Washington Post Slams FCPS for Racist Magnet School

[Anonymous]

The problem is that TJ is a mindset you have from Day 1. I’ve always thought my DD will get into TJ. Yes, I know she may not for a variety of reasons but that’s my mindset. It’s what I thought when she was 5 and had her grandfather start working with her on math (master in math and a teacher and more importantly loves math). It’s why we play games that challenge her logical thinking and fun math games (interestingly enough all European). TJ isn’t something you prep for in 7th grade to take the test in 8th. It’s a foundation laid far earlier. I think some minorities have that mindset early and some don’t start thinking about it until middle school when it’s too late.

[Anonymous]

I thought the WaPo editorial was really odd - they never address the elephant in the room, namely that white students (the largest racial group in FCPS at 38.5%) are also underrepresented at 19.6% in TJ while another minority group, Asians (who only comprise 19.48% of FCPS) make up 71.5% at TJ.

To write an editorial about racism at TJ while only mentioning the appalling lack of black and Hispanic kids but not even mentioning the unusual racial makeup of TJ just seemed incomplete.


DCUM is hyper sensitized to the TJ racial dynamics, but the average reader of the editorial would not have gotten an accurate impression.

[Anonymous]

Which is why no one takes the Post seriously anymore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Post came down very hard, and deservedly so, on Fairfax County this week for its segregated academy named after Thomas Jefferson. Time for major reform is long overdue.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-virginia-school-shows-that-racial-inequities-arent-confined-to-the-justice-system/2020/07/27/e8a95732-af75-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.html

I feel like .. it’s same thing.
any sports team should open to the space for Asian regardless their results especially for basketball and ice hockey. They should admit races have their own strengths. But regarding TJ test prep, it should open to any kids in Fairfax county and support especially kids who can’t afford it with low income.

Are you saying that only Asians are smart enough to go to TJ? That is ridiculous. The problem is that Fairfax has set up a system that rewards the most intense and driven PARENTS of smart kids.

Intense, hyper, and not very honest parents

That’s racist .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the WaPo editorial was really odd - they never address the elephant in the room, namely that white students (the largest racial group in FCPS at 38.5%) are also underrepresented at 19.6% in TJ while another minority group, Asians (who only comprise 19.48% of FCPS) make up 71.5% at TJ.

To write an editorial about racism at TJ while only mentioning the appalling lack of black and Hispanic kids but not even mentioning the unusual racial makeup of TJ just seemed incomplete.


DCUM is hyper sensitized to the TJ racial dynamics, but the average reader of the editorial would not have gotten an accurate impression.

White kids are under-represented at TJ but not nearly to the same degree as Black and Hispanic kids.

[Anonymous]

1612 agreed.

But the editorial really missed telling the whole story of race at TJ - that another minority, Asians, are overrepresented.

Just thought it was such an incomplete editorial. The reason fixing TJ is hard is because it is not the traditional overrepresentation of white students, it is overrepresentation of a minority.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, all of this has a trickling back effect into the AAP programs for elementary and middle schools (future TJ Student Body.) Extremely qualified kids are now being rejected or held to higher standards to make space for underrepresented minorities. I understand the importance of encouraging them, but it is also NOT fair to the very hard-working kids who are stereotyped due to their ethnicity. Many of you saw the previous thread of very high scores rejected on appeal who would have easily been admitted 3 years ago. How do we include without excluding? Adding more space? Providing more resources to the underrepresented schools/neighborhoods so they have a chance to be on par and have their scores be ENOUGH to enter these programs as opposed to allowing in lower scores while taking away spots from kids who have the scores? The sad part is, the FCPS School Board has no answers to any of it; just a questionable process with no justification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, all of this has a trickling back effect into the AAP programs for elementary and middle schools (future TJ Student Body.) Extremely qualified kids are now being rejected or held to higher standards to make space for underrepresented minorities. I understand the importance of encouraging them, but it is also NOT fair to the very hard-working kids who are stereotyped due to their ethnicity. Many of you saw the previous thread of very high scores rejected on appeal who would have easily been admitted 3 years ago. How do we include without excluding? Adding more space? Providing more resources to the underrepresented schools/neighborhoods so they have a chance to be on par and have their scores be ENOUGH to enter these programs as opposed to allowing in lower scores while taking away spots from kids who have the scores? The sad part is, the FCPS School Board has no answers to any of it; just a questionable process with no justification.

you can't. Either something is competitive or it is open to all. If they really want equality, just make it a lottery system all the way from AAP through TJ

[Anonymous]

They need to focus on equity first, not TJ. If TJ can be part of an equitable approach, great. If it cannot, then get rid of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that TJ is a mindset you have from Day 1. I’ve always thought my DD will get into TJ. Yes, I know she may not for a variety of reasons but that’s my mindset. It’s what I thought when she was 5 and had her grandfather start working with her on math (master in math and a teacher and more importantly loves math). It’s why we play games that challenge her logical thinking and fun math games (interestingly enough all European). TJ isn’t something you prep for in 7th grade to take the test in 8th. It’s a foundation laid far earlier. I think some minorities have that mindset early and some don’t start thinking about it until middle school when it’s too late.

This just isn’t true. As many of us keep posting in DCUM and keep being ignored, not everyone plans for TJ or preps even in 7th grade. I have two kids there who love it and we never had a “TJ mindset” and my kids never did any TJ prep courses. And they love it there.

TJ and FCPS do tons of outreach to underrepresented communities and they focus on kids in ES. Clearly more needs to be done but it is grossly unfair to cal TJ racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ and FCPS do tons of outreach to underrepresented communities and they focus on kids in ES. Clearly more needs to be done but it is grossly unfair to cal TJ racist.

Why term do you prefer for a school that almost wholly excludes black kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that TJ is a mindset you have from Day 1. I’ve always thought my DD will get into TJ. Yes, I know she may not for a variety of reasons but that’s my mindset. It’s what I thought when she was 5 and had her grandfather start working with her on math (master in math and a teacher and more importantly loves math). It’s why we play games that challenge her logical thinking and fun math games (interestingly enough all European). TJ isn’t something you prep for in 7th grade to take the test in 8th. It’s a foundation laid far earlier. I think some minorities have that mindset early and some don’t start thinking about it until middle school when it’s too late.

This is the problem. I’d like to talk to the people who created the magnet years ago about what they think of this statement. I expect that when they created the program they could never have dreamed that parents would strategize and maneuver for years to get their kids in. They would be horrified. It’s undemocratic and unfair for parents to be the deciding factor in who gets into schools meant for the public.

The ultimate reform would be to somehow remove parents from the process altogether. So the exams are taken on a random day in school and parents aren’t told what’s on the exam and students have to demonstrate their own independent interest, rather than their parents’ interest.

[Anonymous]

TJ is a ticket in any elite college, as long as that’s true, competition is to get in is going to be fierce

[Anonymous]

Maybe the problem is that TJ offers an education that isn’t even comparable to what other public schools offer

[Anonymous]

Does FCPS believe that only TJ kids care about STEM?

Does FCPS believe that schools other than TJ can't teach STEM?

Does FCPS want to reinforce or scale back its "separate but equal" educational hierarchy (AAP/Gen Ed; TJ/Other Schools)?

Does FCPS believe that Black and Hispanic kids are incapable of succeeding at TJ?

Does FCPS think it's fair for TJ students to enjoy a renovated facility that serves only 1800 kids when other schools are overcrowded and in some cases have almost 3000 students?

Could FCPS make good use of TJ's facility to relieve overcrowding as part of a county-wide redistricting?

What litigation risk does FCPS face if it tries to adopt soft quotas based on race or ethnicity at TJ?

These seem like the types of foundational questions FCPS needs to ask, not just tie itself into knots figuring out how to increase the number of non-Asian kids there.