors (i.e. GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay)?

Just got this email-

Dear TJHSST Applicants & Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to clarify, as best we can at this stage, the current situation regarding the Class of 2026 application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the light of the recent court ruling.

While many questions remain unanswered at this point, we wanted to let our prospective applicants and their families know that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be requesting a “stay” in anticipation of an appeal regarding the judge’s ruling that invalidated the existing application process.

If the “stay” request is granted, it gives us time to formulate an approach that we hope will allow the current evaluation of applicants to be completed in line with the existing process and anticipated release deadline of April 29th.

We are aware that failure to grant the request to “stay” would cause you undue uncertainty. Applicants have met the stringent minimum academic criteria for application, including a GPA of 3.5 or above, along with enrollment in honors level courses. While also completing the short answer/essay responses for the Student Portrait Sheet and Problem-Solving Essay.

The students accepted to the Class of 2025 using this process have proven that increasing diversity in the school has not led to a drop in academic standards.

Fairfax County School Board believes the ruling is not supported by law and is considering all options around an appeal. We believe that our current application process will eventually be proven to meet all legal requirements.

As developments unfold in this matter, we will be sure to reach out again as soon as we have an update for you. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone in the TJ community for your patience and understanding at this time.

Regards,

The stay has been requested:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/04/fairfax-requests-stay-tj-admissions/

Good! Is there a GoFundMe or something to support the stay legal efforts?

Of course not. They will just go ahead and spend taxpayer money to support their legal challenges. No need for GoFundMe.

On the other hand, candidates who run to unseat the hypocrites currently serving on the School Board will get lots of donations in 2023 from private citizens fed up with the SB.

Like we're supposed to believe they really give a crap about equity because they waste so much time and attention on TJ, even though they turn a blind eye to how segregated Langley is? GTFOH. They are total phonies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's another thread where folks can debate the merits of the old and new admissions policy, level accusations of racism, etc. As the parent of a current applicant, what I want to know is what is likely to happen to the current applicants (the Class of 2026), who started the process months ago? There isn't realistically time to start a whole new admissions process. Isn't the thing to do to eliminate the experience factors (i.e. bonus points for being economically disadvantaged, an English language learner, or attending a historically underrepresented school) and evaluate the current applicants based on the remaining factors (i.e. GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay)?

Just got this email-

Dear TJHSST Applicants & Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to clarify, as best we can at this stage, the current situation regarding the Class of 2026 application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the light of the recent court ruling.

While many questions remain unanswered at this point, we wanted to let our prospective applicants and their families know that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be requesting a “stay” in anticipation of an appeal regarding the judge’s ruling that invalidated the existing application process.

If the “stay” request is granted, it gives us time to formulate an approach that we hope will allow the current evaluation of applicants to be completed in line with the existing process and anticipated release deadline of April 29th.

We are aware that failure to grant the request to “stay” would cause you undue uncertainty. Applicants have met the stringent minimum academic criteria for application, including a GPA of 3.5 or above, along with enrollment in honors level courses. While also completing the short answer/essay responses for the Student Portrait Sheet and Problem-Solving Essay.

The students accepted to the Class of 2025 using this process have proven that increasing diversity in the school has not led to a drop in academic standards.

Fairfax County School Board believes the ruling is not supported by law and is considering all options around an appeal. We believe that our current application process will eventually be proven to meet all legal requirements.

As developments unfold in this matter, we will be sure to reach out again as soon as we have an update for you. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone in the TJ community for your patience and understanding at this time.

Regards,

The stay has been requested:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/04/fairfax-requests-stay-tj-admissions/

Good! Is there a GoFundMe or something to support the stay legal efforts?

Of course not. They will just go ahead and spend taxpayer money to support their legal challenges. No need for GoFundMe.

On the other hand, candidates who run to unseat the hypocrites currently serving on the School Board will get lots of donations in 2023 from private citizens fed up with the SB.

Like we're supposed to believe they really give a crap about equity because they waste so much time and attention on TJ, even though they turn a blind eye to how segregated Langley is? GTFOH. They are total phonies.

What false equivalence! Langley is not competitive. Everyone who lives in its neighborhood gets to attend. Not the fact that most of those people are white and why is that is a valid question but a whole different topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's another thread where folks can debate the merits of the old and new admissions policy, level accusations of racism, etc. As the parent of a current applicant, what I want to know is what is likely to happen to the current applicants (the Class of 2026), who started the process months ago? There isn't realistically time to start a whole new admissions process. Isn't the thing to do to eliminate the experience factors (i.e. bonus points for being economically disadvantaged, an English language learner, or attending a historically underrepresented school) and evaluate the current applicants based on the remaining factors (i.e. GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay)?

Just got this email-

Dear TJHSST Applicants & Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to clarify, as best we can at this stage, the current situation regarding the Class of 2026 application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the light of the recent court ruling.

While many questions remain unanswered at this point, we wanted to let our prospective applicants and their families know that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be requesting a “stay” in anticipation of an appeal regarding the judge’s ruling that invalidated the existing application process.

If the “stay” request is granted, it gives us time to formulate an approach that we hope will allow the current evaluation of applicants to be completed in line with the existing process and anticipated release deadline of April 29th.

We are aware that failure to grant the request to “stay” would cause you undue uncertainty. Applicants have met the stringent minimum academic criteria for application, including a GPA of 3.5 or above, along with enrollment in honors level courses. While also completing the short answer/essay responses for the Student Portrait Sheet and Problem-Solving Essay.

The students accepted to the Class of 2025 using this process have proven that increasing diversity in the school has not led to a drop in academic standards.

Fairfax County School Board believes the ruling is not supported by law and is considering all options around an appeal. We believe that our current application process will eventually be proven to meet all legal requirements.

As developments unfold in this matter, we will be sure to reach out again as soon as we have an update for you. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone in the TJ community for your patience and understanding at this time.

Regards,

The stay has been requested:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/04/fairfax-requests-stay-tj-admissions/

Good! Is there a GoFundMe or something to support the stay legal efforts?

Of course not. They will just go ahead and spend taxpayer money to support their legal challenges. No need for GoFundMe.

On the other hand, candidates who run to unseat the hypocrites currently serving on the School Board will get lots of donations in 2023 from private citizens fed up with the SB.

Like we're supposed to believe they really give a crap about equity because they waste so much time and attention on TJ, even though they turn a blind eye to how segregated Langley is? GTFOH. They are total phonies.

What false equivalence! Langley is not competitive. Everyone who lives in its neighborhood gets to attend. Not the fact that most of those people are white and why is that is a valid question but a whole different topic.

Now, the fact ….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's another thread where folks can debate the merits of the old and new admissions policy, level accusations of racism, etc. As the parent of a current applicant, what I want to know is what is likely to happen to the current applicants (the Class of 2026), who started the process months ago? There isn't realistically time to start a whole new admissions process. Isn't the thing to do to eliminate the experience factors (i.e. bonus points for being economically disadvantaged, an English language learner, or attending a historically underrepresented school) and evaluate the current applicants based on the remaining factors (i.e. GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay)?

Just got this email-

Dear TJHSST Applicants & Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to clarify, as best we can at this stage, the current situation regarding the Class of 2026 application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the light of the recent court ruling.

While many questions remain unanswered at this point, we wanted to let our prospective applicants and their families know that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be requesting a “stay” in anticipation of an appeal regarding the judge’s ruling that invalidated the existing application process.

If the “stay” request is granted, it gives us time to formulate an approach that we hope will allow the current evaluation of applicants to be completed in line with the existing process and anticipated release deadline of April 29th.

We are aware that failure to grant the request to “stay” would cause you undue uncertainty. Applicants have met the stringent minimum academic criteria for application, including a GPA of 3.5 or above, along with enrollment in honors level courses. While also completing the short answer/essay responses for the Student Portrait Sheet and Problem-Solving Essay.

The students accepted to the Class of 2025 using this process have proven that increasing diversity in the school has not led to a drop in academic standards.

Fairfax County School Board believes the ruling is not supported by law and is considering all options around an appeal. We believe that our current application process will eventually be proven to meet all legal requirements.

As developments unfold in this matter, we will be sure to reach out again as soon as we have an update for you. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone in the TJ community for your patience and understanding at this time.

Regards,

The stay has been requested:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/04/fairfax-requests-stay-tj-admissions/

Good! Is there a GoFundMe or something to support the stay legal efforts?

Of course not. They will just go ahead and spend taxpayer money to support their legal challenges. No need for GoFundMe.

On the other hand, candidates who run to unseat the hypocrites currently serving on the School Board will get lots of donations in 2023 from private citizens fed up with the SB.

Like we're supposed to believe they really give a crap about equity because they waste so much time and attention on TJ, even though they turn a blind eye to how segregated Langley is? GTFOH. They are total phonies.

Langley is a neighborhood school. It is segregated ONLY because of the correlation between race and wealth.

Which, of course, is a big part of why TJ has historically been segregated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

Legal tactic. But they didn't care about the disruptions to the class of 2025. So why now?

The new system seemed to be fairer to all areas not just hose wealthy parts of the county that can afford to spend $10k on prep and the kids selected may be less prepped but seemed to struggle less once they were at TJ.

You can stop with that talking points. Seen it plastered dozens of times. Spout some original thought if you have any.

I wonder what would have happened with the admissions reform if FCPS had approached it from a “prep” standpoint vs racial justice?

Curie Learning Center publicly stating on their FB page that 133 of their students were admitted to the class of 2024 and listed our first and last names. There was some rumblings apparently that some kids had seen the test ahead of time, but I don’t think that was ever clear if it was accurate. I personally don’t have an issue with prep, but curious as to why the FCPS school board didn’t say that they wanted to level the playing field by addressing the issue that prepping seemed to be trending as a defacto requirement for admission? Race is clearly extremely problematic from a legal standpoint, but prep isn’t. (Unless it’s being used as a proxy for race of course.)

Overall, it’s just embarrassing how incompetent the school board is. They managed to make both sides furious.

Yes, Curie attendees made up a third of the admitted class but between them and the other prep centers apparently it was the majority of students. In fact, people who didn't prep had a slim chance of admission apparently. It seems like a way to keep out the poor and cater to the wealthy.

There were rumors that some students bought the test even.

There is no truth to the rumors that students bought the test or had seen the entire test beforehand.

It has been confirmed by multiple Class of 2024 students that they saw some questions on the Quant-Q that they had seen before at Curie. Most likely explanation is that previous Curie students returned after having taken a previous exam and fed them the questions. Hard to see how else it could have happened.

So people are buying the tests for the kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

Legal tactic. But they didn't care about the disruptions to the class of 2025. So why now?

The new system seemed to be fairer to all areas not just hose wealthy parts of the county that can afford to spend $10k on prep and the kids selected may be less prepped but seemed to struggle less once they were at TJ.

You can stop with that talking points. Seen it plastered dozens of times. Spout some original thought if you have any.

I wonder what would have happened with the admissions reform if FCPS had approached it from a “prep” standpoint vs racial justice?

Curie Learning Center publicly stating on their FB page that 133 of their students were admitted to the class of 2024 and listed our first and last names. There was some rumblings apparently that some kids had seen the test ahead of time, but I don’t think that was ever clear if it was accurate. I personally don’t have an issue with prep, but curious as to why the FCPS school board didn’t say that they wanted to level the playing field by addressing the issue that prepping seemed to be trending as a defacto requirement for admission? Race is clearly extremely problematic from a legal standpoint, but prep isn’t. (Unless it’s being used as a proxy for race of course.)

Overall, it’s just embarrassing how incompetent the school board is. They managed to make both sides furious.

Yes, Curie attendees made up a third of the admitted class but between them and the other prep centers apparently it was the majority of students. In fact, people who didn't prep had a slim chance of admission apparently. It seems like a way to keep out the poor and cater to the wealthy.

There were rumors that some students bought the test even.

There is no truth to the rumors that students bought the test or had seen the entire test beforehand.

It has been confirmed by multiple Class of 2024 students that they saw some questions on the Quant-Q that they had seen before at Curie. Most likely explanation is that previous Curie students returned after having taken a previous exam and fed them the questions. Hard to see how else it could have happened.

So people are buying the tests for the kids?

No - students were coming back to Curie and giving them the questions from the previous exams. No one had copies of the exam - or at least, that’s not on the list of what’s been confirmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"'failure to grant this would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments and the development of curriculum'”

This doesn’t make sense to me. Is FCPS thinking about shutting down TJ? The students are academically of the same caliber under the new system. Why would there be much difference to hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and curriculum, esp for 9th grade classes?

Legal tactic. But they didn't care about the disruptions to the class of 2025. So why now?

The new system seemed to be fairer to all areas not just hose wealthy parts of the county that can afford to spend $10k on prep and the kids selected may be less prepped but seemed to struggle less once they were at TJ.

You can stop with that talking points. Seen it plastered dozens of times. Spout some original thought if you have any.

I wonder what would have happened with the admissions reform if FCPS had approached it from a “prep” standpoint vs racial justice?

Curie Learning Center publicly stating on their FB page that 133 of their students were admitted to the class of 2024 and listed our first and last names. There was some rumblings apparently that some kids had seen the test ahead of time, but I don’t think that was ever clear if it was accurate. I personally don’t have an issue with prep, but curious as to why the FCPS school board didn’t say that they wanted to level the playing field by addressing the issue that prepping seemed to be trending as a defacto requirement for admission? Race is clearly extremely problematic from a legal standpoint, but prep isn’t. (Unless it’s being used as a proxy for race of course.)

Overall, it’s just embarrassing how incompetent the school board is. They managed to make both sides furious.

They rushed something that is complicated to figure out. The quick and dirty method, which antagonized large swaths of people interested in the school, was never going to work out. They spent huge amounts of taxpayers money (PR firm, etc.), tons of hours and resources, and are now managing to piss off all sides. One could have done something a lot more gradual (just eliminating test and fees, for example, while keeping recommendation letters, etc.) or even on a limited basis (experimenting with new method for letting in half of the student body). But now we are in a s*tstorm and families are in limbo. The fact that the 9th graders are not doing that well in AMC tests, dropping out in far greater numbers than in previous years, and many forced to take remedial classes in Algebra--all of this is not helping. The gradual approach would have helped with this too and they could correct things as they progressed.

AND they did all this during a pandemic. Instead of using the time to figure out how to get kids back in school.

[Anonymous]

When do we know if the stay order is approved or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When do we know if the stay order is approved or not?

Don't worry, the racist board will be quick to celebrate being able to continue their systemic racism practices. They'll send an email to prospective students/parents if they get a stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When do we know if the stay order is approved or not?

Don't worry, the racist board will be quick to celebrate being able to continue their systemic racism practices. They'll send an email to prospective students/parents if they get a stay.

It would appear that someone on this board is getting a dime every time they say the word "racist" or "racism". It's actually borderline amusing in the same way that watching drunk people stumble around is funny.