TJ's PTSA Diversity Committee chair endorses Strauss, not Epstein

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a student at TJ, I thought that was a poorly written editorial.

This. Seriously. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

I'm willing to entertain the idea that one candidate doesn't support diversity and this is a problem, but i expect a little more show and less tell.

I realize Abraham is just a high school student, but the moment he sought to leverage his title with a letter to the local paper, the standards rose. WHICH minority groups are excluded? HOW exactly did Epstein "sabotage" diversity efforts? That allegation, FWIW, bordered on libel.

[Anonymous]

If Abrahama's point was that enough isn't done to recruit blacks and Hispanics, he could have said this more plainly.

[Anonymous]

Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

No diversity committee will fix the problem of attracting more qualified black and hispanic American citizen applicants to TJ. The disparity in achievement is largely due to family/home environment factors and it usually starts in the early childhood years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

I assumed he was a parent but maybe these other posters know that not to be the case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

I assumed he was a parent but maybe these other posters know that not to be the case?

That would be a parent on the PTA diversity committee. I've met both Strauss and Epstein over the years. Epstein is more about academics - very kind even about those who are gifted with disabilities. Doesn't care about race but does care about opportunity for all. Would never tolerate or slough off a constituent with a racial discrimination issue. Nor would she tolerate abuse of women just to preserve public image of a school. Strauss is a politician and enjoys the hob nob with VIP's.

[Anonymous]

I really think it's just time for Strauss to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

No diversity committee will fix the problem of attracting more qualified black and hispanic American citizen applicants to TJ. The disparity in achievement is largely due to family/home environment factors and it usually starts in the early childhood years.

I believe Lerner lives in Herndon and is in his early 50s.

He didn't say he was in favor of enrolling random Black and Hispanic students in TJ. He apparently thinks TJ should do more to enroll qualified minorities other than Asians, and found Epstein strenuously opposed to any such initiatives.

The Ivies and other top universities don't simply accept the students with the top GPAs and SATs, but perhaps they aren't in the same league as TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

No diversity committee will fix the problem of attracting more qualified black and hispanic American citizen applicants to TJ. The disparity in achievement is largely due to family/home environment factors and it usually starts in the early childhood years.

I believe Lerner lives in Herndon and is in his early 50s.

He didn't say he was in favor of enrolling random Black and Hispanic students in TJ. He apparently thinks TJ should do more to enroll qualified minorities other than Asians, and found Epstein strenuously opposed to any such initiatives.

The Ivies and other top universities don't simply accept the students with the top GPAs and SATs, but perhaps they aren't in the same league as TJ.

18:55 again. There have always been differences in academics between FCPS elementary and middle schools. One middle school didn't even offer algebra 1 until recently. All elementary schools didn't have compacted math and it was only this academic year that FCPS tried to get it everywhere. These disparities are really amazing. Strauss has been on the board for 18 years. Focus on academics??? TJ is a math-science magnet. The sort of students who in college major in engineering , comp sci, and actually enjoy organic chemistry. Many public school students take algebra 1 and geometry in middle school. Standard sequence completed by end of grade 8.


http://www.fcag.org/tjinfo.html#minorities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Abraham Lerner a student or an adult?

No diversity committee will fix the problem of attracting more qualified black and hispanic American citizen applicants to TJ. The disparity in achievement is largely due to family/home environment factors and it usually starts in the early childhood years.

I believe Lerner lives in Herndon and is in his early 50s.

He didn't say he was in favor of enrolling random Black and Hispanic students in TJ. He apparently thinks TJ should do more to enroll qualified minorities other than Asians, and found Epstein strenuously opposed to any such initiatives.

The Ivies and other top universities don't simply accept the students with the top GPAs and SATs, but perhaps they aren't in the same league as TJ.

I did not claim or suggest Lerner is "in favor of enrolling random Black and Hispanic students" at TJ. My point is that TJ is not responsible for lower average achievement levels and home environments of many non-Asian and non-white students. Throwing money into special enrichment programs exclusively for black/hispanic students doesn't seem to be working, either. It's wonderful that they want to have more under-represented minorities at TJ, but they don't seem to realize why fewer black and hispanic students meet the criteria for admittance.

There are (or used to be) more students of black and hispanic ethnicity at TJ. Many are of mixed ancestry. More asians this year.

[Anonymous]

8:28 here/wanted to add: Why should it even matter what color the TJ students' skins are, or with what ancestral background they identify? Why do these numbers matter? Admittance should be based on academic level alone--not on race/skin color or excessive padding of activity resumes. I would love to see more talented black students at TJ, and so would the TJ students. No one thinks black kids aren't capable. It's more a problem of getting students on the path to higher learning when they are young. By the time they're in middle school, it's usually too late to try to help them be ready for TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:28 here/wanted to add: Why should it even matter what color the TJ students' skins are, or with what ancestral background they identify? Why do these numbers matter? Admittance should be based on academic level alone--not on race/skin color or excessive padding of activity resumes. I would love to see more talented black students at TJ, and so would the TJ students. No one thinks black kids aren't capable. It's more a problem of getting students on the path to higher learning when they are young. By the time they're in middle school, it's usually too late to try to help them be ready for TJ.

Let's shift gears, then. What, if anything, would Epstein favor to strengthen the elementary school educations of black and Hispanic students? I assume it's not smaller class sizes, since she wants class sizes in the schools that most black and Hispanic students attend to be larger, so that class sizes in primarily white/Asian schools in Dranesville can be smaller.

[Anonymous]

How can Strauss claim credit for bringing FDK to the remaining schools in Fairfax? She didn't sign up until the very last possible second and only after the schools had to fund it themselves. Thanks for the help Janie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Let's shift gears, then. What, if anything, would Epstein favor to strengthen the elementary school educations of black and Hispanic students? I assume it's not smaller class sizes, since she wants class sizes in the schools that most black and Hispanic students attend to be larger, so that class sizes in primarily white/Asian schools in Dranesville can be smaller.

When has anyone advocated for larger class sizes? Please site your source. Otherwise, your preposterous claim is mere spin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let's shift gears, then. What, if anything, would Epstein favor to strengthen the elementary school educations of black and Hispanic students? I assume it's not smaller class sizes, since she wants class sizes in the schools that most black and Hispanic students attend to be larger, so that class sizes in primarily white/Asian schools in Dranesville can be smaller.

When has anyone advocated for larger class sizes? Please site your source. Otherwise, your preposterous claim is mere spin.

Oh, I forgot. Louise will magically find money in the budget because she's a tax lawyer.

It was, after all, her campaign manager who said on behalf that poorer kids in other areas were "making out like bandits."

So, given that she won't find tons of extra money in the budget and her campaign manager has complained about the benefits available to poorer children, it seems reasonably clear that Epstein favors moving resources from poorer districts to Dranesville, which will increase class sizes in the poorer districts.

It's not spin, it's deductive reasoning. If that's not what Epstein favors, what does she favor and how will she fund it? Or is it possible that she doesn't really mean it and just says it hoping it will boost her chances in a campaign?

[Anonymous]

It's just like Northern Virginians not wanted to be the trust fund babies for the entire state's tax base. So, too, Dranesville districts and others are a little tired of always being at the bottom of every list to get things/programs/teachers from the school board. But go ahead and say we're stealing it from the poor.