December 17 - TJ decision?

[Anonymous]

So the top 1.5 percent at each school are guaranteed admission?

Then they look at the rest to fill the class?

[Anonymous]

This is the motion that passed regarding next year's class:

revise the admissions process for TJHSST utilizing the Holistic Review Process outlined on pages 10 , 11 and 12 of the Superintendent’s presentation to the Board on December 7. The Superintendent’s Holistic Review process must be modified to establish that, as part of the review process, the top 1.5% of the 8th grade class at each public middle school who meet the minimum standards--based on GPA in core classes, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay and experience factors--will be eligible for admission. The admission process must use only race-neutral methods that do not seek to achieve any specific racial or ethnic mix, balance, or targets. These changes are effective with the admissions process for the class entering TJHSST in the Fall of 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the motion that passed regarding next year's class:

revise the admissions process for TJHSST utilizing the Holistic Review Process outlined on pages 10 , 11 and 12 of the Superintendent’s presentation to the Board on December 7. The Superintendent’s Holistic Review process must be modified to establish that, as part of the review process, the top 1.5% of the 8th grade class at each public middle school who meet the minimum standards--based on GPA in core classes, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay and experience factors--will be eligible for admission. The admission process must use only race-neutral methods that do not seek to achieve any specific racial or ethnic mix, balance, or targets. These changes are effective with the admissions process for the class entering TJHSST in the Fall of 2021.

The bulk of that motion was undoubtedly drafted by legal counsel to try and reduce the litigation risk, but the whole point of the "holistic review" is to get students to emphasize their gender, race, and economic circumstances in their "portrait sheets" so that FCPS can then bring down the percentage of Asian kids by elevating "experience factors" over academic qualifications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the motion that passed regarding next year's class:

revise the admissions process for TJHSST utilizing the Holistic Review Process outlined on pages 10 , 11 and 12 of the Superintendent’s presentation to the Board on December 7. The Superintendent’s Holistic Review process must be modified to establish that, as part of the review process, the top 1.5% of the 8th grade class at each public middle school who meet the minimum standards--based on GPA in core classes, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay and experience factors--will be eligible for admission. The admission process must use only race-neutral methods that do not seek to achieve any specific racial or ethnic mix, balance, or targets. These changes are effective with the admissions process for the class entering TJHSST in the Fall of 2021.

The bulk of that motion was undoubtedly drafted by legal counsel to try and reduce the litigation risk, but the whole point of the "holistic review" is to get students to emphasize their gender, race, and economic circumstances in their "portrait sheets" so that FCPS can then bring down the percentage of Asian kids by elevating "experience factors" over academic qualifications.

Yes. That's an accurate summary. And I love it!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't there a lawsuit to put a stop to this? Whatever happened with that?

The same thing that happened to Trump's lawsuits. Worthless arguments.

[Anonymous]

So the top 1.5 percent is eligible, but not guaranteed, admission?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the top 1.5 percent is eligible, but not guaranteed, admission?

It is 100% unclear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the top 1.5 percent at each school are guaranteed admission?

Then they look at the rest to fill the class?

They will increase the entering classes to 550 kids.

There are about 14000 8th grade students at the FCPS middle/secondary schools. 1.5% of that number is 210 students. These are the top 1.5% at each middle/secondary school based on the "holistic review," which includes GPA, the problem-solving exercise, the portrait sheet and the "experience factors." This is not the top 1.5% of TJ applicants at each middle school as would have been determined in prior years. So that means as many as 12 kids guaranteed at Carson (the middle school with the most 8th graders) down to as few as 3 kids at Holmes (the middle school with the fewest 8th graders).

Assume based on the presentation materials that 165 seats are set aside for students from other participating jurisdictions (Arlington, FCC, Loudoun, and Prince Williams). That gets you up to 375 students.

That would leave another 175 seats for Fairfax County students, attending public or private schools, who'd be part of the same county-wide pool and again evaluated under the "holistic" approach. Whether most of those seats are filled by kids who attend the middle schools that have traditionally sent the most kids to TJ depends upon how the new "holistic" factors are evaluated.

It will clearly be a much more subjective process than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't there a lawsuit to put a stop to this? Whatever happened with that?

The same thing that happened to Trump's lawsuits. Worthless arguments.

I think we would have heard by now had the lawsuit actually been dismissed.

[Anonymous]

Let's say Longfellow has 650 8th graders but only 150 apply for TJ next year. Does that mean only 1.5% of 150 or 3 are guaranteed admission in the first round? Some MSs only have 50 or less applying.

[Anonymous]

Well, there goes TJ being the best high school in the country. This is the end result of leftist ideology, not an improvement for the masses, but a cutting down of the top performers.

You get what you vote for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, there goes TJ being the best high school in the country. This is the end result of leftist ideology, not an improvement for the masses, but a cutting down of the top performers.

You get what you vote for.

The top performers will still be top performers. Their parents just won't be able to drive around with TJ stickers on their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say Longfellow has 650 8th graders but only 150 apply for TJ next year. Does that mean only 1.5% of 150 or 3 are guaranteed admission in the first round? Some MSs only have 50 or less applying.

The language of the adopted motion strongly suggests it would be 1.5% of the the 8th grade class at each middle school (650 at Longfellow in your scenario), regardless of how many choose to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, there goes TJ being the best high school in the country. This is the end result of leftist ideology, not an improvement for the masses, but a cutting down of the top performers.

You get what you vote for.

The top performers will still be top performers. Their parents just won't be able to drive around with TJ stickers on their cars.

TJ provides superior quality education than other surrounding schools. Those top performers will now not perform as well as if they had gone to TJ. Meanwhile, TJ's performance as a school will be brought down to a lower level. So the school suffers, the better-academically-qualified students suffer, all so that there are more students of the desirable skin color in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1.5% from each school does not make sense without a minimum and without acknowledging centers get more kids. Are they doing away with middle school centers too?

It’s a minimum 1.5% from each middle school and that minimum means more kids from the middle schools with more 8th graders, which are usually AAP centers. They don’t care if the top 1.5% from Poe might not be in the top 20% at Carson because they have decided broader geographic representation is more important.

I give it by next year for some people to be renting in the unrepresented middle school boundaries or leaving their AAP center for 8th grade at their base middle school if it gives a better shot at TJ.

Won't help. They don't have the right skin tone.