FCPS TJ Class of 2024 Press Release - Buried; AA Admits "TS" to Mention

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear TJHSST Students and Families:

While the world has been quietly hibernating in quarantine the past few months, we recognize the personal isolation, health fears, and academic challenges you have endured. Our homes have been familiar yet bustling enterprises of work and school as we awaited our world to return to normal.

However, disturbing and painful actions in our country have jarred us from our COVID-19 slumber. We are awakened to see that our country’s normal continues to be laced with racism that has plagued our nation since its founding. The recent events in our nation with black citizens facing death and continued injustices remind us that we each have a responsibility to our community to speak up and take actions that counter racism and discrimination in our society.

I implore you to think about your own journey and discovery of race and economic advantage in America. My parents never had to teach me about what it means to be white. I never have had to worry that someone would look at the color of my skin and think I either may not be smart enough to learn or I should be exceedingly smart in a certain subject. No one has surveilled me in a store while shopping, or locked their cars or front doors out of fear when seeing me in their neighborhood. While I did not come from a family with economic means, the color of my skin has given me privileges that others do not have. Please think of privileges you hold that others may not.

As we engage in self-reflection, children and adults can experience a range of emotions including hurt, anger, confusion, discomfort, defensiveness, hopelessness, humility, resolve and advocacy. These feelings are normal.

Our teachers, too, are processing everything while continuing to create classrooms that are safe and welcoming spaces. We encourage students to connect with teachers, counselors and administrators, particularly if they are struggling with how to cope with their range of emotions and ideas. Also, FCPS has several resources on countering racism and stigma you may find here on the district website.

Thank you for taking time to personally reflect. Give yourself the gift of feeling vulnerable as you process emotions individually and collectively. Reach out to trusted professionals and access resources that will help you.

During this reflection period, I would like to simultaneously call the TJ community to action in three areas.

First, our school is a rich tapestry of heritages; however, we do not reflect the racial composition in FCPS. Our 32 black students and 47 Hispanic students fill three classrooms. If our demographics actually represented FCPS, we would enroll 180 black and 460 Hispanic students, filling nearly 22 classrooms. The most recent TJ admissions trend, unfortunately, does not close the equity gap. Do all FCPS children who have high interest and aptitude for STEM enjoy the same privileges that put them on a path to TJ? Do the TJ admissions outcomes affirm that we believe TJ is accessible to all talented STEM-focused students regardless of race or personal circumstance?

Second, consider colonialism’s role in our country’s history where certain classes exerted power over others as a means to economically exploit, oppress and enslave them. During the Colonial period, there were leaders who believed those with black or brown skin were uncivilized and not capable of being educated. I speak for us all when I assert this is not a value we share as a TJ community. Yet, our mascot is a Colonial. Can our community support dismantling a symbol that perpetuated racism in our country?

Finally, the heart of public education is in the classroom. This is where students learn to become ethical and global citizens as espoused in the FCPS Portrait of a Graduate. Our students learn to understand and accept, not merely tolerate, diverse cultures and perspectives. Curriculum will need to be adapted to better equip our TJ students. As expressed by TJ alumni who have written to me, “STEM alone is not enough.” Can our community support the new conversations, lessons and activities that will need to be infused across our entire TJ program of study in all content areas?

I acknowledge some of the questions I am asking may not equally resonate with everyone as we examine our school’s place within FCPS and the world. I also know that my words may not always be eloquent, my ideas may miss the mark, and I will make mistakes. I also know that I have enjoyed growing with you these past three years and have immense trust and faith in our community to pull together and do what is right, particularly for those in our community experiencing the most pain right now.

By evaluating the racial equity at our school, dismantling a long-held symbol of racism, and embracing curricula to better prepare TJ graduates for a truly diverse and culturally responsive world, you will play a role in how TJHSST continues to lead the nation as a public school that prepares students for the shared interests of humanity. Thank you for joining in this important work.

Sincerely,

Ann N. Bonitatibus, Ed.D.

TJHSST Principal

Is this real? It doesn't sound real at all.

[Anonymous]

Changing the mascot? JFC. Yeah, that’s why Black students aren’t at TJ, Ann.

[Anonymous]

Yep it’s real. Got the email this am.

[Anonymous]

It's an exercise in damage control. Let's get rid of the "Colonials" and admit a few more poor kids, and then we can carry on as usual.

If FCPS had ANY sense, they would reclaim the building for Fairfax students, stop some of the stupid expansions now planned, and do a county-wide redistricting to address their overcrowded schools.

Bonitatibus is just another in a string of the apologists that FCPS has found to run TJHSST for a few years. The TJ students and alumni going nuts about the zero black kids admitted this year don't really care about equity; they just want to be less embarrassed about their privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an exercise in damage control. Let's get rid of the "Colonials" and admit a few more poor kids, and then we can carry on as usual.

If FCPS had ANY sense, they would reclaim the building for Fairfax students, stop some of the stupid expansions now planned, and do a county-wide redistricting to address their overcrowded schools.

Bonitatibus is just another in a string of the apologists that FCPS has found to run TJHSST for a few years. The TJ students and alumni going nuts about the zero black kids admitted this year don't really care about equity; they just want to be less embarrassed about their privilege.

You really think a wholesale redistricting process to include a "reclaimed" TJ is going to be an easy process? Do you think it would result in more equity? If so, I've got a bridge to sell you. TJ has been TJ since 1985. No one with school age kids has ever experienced the building being a neighborhood school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's an exercise in damage control. Let's get rid of the "Colonials" and admit a few more poor kids, and then we can carry on as usual.

If FCPS had ANY sense, they would reclaim the building for Fairfax students, stop some of the stupid expansions now planned, and do a county-wide redistricting to address their overcrowded schools.

Bonitatibus is just another in a string of the apologists that FCPS has found to run TJHSST for a few years. The TJ students and alumni going nuts about the zero black kids admitted this year don't really care about equity; they just want to be less embarrassed about their privilege.

You really think a wholesale redistricting process to include a "reclaimed" TJ is going to be an easy process? Do you think it would result in more equity? If so, I've got a bridge to sell you. TJ has been TJ since 1985. No one with school age kids has ever experienced the building being a neighborhood school?

What?? I graduated high school in 1983 and my kids are in middle school and high school. And I’m not one of the oldest of people we know either. I grew up near there, and if I lived in the zone I of course could have attended the old TJ.

[Anonymous]

Curious as to why all the outrage is limited to TJ on this thread.

Many, many of the "best" ES, MS, and HS in FCPS have very low percentages of URM/FARM kids and do not reflect the overall demographics of our county. That imbalance is a direct result of the systemic racism in our society that keep schools essentially segregated by property values.

If you want to dismantle TJ, why not dismantle the boundaries for Langley, Madison, McLean, etc and all of their feeder schools? Is county-wide equality your goal, or just equality at TJ specifically. And, if so, why?

[Anonymous]

The building is also not designed in any way to be a neighborhood school since the renovation. FCPS spent $90M less than five years ago for a building that was purpose-built to house the school that's there.

Just one example - the cafeteria holds reasonably about 150 kids, and was designed that way because TJ students have the freedom to roam the building during lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious as to why all the outrage is limited to TJ on this thread.

Many, many of the "best" ES, MS, and HS in FCPS have very low percentages of URM/FARM kids and do not reflect the overall demographics of our county. That imbalance is a direct result of the systemic racism in our society that keep schools essentially segregated by property values.

If you want to dismantle TJ, why not dismantle the boundaries for Langley, Madison, McLean, etc and all of their feeder schools? Is county-wide equality your goal, or just equality at TJ specifically. And, if so, why?

This. At least kids can earn their way to TJ. A kid can theoretically live in bounds for Justice and go there. Access to Chantilly, Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall etc is limited to kids whose parents paid for an expensive house. Kids can’t control where their parents chose to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The building is also not designed in any way to be a neighborhood school since the renovation. FCPS spent $90M less than five years ago for a building that was purpose-built to house the school that's there.

Just one example - the cafeteria holds reasonably about 150 kids, and was designed that way because TJ students have the freedom to roam the building during lunch.

Do some more retrofits, if necessary, and stop pretending that TJ snowflakes are the only students around who could handle the "freedom" to walk around a school without some SRO controlling their every move. You are disgusting.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP above. Out of curiosity, I just checked the demographics for Langley and McLean (which I think everyone on this forum would agree are two of the best HS in FCPS)

Langley had 1.67% Black and 4.5% Hispanic, and 2% FARM

McLean had 3.8% Black, 11.19% Hispanic and 8.43% FARM

TJ had 1.76% Black, 2.38% Hispanic, and 1.98% FARM.

All three of these school are radically out of balance and represent inequality in our system. One school TJ, by the nature of an admissions process, and the other two by location (and therefore SES) of your parents. If you really want equality, why not tear it all down? I am writing the school board today as the moment in history should cause us to reexamine all the racism in our educational system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious as to why all the outrage is limited to TJ on this thread.

Many, many of the "best" ES, MS, and HS in FCPS have very low percentages of URM/FARM kids and do not reflect the overall demographics of our county. That imbalance is a direct result of the systemic racism in our society that keep schools essentially segregated by property values.

If you want to dismantle TJ, why not dismantle the boundaries for Langley, Madison, McLean, etc and all of their feeder schools? Is county-wide equality your goal, or just equality at TJ specifically. And, if so, why?

This. At least kids can earn their way to TJ. A kid can theoretically live in bounds for Justice and go there. Access to Chantilly, Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall etc is limited to kids whose parents paid for an expensive house. Kids can’t control where their parents chose to live.

Straw-man argument. Check the statistics and you'll find that the TJ admits from the middle-school feeder to Justice, Glasgow, typically is often also "TS" to report - just like the # of black kids.

Keeping TJ as the neighborhood school would have prevented the concentration of poverty at Annandale and avoided forcing some kids in Springfield from having to cross 395 and 495 to get to Edison. Turning the school into a magnet was a short-sighted publicity stunt that over time has hurt the surrounding area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious as to why all the outrage is limited to TJ on this thread.

Many, many of the "best" ES, MS, and HS in FCPS have very low percentages of URM/FARM kids and do not reflect the overall demographics of our county. That imbalance is a direct result of the systemic racism in our society that keep schools essentially segregated by property values.

If you want to dismantle TJ, why not dismantle the boundaries for Langley, Madison, McLean, etc and all of their feeder schools? Is county-wide equality your goal, or just equality at TJ specifically. And, if so, why?

This. At least kids can earn their way to TJ. A kid can theoretically live in bounds for Justice and go there. Access to Chantilly, Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall etc is limited to kids whose parents paid for an expensive house. Kids can’t control where their parents chose to live.

Straw-man argument. Check the statistics and you'll find that the TJ admits from the middle-school feeder to Justice, Glasgow, typically is often also "TS" to report - just like the # of black kids.



Just because it doesn’t happen often doesn’t mean it can’t happen . But, a kid inbound for Justice definitely can’t go to McLean or Marshall.
Keeping TJ as the neighborhood school would have prevented the concentration of poverty at Annandale and avoided forcing some kids in Springfield from having to cross 395 and 495 to get to Edison. Turning the school into a magnet was a short-sighted publicity stunt that over time has hurt the surrounding area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just an observer but I think the county should be extremely proud to have the number #1 rated High School in the country. can't do much better than that. Most of the rest of the high schools aren't much worse in NOVA anyway, and most all of the best students, be it from TJ or the other HS's, wind up at U.Va anyway.

Relatively few TJ kids end up at UVA. Over half that apply are rejected, and the top students use UVA as a safety.

Only 37 of those reporting in last year's graduation publication were going to UVA (out of a class size of 455). Nearly 80% reported destinations. Next were W&M with 28, Pitt and VT with 16, Michigan 14, Cornell 13, CMU 12, and Illinois 11.

Ivy+ was 43: Harvard 5, MIT 7, Yale 5, Princeton 4, Stanford 3, Penn 3, Columbia 2, Cornell 13, Dartmouth 1

Please DO NOT INSULT THE IVIES: MIT and Stanford do not belong

MIT and Stanford are the + at the end of the Ivy +. And Cornell would be flattered to be compared with either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the PP above. Out of curiosity, I just checked the demographics for Langley and McLean (which I think everyone on this forum would agree are two of the best HS in FCPS)

Langley had 1.67% Black and 4.5% Hispanic, and 2% FARM

McLean had 3.8% Black, 11.19% Hispanic and 8.43% FARM

TJ had 1.76% Black, 2.38% Hispanic, and 1.98% FARM.

All three of these school are radically out of balance and represent inequality in our system. One school TJ, by the nature of an admissions process, and the other two by location (and therefore SES) of your parents. If you really want equality, why not tear it all down? I am writing the school board today as the moment in history should cause us to reexamine all the racism in our educational system.

Interesting that you don't seem to acknowledge that TJ's demographics - at 1.98% FARMS the lowest of the three schools - is also a result of the SES of the parents.

And I don't see anyone saying TJ should be "torn down," but rather used to provide maximum benefit to students in the county for whom it was originally built. The old Jefferson was the community school for the black families who lived off Lincolnia Road They among others lost their community school, built right around the time the schools were finally integrating, when it was taken away.