TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants

[Anonymous]

I think this is all a scare tactic by admissions. They hope the request for documentation will cause some parents to decline offers but the parents will fight to hold onto those seats even if it means filing a lawsuit. Once the breakdown of low income by school data is available it may become obvious which families likely cheated. If FCPS does not fix this the assumption will be that at least some families cheated their way into the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still do not believe they will rescind any offers. This may be more of a CYA thing.

+100

There are 180-190 kids in the class of 2026 who are “economically disadvantaged” and now have to provide proof of income. (Who know how many on the waitlist?) It’s too big of a problem to fix. How will they (try to) fix it?

1) sweep the problem under the rug. (This is FCPS, so clearly the most likely to happen. Am I right?)

2) recind the offers to those that lied and go to the waitlist. But the waitlist is littered with false “economically disadvantaged”
As well. No way do they go to kids who have already been flat out rejected.

To salvage any bit of respect, they need to go with option 2. Do it right or resign.

[Anonymous]

I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear TJHSST Applicant and Parent/Guardian,

You are receiving this letter because you responded “yes” on page five of your application in response to the question “Are you eligible for free meals?” This question was asked to allow us to identify those applicants who meet the criteria for the Economically Disadvantaged Experience Factor, as outlined in Regulation 3355.

In order to confirm your seat in the TJHSST Class of 2026, or in the wait pool, you must confirm your eligibility for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal (FRM) Program. You may do this in one of two ways:


By providing a certification from your school or school division showing your inclusion in FRM. If you do not have a copy of this certification, you may obtain it by calling FCPS Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800 or 703-813-4844 (current FCPS students only) or by contacting the Food and Nutrition Services office in your school division. This certification should be sent by email to [e-mail] no later than 4 p.m. on June 10.


2. By submitting one of the following items by email to [e-mail] no later than 4 p.m. on June 10:
o Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Certification Notice and/or Case Number
o Documentation showing that you are a foster child under the case of a foster agency or court (alternatively, provide the name and contact information for a person at the agency or court who can verify your foster status)
o A letter from your school or division verifying your status as a homeless, migrant, or runaway youth
o Documentation showing your family’s household income falls below the 2021-22 SY USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines outlined below:

o

We will review all submissions promptly. Once your FRM eligibility is confirmed, we will notify you that your submission is adequate and no further action is necessary.

If your FRM eligibility is not confirmed, or if you fail to submit documentation showing your FRM eligibility, we will consider you FRM ineligible and will re-evaluate your application accordingly. Reevaluation of your application may result in a change of admission decision, so it is critical that you confirm your FRM eligibility by the June 10, 4 p.m. deadline.

If you have any questions, or need any assistance obtaining or submitting your documentation, please contact TJHSST Admissions; [e-mail] or call 571-423-3770.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Regards,
Jeremy



Jeremy Shughart, ED.S.
Director of Admissions
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Fairfax County Public Schools
571-423-3770

Better late than never.

My DC (All A's, Algebra II, 600s in Math SOLs since 3rd grade, and in (previous) feeder school) was waitlisted and we had come to terms with the outcome. This is despite numerous kids jeering that "they had done nothing to get into TJ except to answer yes to the meals question." Let's just say that a lot of the acceptances were big surprises given some of the historical performances of these other kids (and their household income status). I mean they openly were boasting about getting in despite B's in math and science classes.

We are still okay going to base school, but hopefully some of these other kids who misrepresented (and boasted about it) sweats a little.

My DC didn't answer the question by the way (it was optional) because didn't know how to given the special COVID circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is all a scare tactic by admissions. They hope the request for documentation will cause some parents to decline offers but the parents will fight to hold onto those seats even if it means filing a lawsuit. Once the breakdown of low income by school data is available it may become obvious which families likely cheated. If FCPS does not fix this the assumption will be that at least some families cheated their way into the school.

With the admission standard set so low, it is impossible to know who cheated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

When responsibility falls on so may people, it falls on no one in particular.

[Anonymous]

How does the TJ Admissions staff still have their jobs? I don’t see how they can fix this and the legal bills are going to be astronomical.

A lottery would have been better than this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

When responsibility falls on so may people, it falls on no one in particular.

Who signed the email today?

Jeremy Shughart, ED.S.
Director of Admissions
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Fairfax County Public Schools
571-423-3770

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

Agreed, and yet here we are. So what is the best way out of this mess?

There need not be any penalty for answering yes. We can agree that anyone who answered yes answered truthfully. But we're now being told that the question about eligibility for free meals was meant to determine economically disadvantaged status (despite its not having been clearly worded as such and being a poor proxy for such in light of pandemic policies). And getting free lunch because everyone got free lunch during the pandemic is, we can all agree, *not* the same as being economically disadvantaged. The admissions criterion is being economically disadvantaged, not eligibility for free lunch. Nobody has grounds to argue that they deserve the EF points because of pandemic eligibility for free lunch.

Families with sufficiently low income have documentation of such and can provide it; they and only they should get FRM experience factor points.

There is already a lawsuit about the admission process more generally. I think that there would be grounds for a lawsuit if some applicants undeservedly got FRM EF points just by answering yes, so that needs to be rectified and it seems that it will be. There might also be grounds for a lawsuit if offers of admission are rescinded, but that strikes me as the right bullet to bite in this case. It's a mess either way, but getting closer to the right grout of admittees has to be the preferred goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

When responsibility falls on so may people, it falls on no one in particular.

Who signed the email today?

Jeremy Shughart, ED.S.
Director of Admissions
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Fairfax County Public Schools
571-423-3770

This is after the fiasco. He is trying to fix it.

[Anonymous]

After this episode is sorted out, can TJ ask to verify if the remote essay testing was independently performed right before the school starts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear TJHSST Applicant and Parent/Guardian,

You are receiving this letter because you responded “yes” on page five of your application in response to the question “Are you eligible for free meals?” This question was asked to allow us to identify those applicants who meet the criteria for the Economically Disadvantaged Experience Factor, as outlined in Regulation 3355.

In order to confirm your seat in the TJHSST Class of 2026, or in the wait pool, you must confirm your eligibility for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal (FRM) Program. You may do this in one of two ways:


By providing a certification from your school or school division showing your inclusion in FRM. If you do not have a copy of this certification, you may obtain it by calling FCPS Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800 or 703-813-4844 (current FCPS students only) or by contacting the Food and Nutrition Services office in your school division. This certification should be sent by email to [e-mail] no later than 4 p.m. on June 10.


2. By submitting one of the following items by email to [e-mail] no later than 4 p.m. on June 10:
o Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Certification Notice and/or Case Number
o Documentation showing that you are a foster child under the case of a foster agency or court (alternatively, provide the name and contact information for a person at the agency or court who can verify your foster status)
o A letter from your school or division verifying your status as a homeless, migrant, or runaway youth
o Documentation showing your family’s household income falls below the 2021-22 SY USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines outlined below:

o

We will review all submissions promptly. Once your FRM eligibility is confirmed, we will notify you that your submission is adequate and no further action is necessary.

If your FRM eligibility is not confirmed, or if you fail to submit documentation showing your FRM eligibility, we will consider you FRM ineligible and will re-evaluate your application accordingly. Reevaluation of your application may result in a change of admission decision, so it is critical that you confirm your FRM eligibility by the June 10, 4 p.m. deadline.

If you have any questions, or need any assistance obtaining or submitting your documentation, please contact TJHSST Admissions; [e-mail] or call 571-423-3770.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Regards,
Jeremy



Jeremy Shughart, ED.S.
Director of Admissions
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Fairfax County Public Schools
571-423-3770

Better late than never.

My DC (All A's, Algebra II, 600s in Math SOLs since 3rd grade, and in (previous) feeder school) was waitlisted and we had come to terms with the outcome. This is despite numerous kids jeering that "they had done nothing to get into TJ except to answer yes to the meals question." Let's just say that a lot of the acceptances were big surprises given some of the historical performances of these other kids (and their household income status). I mean they openly were boasting about getting in despite B's in math and science classes.

We are still okay going to base school, but hopefully some of these other kids who misrepresented (and boasted about it) sweats a little.

My DC didn't answer the question by the way (it was optional) because didn't know how to given the special COVID circumstances.

It was on the parent portion of the application.

And I don’t think it was optional? Better to leave blank than misrepresent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

I think it was a legacy question from previous years when answering it did mean that you were low-income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guarantee that there are parents of admitted students hiring lawyers to respond. FCPS caused this situation by not asking the question clearly for two years in a row despite many parents pointing out the issues.

If admitted parents band together, I don’t see how FCPS can fight them affectively. There are statements on the FCPS website, in email blasts and in news bulletins from school board members. Many of these contain the words “all students are eligible for free meals”.

The TJ admissions office should have done their jobs and figured out a solution BEFORE sending out offers. Not after the sh!t is already out of the horse.

+1 I don't even live in Virginia so I have no dog in this race, but was no one in TJ administration capable of writing a clear question with a big impact on admissions?

When responsibility falls on so may people, it falls on no one in particular.

Who signed the email today?

Jeremy Shughart, ED.S.
Director of Admissions
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Fairfax County Public Schools
571-423-3770

This is after the fiasco. He is trying to fix it.

No, he is the director of admissions. The application was his responsibility and he didn’t ask the right questions, including asking for proof of income to meet the factor set by the Board.