TJ Parents and Alumni - Time to Get On Board

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I am a realist.

The status quo is changing. You can either be a part of that change - help FCPS and TJ figure out how to implement - or you can keep complaining.

I wrote my SB member suggesting that each MS identify a handful of students - no more than 10 per MS - of the truly gifted in STEM - as my experience with TJ has been that while there are a handful of kids in each class who are truly head and shoulders above the rest, the rest of the kids are generally interchangeable and could have been replaced by other kids who applied and were not accepted. She wrote back that this was the kind of concrete suggestion they needed - not just saying "no lottery."

Um, that's half the class right there.

I suspect McLaughlin, Pekarsky and Tholen will go through the motions of raising concerns given how many current TJ kids come from Dranesville and Sully, but the rest of the woke mob will approve Brabrand's proposal.

And this is just TJ. They'll come after the good "regular" schools next. Buckle up, Langley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, forgot to add, Brabrand pretty much rejected outright the idea that any kid needs TJ at last night's town hall meeting so he will not be supportive of MS recommending kids. He doesn't even want teacher input. They're all biased, apparently.

FCAG suggested a two stage process that tried to get at the group of kids that really are suited for TJ (as it currently stands).

FCPS Superintendent Brabrand is a Class-A Moron!

[Anonymous]

My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

[Anonymous]

OP here - nope, my youngest is the current TJ student.

Reality check - your parent's choice of residence determines most every aspect of your child's education. Kids in the Langley pyramid go through schools that are demonstrably better (based on test scores) than kids in the Justice pyramid. That is exactly the point of the TJ merit lottery - to spread some of those opportunities around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

The mentality above is one of the key issues with families in this area that are involved in the TJ mania.

They make all of their decisions based on the relentless pursuit of self-interest, and cannot possibly fathom someone else having a mentality that is community-focused. So they must assume that anyone who disagrees with them is therefore self-interested.

It's the ultimate display of narcissism - assuming, since you are a narcissist, that everyone else must be as well. It's a very sad existence.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are comparing the best high school in Region 1 with a not-too-good high school in Region 2. Let's look at South Lakes (Region 1) and Mclean (Region 2). Do you honestly think that kids in South Lakes are more affluent or have better opportunities than kids slated for Mclean? Yet, kids in region 1 (including those in the South Lakes pyramid) will have a lower chance of admission to TJ because they are competing with many more students. This lottery, as it is now, separates by regions, not pyramids and will not guarantee an even spread in opportunities according to socioeconomic class. Just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

The mentality above is one of the key issues with families in this area that are involved in the TJ mania.

They make all of their decisions based on the relentless pursuit of self-interest, and cannot possibly fathom someone else having a mentality that is community-focused. So they must assume that anyone who disagrees with them is therefore self-interested.

It's the ultimate display of narcissism - assuming, since you are a narcissist, that everyone else must be as well. It's a very sad existence.

Since you are such a selfless individual, let me see you give up your job or your home comfort for the less fortunate who have not had the same opportunities as you did. I don't see any of you giving up anything but demanding that others do. Such hypocrisy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

I would never lie to my children that the school for the best has become the school for the slightly above average random.

It was never and is not "the school for the best" (and what does "best" even mean?!). We don't live in an X-Men comic or Harry Potter book. It's a school for students with aptitude and ambition to pursue advanced high school coursework with an emphasis on STEM, that is currently doing a poor job of selecting for anything other than extensive test grooming.

+1

TJ, before the change, had become nothing but the laughing stock of high achieving parents - maybe not Asian parents, but everyone else. It would just be a matter of time before colleges think TJ was a joke, also. Something had to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are comparing the best high school in Region 1 with a not-too-good high school in Region 2. Let's look at South Lakes (Region 1) and Mclean (Region 2). Do you honestly think that kids in South Lakes are more affluent or have better opportunities than kids slated for Mclean? Yet, kids in region 1 (including those in the South Lakes pyramid) will have a lower chance of admission to TJ because they are competing with many more students. This lottery, as it is now, separates by regions, not pyramids and will not guarantee an even spread in opportunities according to socioeconomic class. Just my 2 cents.

OP here - fair point. Will be interesting to see if the "holistic review" ends up with every kid from Region 1 coming from the same middle school or some similarly severe imbalance. Do you have specific suggestions for redistributing the regions? My sense was they were trying to break up the feeder school system at TJ - is that what you see?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I am a realist.

The status quo is changing. You can either be a part of that change - help FCPS and TJ figure out how to implement - or you can keep complaining.

I wrote my SB member suggesting that each MS identify a handful of students - no more than 10 per MS - of the truly gifted in STEM - as my experience with TJ has been that while there are a handful of kids in each class who are truly head and shoulders above the rest, the rest of the kids are generally interchangeable and could have been replaced by other kids who applied and were not accepted. She wrote back that this was the kind of concrete suggestion they needed - not just saying "no lottery."

Oh, so you’re not on board with the proposal. Got it. Yes, of course, we have been communicating our ideas to our Board members. I spoke with one yesterday and have another meeting in a few weeks. The proposal is not thought out or detailed, nor is it wise. There is no need to accept it and move on a week after it was issued from above.

DP. There isn't any amount of barking from the alumni, parents, or current students that will have an ounce of impact on the current school board, Brabrand, or TJ Admissions.

Many TJ Alum have pushed for this so . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

The mentality above is one of the key issues with families in this area that are involved in the TJ mania.

They make all of their decisions based on the relentless pursuit of self-interest, and cannot possibly fathom someone else having a mentality that is community-focused. So they must assume that anyone who disagrees with them is therefore self-interested.

It's the ultimate display of narcissism - assuming, since you are a narcissist, that everyone else must be as well. It's a very sad existence.

Since you are such a selfless individual, let me see you give up your job or your home comfort for the less fortunate who have not had the same opportunities as you did. I don't see any of you giving up anything but demanding that others do. Such hypocrisy!

Ummm - what exactly are you being asked to "give up"? - nobody is suggesting you have to move out of your home or your great school pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

The mentality above is one of the key issues with families in this area that are involved in the TJ mania.

They make all of their decisions based on the relentless pursuit of self-interest, and cannot possibly fathom someone else having a mentality that is community-focused. So they must assume that anyone who disagrees with them is therefore self-interested.

It's the ultimate display of narcissism - assuming, since you are a narcissist, that everyone else must be as well. It's a very sad existence.

Since you are such a selfless individual, let me see you give up your job or your home comfort for the less fortunate who have not had the same opportunities as you did. I don't see any of you giving up anything but demanding that others do. Such hypocrisy!

NP here. Actually, some of today's immigrants have FAR more opportunities than I EVER did. Big assumptions on your part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My take on TJ parents supporting the new admission process is that they might have something to gain from it. OP, for example, said her kid was from an under represented MS, so maybe she has a younger child who would benefit from such change. Her child would only be competing against other TJ hopefuls from her region (which probably has sent few kids to TJ) as opposed to against all of FCPS. Now, with the new process, her child's chance at getting in through lottery is much higher than a child who attends one of the feeder.

I am all for diversity and understand its importance, but I just can't see the benefit of a lottery by region, which will give one child a higher chance than another just because of where their parents live. Just as many believe that children should not be penalized for their parents socioeconomic status, I also believe a child should not be penalized for their parents choice of residence. I would honestly be more open to a process where everyone that satisfy the GPA and math requirement are put in a lottery with the same chance at getting in.

The mentality above is one of the key issues with families in this area that are involved in the TJ mania.

They make all of their decisions based on the relentless pursuit of self-interest, and cannot possibly fathom someone else having a mentality that is community-focused. So they must assume that anyone who disagrees with them is therefore self-interested.

It's the ultimate display of narcissism - assuming, since you are a narcissist, that everyone else must be as well. It's a very sad existence.

Since you are such a selfless individual, let me see you give up your job or your home comfort for the less fortunate who have not had the same opportunities as you did. I don't see any of you giving up anything but demanding that others do. Such hypocrisy!

Ummm - what exactly are you being asked to "give up"? - nobody is suggesting you have to move out of your home or your great school pyramid.

+1

[Anonymous]

[quote=
TJ, before the change, had become nothing but the laughing stock of high achieving parents - maybe not Asian parents, but everyone else. It would just be a matter of time before colleges think TJ was a joke, also. Something had to change.

By this "laughing stock of high achieving parents" did you mean "laughing stock of white parents" and by "high achieving" did you mean "people who will be no where without their white privilege"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are comparing the best high school in Region 1 with a not-too-good high school in Region 2. Let's look at South Lakes (Region 1) and Mclean (Region 2). Do you honestly think that kids in South Lakes are more affluent or have better opportunities than kids slated for Mclean? Yet, kids in region 1 (including those in the South Lakes pyramid) will have a lower chance of admission to TJ because they are competing with many more students. This lottery, as it is now, separates by regions, not pyramids and will not guarantee an even spread in opportunities according to socioeconomic class. Just my 2 cents.

This. The Regions are a 1/2 baked idea. Why not devide the middle schools into 2 or 3 groups? Place Carson, Rocky Run and Longfellow in one, another set in another, etc. give each group a set number. That way they will ensure that they actually get kids from South Lakes and similar schools.