TJ Environment Now

[Anonymous]

Eh - DC is there and I think teachers are a mixed bag. There are some that per DC don’t seem to actually teach well (not sour grapes - DC has a good grade still).

But yes to the other comments about the kids being a bit shielded from the normal stuff that goes on at a typical school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 at TJ. There is definitely a range of teacher quality like any school. I can’t say what TJ was like under old admissions because both of mine are there under the new system. They are different kids but both like the school. They love the stem options and most of all being at school full of motivated stem focused kids. They do a variety of non stem activities. Sports and music and clubs. It’s a great school. But you need to be comfortable with competition. Either someone who likes it (one of my kids) or someone indifferent to it (my other). Because if you hate competition it’s a tough place.

[Anonymous]

Oh. And a lot of the parents put too much pressure on their kids. That can be rough for the kids who have to deal with that. That’s not how our family is, so not as big a deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

If you think these are problems at TJ, you need to spend more time at a base school. You have lost perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone who has a child at TJ under the new admissions standards/testing share what the student body is like now? Any information about this is helpful as we explore possible options for HS. Thank you!

Our child is doing well and TJ is a good fit. Classes are across the board much more difficult than base HS. We transferred from base HS so have something to compare. If child is intensely into academics and would enjoy a high level of rigor, TJ is the place to be. Great experience. College wise it is probably a bit of a drag for Top 20 admissions. But it is a better HS experience for our child.

For our second child we would not be applying to TJ. Second child also very good in academics but not quite like first child. Base HS would be a much better experience.

You know your child and I am sure you would make the right choice for them.

Good luck!

Could it be because your child is taking advanced classes with possibly some students from class of 2024 (last batch from old selection) too?

Stop trying to make fetch happen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

Present and prevalent are two very different things. They have always been present at TJ for as long as vaping has been a thing - and smoking before that. Believe it or not, there were much more serious drug problems at TJ back in the 90s.

But they have never been prevalent to the extent that they are at many high schools. By and large, kids at TJ do not let things get in the way of their academic pursuits. The best thing about going there (and for any new-admissions-process naysayers, this hasn't changed at all in the past few years) is that essentially 100% of the student population cares about school and wants to do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

Present and prevalent are two very different things. They have always been present at TJ for as long as vaping has been a thing - and smoking before that. Believe it or not, there were much more serious drug problems at TJ back in the 90s.

But they have never been prevalent to the extent that they are at many high schools. By and large, kids at TJ do not let things get in the way of their academic pursuits. The best thing about going there (and for any new-admissions-process naysayers, this hasn't changed at all in the past few years) is that essentially 100% of the student population cares about school and wants to do well.

+1. Peer group is just great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

Present and prevalent are two very different things. They have always been present at TJ for as long as vaping has been a thing - and smoking before that. Believe it or not, there were much more serious drug problems at TJ back in the 90s.

But they have never been prevalent to the extent that they are at many high schools. By and large, kids at TJ do not let things get in the way of their academic pursuits. The best thing about going there (and for any new-admissions-process naysayers, this hasn't changed at all in the past few years) is that essentially 100% of the student population cares about school and wants to do well.

+1. Peer group is just great.

Peer group is great if you are among the smart kids coming in from the top middle schools. Kids who struggle pretty much stay out of all activities and keep the suffering to themselves, and get repeatedly told it's OK to get Bs and Cs.

[Anonymous]

My kid gets the occasional B and still loves it. Both academically and socially. I could see that Cs might be discouraging. Why not leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What is the BS that your kids is missing? Is it from kids? Teachers? Class material?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a freshman at TJ. He loves it. He is friends with his classmates and finds them to be supportive, he feels like he fits in, the workload has been reasonable (so far—we know it ramps up), he likes the extracurricular activities baked into the day, and he likes not having to deal with the BS that exists in a lot of other high schools. He’s a bright STEM kid who is motivated but also keeps things in perspective. I think it’s important for a kid to make up their own mind on whether to attend.

What BS would that be?

Vaping, kids taking AP and honors courses who don’t belong in them, lousy teachers.

All of these things are present at TJ now.

Present and prevalent are two very different things. They have always been present at TJ for as long as vaping has been a thing - and smoking before that. Believe it or not, there were much more serious drug problems at TJ back in the 90s.

But they have never been prevalent to the extent that they are at many high schools. By and large, kids at TJ do not let things get in the way of their academic pursuits. The best thing about going there (and for any new-admissions-process naysayers, this hasn't changed at all in the past few years) is that essentially 100% of the student population cares about school and wants to do well.

The only real constant at TJ is the over-the-top self-congratulation, which readily adapts to changes in the student population. Too bad you’re not all that academically distinctive any longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The student body now is a little bit more Black and Hispanic, but not by much. Last year Hispanic kids at TJ passed 100% of their AP exams and there was only one Black kid that did not pass their exam, so clearly Black and Hispanic kids aren't dragging anything down. Asian kids have AP pass rates that remain very, very high at 99.5% given they had 650 Asian kids take an AP exam. So, the new admission standards and the effect it has on the make-up of the student body shouldn't be of concern. It's still the same rigorous TJ.

It also seems a lot less toxic than before but I think it had more to do with the type of students that did anything to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The student body now is a little bit more Black and Hispanic, but not by much. Last year Hispanic kids at TJ passed 100% of their AP exams and there was only one Black kid that did not pass their exam, so clearly Black and Hispanic kids aren't dragging anything down. Asian kids have AP pass rates that remain very, very high at 99.5% given they had 650 Asian kids take an AP exam. So, the new admission standards and the effect it has on the make-up of the student body shouldn't be of concern. It's still the same rigorous TJ.

It also seems a lot less toxic than before but I think it had more to do with the type of students that did anything to get in.

I think the current principal has driven an intentional effort to help ratchet down the stress and competitive feel for students’ mental health and that is why it feels different than in the past. I like her

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The student body now is a little bit more Black and Hispanic, but not by much. Last year Hispanic kids at TJ passed 100% of their AP exams and there was only one Black kid that did not pass their exam, so clearly Black and Hispanic kids aren't dragging anything down. Asian kids have AP pass rates that remain very, very high at 99.5% given they had 650 Asian kids take an AP exam. So, the new admission standards and the effect it has on the make-up of the student body shouldn't be of concern. It's still the same rigorous TJ.

Where do you find school AP data? Is it broken down by subject or just aggregated?