Reasons why one would not accept TJ offer?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

Not very convincing PR, but I do understand why you'd try to make TJ sound good now that applications are down again and many families in the stronger pyramids are seriously doubting whether TJ makes sense any longer.

Do we have info on the number of applicants this year? Because last year it was up (I think to an all-time high?) with over 3000 applicants. Prior years had generally been 2700-2900 range.

There were 2548 applications to the Class of 2027. They increased the class sizes and changed the admissions process but after a spike for the Class of 2025 the number of applications declined again for the Class of 2026 and 2027. It’s well below the all-time high years ago.

https://www.fcps.edu/node/47920

Thanks, my mistake... was looking at the FCAG page which is only updated through class of 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

Not very convincing PR, but I do understand why you'd try to make TJ sound good now that applications are down again and many families in the stronger pyramids are seriously doubting whether TJ makes sense any longer.

Do we have info on the number of applicants this year? Because last year it was up (I think to an all-time high?) with over 3000 applicants. Prior years had generally been 2700-2900 range.

There were 2548 applications to the Class of 2027. They increased the class sizes and changed the admissions process but after a spike for the Class of 2025 the number of applications declined again for the Class of 2026 and 2027. It’s well below the all-time high years ago.

https://www.fcps.edu/node/47920

The word got out that TJ is for a dedicated student and you need to give up a lot of your free time to do homework and study. It's not ideal for most students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

Do not go to your middle school equity lead or counselor, instead go to student's Math teacher and ask if student really will be able to handle TJ math. Equity people only care about showing progress for their work - increase in TJ applications & offers, they dont care how much the student struggles after entering TJ. Even at TJ, they put the problem back on the student saying may be using too much cell phone, wasting time on social media, bad study habits, worrying too much about grades, etc ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

I am an engineer and know many other engineers. It's not a misconception or a misperception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

I am an engineer and know many other engineers. It's not a misconception or a misperception.

Depends on the industry.
In some you would not be successful if people couldn't tell if you were neuro divergent or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

TJ diversity celebration events are the best. I volunteer and get there early for the unique ethnic food We are from Caribbean, and love spicy dishes. Mine and my DS's favorite is these steamed rice cakes with white spicy sauce with peanuts. I tried making them at home, and dont taste even close

Good to know that, if TJ keeps declining academically, they could always open a few food trucks right off 236.

That's just fake news. Since they put an end to the test buying, TJ's academics have been stronger than ever!

Thanks for free advertising you have been doing for Curie using your creative test buying hooey. But all Curie classes are currently full, however summer program enrollment will open up in couple of weeks.

We got to know about Curie from this forum. DC has been attending for two years, they teach intense math and english, and offer lot of stem courses in summer. If child has friends attending, they enjoy doing it together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

+1

Such a dumb comment.

- engineer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

Except, you do realize, they said tend. TEND. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tend. tend1
/tend/
verb
regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic. GET IT STRAIGHT. I am an engineer and I do think VERY literally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

Except, you do realize, they said tend. TEND. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tend. tend1
/tend/
verb
regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic. GET IT STRAIGHT. I am an engineer and I do think VERY literally.

Yes, I can see that.

However, I wouldn’t characterize a larger part of my graduating class in undergrad in that way. Yes, there was the quirky contingent (I say that nicely as my DS will probably fall into that category) but most were not so literal that anyone would pick that as a defining feature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

TJ diversity celebration events are the best. I volunteer and get there early for the unique ethnic food We are from Caribbean, and love spicy dishes. Mine and my DS's favorite is these steamed rice cakes with white spicy sauce with peanuts. I tried making them at home, and dont taste even close

It's called Idli & chutney. Look up recipes on youtube, it takes few attempts, buy eventually it comes out right. Whenever my DSs bandmates come over for sleep over, and this is their favorite morning breakfast.

I also like those thin pancakes that look like crepes but not as sweet, slightly more crispy and on spicy side. But these were also served with "idli" sauce and some had cooked potato filling. We are French so crepes with whipped cream and strawberry sauce is what we have often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

TJ diversity celebration events are the best. I volunteer and get there early for the unique ethnic food We are from Caribbean, and love spicy dishes. Mine and my DS's favorite is these steamed rice cakes with white spicy sauce with peanuts. I tried making them at home, and dont taste even close

It's called Idli & chutney. Look up recipes on youtube, it takes few attempts, buy eventually it comes out right. Whenever my DSs bandmates come over for sleep over, and this is their favorite morning breakfast.

I also like those thin pancakes that look like crepes but not as sweet, slightly more crispy and on spicy side. But these were also served with "idli" sauce and some had cooked potato filling. We are French so crepes with whipped cream and strawberry sauce is what we have often.

Dosas. Yummy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand every middle school will be given a few seats, but last year no one at our middle school accepted the offer. I could be mistaken, as I also heard one kid attended for a year, and returned to base high school. DC took the admissions test this month, and we think there is a good chance we will be made an offer. What I want to understand is why would one not accept a TJ offer? I hear everyone saying how much harder one has to study, but is it significantly more than what a student at base high school enrolled in all honors courses would need to study? How much time would be available to do sports? Trying to figure out if DC would be better off going to our high school with known friends and teammates, or tryout TJ, but definitely want to avoid the hassle of transferring if TJ isnt the right fit.

The lack of diversity is why my nephew declined.

feel sorry for your "nephew"
Diversity is why we accepted the offer. DC has made friends with kids with ethinic backgrounds from at least a dozen different countries - saudi arabia, china, sri lanka, south korea, india, philippines, bangladesh, afghanistan, malaysia, japan turkey, etc. In fact the principal at the orientation, made the crowd repeat "hello" in 15+ languages. Apparently, this year's class has kids speaking 40+ languages at home. wow!

We were present at the event and were surprised when the Principal came prepared to lead the crowd in saying "hello" in so many languages spoken by student families. Despite the stereotype that the school was predominantly American Asian, she employed a simple technique to ensure everyone recognized the diverse range of ethnic backgrounds represented in the recent class.

Next year maybe she can say hello in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galic, Swedish, French, German, Croation, Serbian, Russian, . . .

I'm not sure Europe needs so much representation.
Europe is a different continent and the countries there have very different cultures than the culture here in this country. When the culture of this country is not predominant, then people in this country, whether their parents were born here or came here, there's an obvious mismatch.

It appears you are not familiar with the current diversity at TJ. We are first-generation German immigrants, and our DD interacts with peers of various ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Chinese, Indian, and West Indies, in a multifaceted manner reminiscent of the cultural exchange experiences one might hope for in college with international students. Her circle of close friends, which began with TJ freshman projects like iBET, 8th-period clubs, and lacrosse team, has flourished with mutual cultural learning and collective participation in monthly cultural festival celebrations. Just this month, we all volunteered and celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now preparing for the Indian festival of colors, among others.

I get that there are celebrations for Asian cultures, but is there anything comparable for Hispanics or children of African descent?

Yes, they had very large events for Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. You do not see this in most high schools.

Maybe they should celebrate American culture too, here and there. Especially for a school with so many immigrants - they want to learn about the US too, not just other countries.

American culture is celebrated every day, every minute, every second, etc... not just at TJ, but all FCPS schools. You know how? Student don't just "celebrate" American culture, instead they live it!
As a TJ community, we take time every month and pay special tribute to each unique culture through collective participation, contribution, and mutual respect. It is much more involved that what one would have noticed at other FCPS schools. Whether it be Black History month, Hispanic Heritage month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Indian Diwali & Holi, Thanksgiving & Christmas, etc., we are looking to take the time and effort to celebrate our unique cultural backgrounds collectively.

People with engineering minds tend to be quite literal and they learn what you teach them - and don't learn what you don't teach them. Kids don't figure this stuff out on their own. They don't understand the way you do because they are not taught it, the way we were taught to celebrate America as children. Not sure why you can't see that.

Stop basing what you know about engineers on what you've seen on the Big Bang Theory. The rest of your argument falls apart because it's based on that misconception.

- from a large family of engineers

Except, you do realize, they said tend. TEND. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tend. tend1
/tend/
verb
regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic. GET IT STRAIGHT. I am an engineer and I do think VERY literally.

Np, still incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If instate college like UVA is a priority, have your child stay back at base school, take rigorous AP courses and with little extra effort they could get all As and be in the top 10% in the class.

If you dont care about in-state, but prefer TJ education, be ready to accept Bs and Cs, even with long nights. Just accept that there will be other kids with straight As and much more rigorous coursework.

+1. If your kid doesn’t have a 1550 SAT and a 4.3+ weighted GPA they are not getting in to UVa. coming from TJ. At their base school, a 4.3 and 1550 easily gets you in UVa. and places like Cornell, John’s Hopkins, Duke, etc. Coming out of TJ with those stats gives you no chance.

I can attest to this. My TJ grad with those stats got waitlisted ED from UVA. It was a tough blow at the time, but it gave him the opportunity to see his other options, and he ended up somewhere that really is perfect for him (and higher in rankings, even though that wasn't important to him). I truly believe things work out the way they're meant to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If instate college like UVA is a priority, have your child stay back at base school, take rigorous AP courses and with little extra effort they could get all As and be in the top 10% in the class.

If you dont care about in-state, but prefer TJ education, be ready to accept Bs and Cs, even with long nights. Just accept that there will be other kids with straight As and much more rigorous coursework.

+1. If your kid doesn’t have a 1550 SAT and a 4.3+ weighted GPA they are not getting in to UVa. coming from TJ. At their base school, a 4.3 and 1550 easily gets you in UVa. and places like Cornell, John’s Hopkins, Duke, etc. Coming out of TJ with those stats gives you no chance.

I can attest to this. My TJ grad with those stats got waitlisted ED from UVA. It was a tough blow at the time, but it gave him the opportunity to see his other options, and he ended up somewhere that really is perfect for him (and higher in rankings, even though that wasn't important to him). I truly believe things work out the way they're meant to be.

My TJ grad got into UVA applying ED with same stats. ECs matter too. College admissions is a big black box.