TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks, we are watching complete and utter incompetence on display from Brabrand.

It's a cry for help.

Is the point to make the original proposal look better by offering up an even worse alternative?

It looks like they are spending most of next week discussing TJ. I’m sure most schools in FCPS don’t get as much attention in five years as TJ gets in one week. FCPS is a disgrace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks, we are watching complete and utter incompetence on display from Brabrand.

It's a cry for help.

Is the point to make the original proposal look better by offering up an even worse alternative?

It looks like they are spending most of next week discussing TJ. I’m sure most schools in FCPS don’t get as much attention in five years as TJ gets in one week. FCPS is a disgrace.

I have no objections.

[Anonymous]

I just read the slides! WTF!!!!!

I love slide 19. "Perspective students..." ????!!!!! ROFL.

We are utterly doomed.

[Anonymous]

Honest question - do black people even want to go to TJ? Why is this such a priority for the SB?

Why are they not focused on getting kids back in school??

[Anonymous]

I find it bothersome the first slide shows race figures. This is all about race. Black and Hispanic numbers were always abysmal. Doesn’t look like that has changed. What has changed is the increase in Asians and decrease in whites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honest question - do black people even want to go to TJ? Why is this such a priority for the SB?

Why are they not focused on getting kids back in school??

they pray to the altar of wokeness and equity

listening to the townhall last week I lost count of how many times he used that stupid term

[Anonymous]

The top 100 is not the top 100 as in the most gifted or intelligent. This reads as though it's 100 seats set aside where they can take into account socioeconomic factors and underrepresented middle schools etc. In other words, 100 seats set aside to make sure they can get more URMs in the class and take the luck of the lottery out of the equation when it comes to certain groups they want in the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honest question - do black people even want to go to TJ? Why is this such a priority for the SB?

Why are they not focused on getting kids back in school??

No. Top black students are getting recruited by top private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honest question - do black people even want to go to TJ? Why is this such a priority for the SB?

Why are they not focused on getting kids back in school??

TJ gets national scrutiny because it's often ranked the #1 high school in the nation by US News & World Report.

FCPS doesn't like the blowback TJ sometimes gets for its low URM numbers.

Nobody in the rest of the nation cares about the other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The top 100 is not the top 100 as in the most gifted or intelligent. This reads as though it's 100 seats set aside where they can take into account socioeconomic factors and underrepresented middle schools etc. In other words, 100 seats set aside to make sure they can get more URMs in the class and take the luck of the lottery out of the equation when it comes to certain groups they want in the class.

Seems like it's both.

Sounds like they want to use the top 100 to catch the truly gifted students. Then they want to use the remaining top 100 to catch the most qualified URMs they can find to fix their numbers.

Says it right there on slide 14.

But you're right. This change is all about race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The top 100 is not the top 100 as in the most gifted or intelligent. This reads as though it's 100 seats set aside where they can take into account socioeconomic factors and underrepresented middle schools etc. In other words, 100 seats set aside to make sure they can get more URMs in the class and take the luck of the lottery out of the equation when it comes to certain groups they want in the class.

That is on p9/25. Note Brabrand used the word ethical in his Townhall. https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BTZTK3753486/$file/TJHSST%20Admissions%20Revised%20Proposal%20for%20Posting%2010.6.2020.pdf

3 components for the 100:
1. "Student Portrait Sheet is designed to draw out qualities in areas aligned to Portrait of a Graduate and 21st Century Skills" includes Ethical/Global Citizen. That is at https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/portrait-graduate
2. Problem-Solving Essay.
3. Experience Factors
• Special education
• English language learner
• Economically disadvantaged
• Under-represented FCPS school (3 or fewer offered over the last 3 years)

The 100 are decided pre lottery. Slide 21 includes some additional costs for TJ out of the tax payer provided funds that go along with the caring culture and p 20 includes additional FCPS outside of the normal school day stuff for URM in STEM. Nothing on curriculum in actual classes k-8.

Under represented FCPS school could be school attended not base school. FCAG has some numbers for various years per school and some are 0 or TS-too small. The original merit lottery presentation would not guarantee the intended result like this one with the 100 weighted for experience factors. https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/opinion/guest-column-admission-reforms-coming-for-governor-s-schools/article_74fc0fe6-de46-11ea-aa83-df25da7131e2.html

Surovell ends with "We will also consider eliminating governor’s schools if they are unable to adopt more equitable admissions policies." So how is the budget looking this year for FX, FCPS, VA, sending jurisdictions? Last time I checked we in a pandemic and FCPS is closed. Brabrand wants to spend even more money on TJ which cost FX taxpayers over 3m extra than a base school.

Taxpayers paid for the labs so they should be used. That 3m would be about a lot less if it was run as an academy. Many under represented schools in FX are IB and feed to IB high schools. Perhaps they should focus on STEM related curriculum and scrap IB, teach grammar, sync instruction and stop wasting money. FCPS has too much variation and nothing ever changes. Most after schooling is simply a reaction to FCPS deficiencies.

[Anonymous]

They previously had an issue with off-line SIS submission. It ended up being written by parents and professional help and not by the student. Why would they repeat a mistake? How would this help if it's a lottery?

Anonymous wrote:Reading the slides carefully, this proposal is quite confusing. Here are my questions:

1) it looks like the content essays, math essay, etc only matter for the top 100 kids? To get into the lottery, the only criteria are that you have a 3.5, are in Algebra and submit the essays/SIS.

2) one of the criteria for being in the top 100 will be if you are from a middle school with 3 or fewer recent admits. That should be incredibly easy to figure out and game.

3) The slide that says the minimum number per region doesn’t make sense. What if 50 of the top 100 all come from region 1? How can they guarantee that at least X lottery slots per region.

4) how does special education factor into getting into the top 100? If a kid has an IEP for speech and gets 0.25 hours of service a month, that is in nowadays equilvant to a student that needs much more support. Are these two students given the same weighting?

5) it will be very obvious who will in the top 100 vs lottery. If you are in geometry in 9th grade = lottery! If you got off the waitlist = lottery!

6) this will turn Carson into the Hunger Games.

7) how will they weight socioeconomic background for the top 100? If this is based on free and reduced price meals, that is a very easy thing for people to lie about.

I’m sure there are more . . .

This system seems very very game-able to me

[Anonymous]

I think this top 100 is going to put a lot of weight on the Experience Factors specifically with special education. I've heard of kids that are twice exceptional and didn't get into TJ and were shocked. I don't know anything about the number of kids at TJ with 504's or IEPs but I do know that they do apply and don't get in. I think the current freshman class (2024) of TJ was prepped so hard that non prepped kids didn't have a chance. I don't think prepping is cheating but this class of 2024 always had a very large number of AAP kids. Most of the elem schools with centers had AAP classes that outnumber the gen ed class for this year of students.

[Anonymous]

AAP is for the brightest students so it naturally makes sense the bulk of the admits would come from those ranks

As many others have said the real way to address equity is to fix AAP

Appeals should be eliminated so pushy UMC whites and asians can't game the system and special efforts should be taken to better identify smart URM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this top 100 is going to put a lot of weight on the Experience Factors specifically with special education. I've heard of kids that are twice exceptional and didn't get into TJ and were shocked. I don't know anything about the number of kids at TJ with 504's or IEPs but I do know that they do apply and don't get in. I think the current freshman class (2024) of TJ was prepped so hard that non prepped kids didn't have a chance. I don't think prepping is cheating but this class of 2024 always had a very large number of AAP kids. Most of the elem schools with centers had AAP classes that outnumber the gen ed class for this year of students.

You do understand that most people who apply don’t get in, right?