Admissions to change at Thomas Jefferson High, and others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is simple: FCPS has no obligation to operate a magnet and should not be allowed to do so unless it has a student body representative of the county’s students.

That was true when TJ was majority white, and it is even more true today, when the school is less representative of the county’s population than at any time in its history.

School Board members who allow this to continue should be replaced, just as Ilryong Moon was last year.

So you want to get rid of the best high school in the country?

other than drain resources from elsewhere, what does having the best school in the country accomplish?

Any high school can be the best in the country when you test out the poors.

+1

Nailed it.

it's not about race or SES. Any school that only takes the folks with the best scores is going to be ranked the best since most rankings are based off of scores

Never mind the fact that taking the best and having them perform the best says absolutely nothing about the actual quality of the school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So people who think that TJ needs to have a different method of admitting students so that the student body is more diverse = Anti TJ? Gotcha.

Or, people appreciate TJ and what it offers and would like to see it include more people who are Black, Hispanic, and more Girls.

I like the idea of the lottery from Middle Schools. Everyone who is qualified, passes the exams and normal review process, is entered into the lottery. A certain number of spots are set aside for each Middle School. Names of qualified candidates are drawn from each Middle School pool. If a Middle School does not have enough qualified students who applied, those slots are placed into a general pool. Anyone who is not selected in their Middle School lottery is entered into the general pool lottery.

This way the kids are all qualified and we remove some of the pressure to pad a resume, which benefits kids from MS with more extra curricular activities or parents who can afford participation in different clubs. Qualification is based on the exams, essays, and letters of recommendation. Maybe more kids at Title 1 schools who are qualified will be more willing to apply because they know that the distribution of seats more evenly distributed.

It might also benefit everyone by decreasing the race to pad the resume for the Middle School kids at the better off Middle Schools. If you have the grades and the tests scores, you have a shot. You don't have to do 5 clubs. That reduced pressure would probably benefit the 11 and 12 year olds in Middle School.

TJ ends up with a more diverse student body and there is still a qualification process that insures that kids are STEM focused/interested and can handle the more rigorous course load.

Let's institute the same "Lottery System" for UVA and William and Mary.

There is a world of difference between a 17-19 year old and an 11-12 year old. Kids in Middle School are in a very different place in terms of their needs then a High School senior and there is nothing wrong with a process that reflects that. And Colleges are a very different business then a Public High School.

Tell that to university of Texas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
One thing to keep in mind is all the tax revenue that we have as a country due to the people that move here for the top notch opportunity called TJ. If you remove the allure if TJ, we may lose a lot of eager residents, thus losing tax money. Is the opportunity of TJ bringing in more tax than the lack of it would lose? So is the appeal of RJ paying for its state of the art facility?

how much is that? Can you quantify it?

I don't know, but before you cry that TJ is taking up too much money that can be used to ease overcrowding, etc, think of how much tax revenue it brings in, and how much it spends. My guess is that it brings in more than it takes, but I could be wrong.

TJ Partnership Fund provides plenty of resources to TJ outside of the county and the state not to mention substantial donations by parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So people who think that TJ needs to have a different method of admitting students so that the student body is more diverse = Anti TJ? Gotcha.

Or, people appreciate TJ and what it offers and would like to see it include more people who are Black, Hispanic, and more Girls.

I like the idea of the lottery from Middle Schools. Everyone who is qualified, passes the exams and normal review process, is entered into the lottery. A certain number of spots are set aside for each Middle School. Names of qualified candidates are drawn from each Middle School pool. If a Middle School does not have enough qualified students who applied, those slots are placed into a general pool. Anyone who is not selected in their Middle School lottery is entered into the general pool lottery.

This way the kids are all qualified and we remove some of the pressure to pad a resume, which benefits kids from MS with more extra curricular activities or parents who can afford participation in different clubs. Qualification is based on the exams, essays, and letters of recommendation. Maybe more kids at Title 1 schools who are qualified will be more willing to apply because they know that the distribution of seats more evenly distributed.

It might also benefit everyone by decreasing the race to pad the resume for the Middle School kids at the better off Middle Schools. If you have the grades and the tests scores, you have a shot. You don't have to do 5 clubs. That reduced pressure would probably benefit the 11 and 12 year olds in Middle School.

TJ ends up with a more diverse student body and there is still a qualification process that insures that kids are STEM focused/interested and can handle the more rigorous course load.

Let's institute the same "Lottery System" for UVA and William and Mary.

There is a world of difference between a 17-19 year old and an 11-12 year old. Kids in Middle School are in a very different place in terms of their needs then a High School senior and there is nothing wrong with a process that reflects that. And Colleges are a very different business then a Public High School.

The lottery system already exists

there is a baseline and if you are special (legacy, URM, certain geographic region, special talent, i'm sure I'm missing some you get the picture) you can get in as long as you meet the baseline above folks with "higher scores"

everyone knows this is how it works. Colleges never just take the people with the best scores.

TJ doesn’t just take applicants with the highest test scores. The subjective part is much more important than grades or scores. The admission process is holistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is simple: FCPS has no obligation to operate a magnet and should not be allowed to do so unless it has a student body representative of the county’s students.

That was true when TJ was majority white, and it is even more true today, when the school is less representative of the county’s population than at any time in its history.

School Board members who allow this to continue should be replaced, just as Ilryong Moon was last year.

So you want to get rid of the best high school in the country?

other than drain resources from elsewhere, what does having the best school in the country accomplish?

Any high school can be the best in the country when you test out the poors.

+1

Nailed it.

Explain Stuyvesant and Bronx Science.

Hint 50% free school lunch...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is simple: FCPS has no obligation to operate a magnet and should not be allowed to do so unless it has a student body representative of the county’s students.

That was true when TJ was majority white, and it is even more true today, when the school is less representative of the county’s population than at any time in its history.

School Board members who allow this to continue should be replaced, just as Ilryong Moon was last year.

So you want to get rid of the best high school in the country?

other than drain resources from elsewhere, what does having the best school in the country accomplish?

What does MIT accomplish?

MIT is arguably the best higher ed school in the country. If you are outside of the DC area, TJ does not compare to some of the truly best high schools in the country (not the best counties, the best schools).

TJ is ranked as the best high school in the county by both US News and Newsweek.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is simple: FCPS has no obligation to operate a magnet and should not be allowed to do so unless it has a student body representative of the county’s students.

That was true when TJ was majority white, and it is even more true today, when the school is less representative of the county’s population than at any time in its history.

School Board members who allow this to continue should be replaced, just as Ilryong Moon was last year.

So you want to get rid of the best high school in the country?

other than drain resources from elsewhere, what does having the best school in the country accomplish?

Any high school can be the best in the country when you test out the poors.

+1

Nailed it.

There are dozens if not hundreds of public test in schools in the country that are nowhere close to being the number one high school in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is simple: FCPS has no obligation to operate a magnet and should not be allowed to do so unless it has a student body representative of the county’s students.

That was true when TJ was majority white, and it is even more true today, when the school is less representative of the county’s population than at any time in its history.

School Board members who allow this to continue should be replaced, just as Ilryong Moon was last year.

So you want to get rid of the best high school in the country?

other than drain resources from elsewhere, what does having the best school in the country accomplish?

What does MIT accomplish?

MIT is arguably the best higher ed school in the country. If you are outside of the DC area, TJ does not compare to some of the truly best high schools in the country (not the best counties, the best schools).

TJ is ranked as the best high school in the county by both US News and Newsweek.

“Country “

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do urm even want to attend TJ? I know I didn't because my interests was in the arts. And I knew a lot of super smart minorities and they had no interest in TJ either.

My Hispanic DD who attends a TJ feeder school, has straight As in all of her AAP classes and has a very strong interest in STEM, has ZERO interest in attending TJ. Why go someplace where she will be a minority race-wise and gender-wise?

Yet, some irrational people in NOVA want to almost force your kid to attend TJ.

that's a good post to wrap it up on. Who exactly thinks there are problems at TJ again.... is it actual black and Hispanic people.... no once again it is stupid mostly white woke morons who have no concept of TJ and no intention of sending their kids there, all on the altar of some huge white guilt. Get a grip and take out your guilt somewhere else.

Interesting take. So you’re basically saying it’s fine that the environment at TJ is so unwelcoming to students like PP’s Hispanic daughter that she has no interest in the school, despite her strong academic record and interest in STEM. All while gratuitously bashing white people in the process.

I guess we all know who you think does and doesn’t belong at TJ.

Environment at TJ is not unwelcoming for Hispanic or black students. Those saying that should go and actually see how things are are at TJ before saying things like that. Asians are often stereotyped as passive, quiet, obedient etc. yet now they are bullies because they are in the majority? Can't have it both ways. In fact, I know of a black kid who harassed my kid when he was a student at TJ and this black kid shoved an Asian kid into a locker (this was when the renovations were going on and TJ still had tall lockers) and this black kid received no discipline and went on to attend an Ivy League school despite being a below average student and having a history of bullying Asian kids and physically assaulting one Asian kid that I know of.

Relatively small percentage by itself does not mean unwelcoming environment and remember TJ students, teachers/staff are totally excluded form the admissions decisions. The admissions decisions are made by the review panesl made up of mostly white people and some black and hsipanic people and NO Asian people as usual.

If being in a relatively small group, Asians would be the ones that should be complaining of "unwelcoming" environment since Asians students often find themselves as part of a small group at most Northern Virginia schools including Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington counties as well as Fairfax county schools.

Nicely stated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do urm even want to attend TJ? I know I didn't because my interests was in the arts. And I knew a lot of super smart minorities and they had no interest in TJ either.

My Hispanic DD who attends a TJ feeder school, has straight As in all of her AAP classes and has a very strong interest in STEM, has ZERO interest in attending TJ. Why go someplace where she will be a minority race-wise and gender-wise?

Yet, some irrational people in NOVA want to almost force your kid to attend TJ.

that's a good post to wrap it up on. Who exactly thinks there are problems at TJ again.... is it actual black and Hispanic people.... no once again it is stupid mostly white woke morons who have no concept of TJ and no intention of sending their kids there, all on the altar of some huge white guilt. Get a grip and take out your guilt somewhere else.

Interesting take. So you’re basically saying it’s fine that the environment at TJ is so unwelcoming to students like PP’s Hispanic daughter that she has no interest in the school, despite her strong academic record and interest in STEM. All while gratuitously bashing white people in the process.

I guess we all know who you think does and doesn’t belong at TJ.

Environment at TJ is not unwelcoming for Hispanic or black students. Those saying that should go and actually see how things are are at TJ before saying things like that. Asians are often stereotyped as passive, quiet, obedient etc. yet now they are bullies because they are in the majority? Can't have it both ways. In fact, I know of a black kid who harassed my kid when he was a student at TJ and this black kid shoved an Asian kid into a locker (this was when the renovations were going on and TJ still had tall lockers) and this black kid received no discipline and went on to attend an Ivy League school despite being a below average student and having a history of bullying Asian kids and physically assaulting one Asian kid that I know of.

Relatively small percentage by itself does not mean unwelcoming environment and remember TJ students, teachers/staff are totally excluded form the admissions decisions. The admissions decisions are made by the review panesl made up of mostly white people and some black and hsipanic people and NO Asian people as usual.

If being in a relatively small group, Asians would be the ones that should be complaining of "unwelcoming" environment since Asians students often find themselves as part of a small group at most Northern Virginia schools including Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington counties as well as Fairfax county schools.

Nicely stated.

And utterly unconvincing. The Asian kids at TJ often come from schools and programs that are plurality or majority Asian. Equating their experience with those at majority Hispanic or plurality Black schools is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do urm even want to attend TJ? I know I didn't because my interests was in the arts. And I knew a lot of super smart minorities and they had no interest in TJ either.

My Hispanic DD who attends a TJ feeder school, has straight As in all of her AAP classes and has a very strong interest in STEM, has ZERO interest in attending TJ. Why go someplace where she will be a minority race-wise and gender-wise?

Yet, some irrational people in NOVA want to almost force your kid to attend TJ.

that's a good post to wrap it up on. Who exactly thinks there are problems at TJ again.... is it actual black and Hispanic people.... no once again it is stupid mostly white woke morons who have no concept of TJ and no intention of sending their kids there, all on the altar of some huge white guilt. Get a grip and take out your guilt somewhere else.

Interesting take. So you’re basically saying it’s fine that the environment at TJ is so unwelcoming to students like PP’s Hispanic daughter that she has no interest in the school, despite her strong academic record and interest in STEM. All while gratuitously bashing white people in the process.

I guess we all know who you think does and doesn’t belong at TJ.

Environment at TJ is not unwelcoming for Hispanic or black students. Those saying that should go and actually see how things are are at TJ before saying things like that. Asians are often stereotyped as passive, quiet, obedient etc. yet now they are bullies because they are in the majority? Can't have it both ways. In fact, I know of a black kid who harassed my kid when he was a student at TJ and this black kid shoved an Asian kid into a locker (this was when the renovations were going on and TJ still had tall lockers) and this black kid received no discipline and went on to attend an Ivy League school despite being a below average student and having a history of bullying Asian kids and physically assaulting one Asian kid that I know of.

Relatively small percentage by itself does not mean unwelcoming environment and remember TJ students, teachers/staff are totally excluded form the admissions decisions. The admissions decisions are made by the review panesl made up of mostly white people and some black and hsipanic people and NO Asian people as usual.

If being in a relatively small group, Asians would be the ones that should be complaining of "unwelcoming" environment since Asians students often find themselves as part of a small group at most Northern Virginia schools including Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington counties as well as Fairfax county schools.

Nicely stated.

And utterly unconvincing. The Asian kids at TJ often come from schools and programs that are plurality or majority Asian. Equating their experience with those at majority Hispanic or plurality Black schools is absurd.

My Asian kid attended elementary and middle school that had about 4% Asian students and went on to TJ.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the TJ Partnership Fund can buy their own building and open a private school. The current one isn’t serving county students well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do urm even want to attend TJ? I know I didn't because my interests was in the arts. And I knew a lot of super smart minorities and they had no interest in TJ either.

My Hispanic DD who attends a TJ feeder school, has straight As in all of her AAP classes and has a very strong interest in STEM, has ZERO interest in attending TJ. Why go someplace where she will be a minority race-wise and gender-wise?

Yet, some irrational people in NOVA want to almost force your kid to attend TJ.

that's a good post to wrap it up on. Who exactly thinks there are problems at TJ again.... is it actual black and Hispanic people.... no once again it is stupid mostly white woke morons who have no concept of TJ and no intention of sending their kids there, all on the altar of some huge white guilt. Get a grip and take out your guilt somewhere else.

Interesting take. So you’re basically saying it’s fine that the environment at TJ is so unwelcoming to students like PP’s Hispanic daughter that she has no interest in the school, despite her strong academic record and interest in STEM. All while gratuitously bashing white people in the process.

I guess we all know who you think does and doesn’t belong at TJ.

Environment at TJ is not unwelcoming for Hispanic or black students. Those saying that should go and actually see how things are are at TJ before saying things like that. Asians are often stereotyped as passive, quiet, obedient etc. yet now they are bullies because they are in the majority? Can't have it both ways. In fact, I know of a black kid who harassed my kid when he was a student at TJ and this black kid shoved an Asian kid into a locker (this was when the renovations were going on and TJ still had tall lockers) and this black kid received no discipline and went on to attend an Ivy League school despite being a below average student and having a history of bullying Asian kids and physically assaulting one Asian kid that I know of.

Relatively small percentage by itself does not mean unwelcoming environment and remember TJ students, teachers/staff are totally excluded form the admissions decisions. The admissions decisions are made by the review panesl made up of mostly white people and some black and hsipanic people and NO Asian people as usual.

If being in a relatively small group, Asians would be the ones that should be complaining of "unwelcoming" environment since Asians students often find themselves as part of a small group at most Northern Virginia schools including Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington counties as well as Fairfax county schools.

Nicely stated.

And utterly unconvincing. The Asian kids at TJ often come from schools and programs that are plurality or majority Asian. Equating their experience with those at majority Hispanic or plurality Black schools is absurd.

My Asian kid attended elementary and middle school that had about 4% Asian students and went on to TJ.

Give the outlier a bigger cookie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the TJ Partnership Fund can buy their own building and open a private school. The current one isn’t serving county students well.

They already paid lot of money for the current building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So people who think that TJ needs to have a different method of admitting students so that the student body is more diverse = Anti TJ? Gotcha.

Or, people appreciate TJ and what it offers and would like to see it include more people who are Black, Hispanic, and more Girls.

I like the idea of the lottery from Middle Schools. Everyone who is qualified, passes the exams and normal review process, is entered into the lottery. A certain number of spots are set aside for each Middle School. Names of qualified candidates are drawn from each Middle School pool. If a Middle School does not have enough qualified students who applied, those slots are placed into a general pool. Anyone who is not selected in their Middle School lottery is entered into the general pool lottery.

This way the kids are all qualified and we remove some of the pressure to pad a resume, which benefits kids from MS with more extra curricular activities or parents who can afford participation in different clubs. Qualification is based on the exams, essays, and letters of recommendation. Maybe more kids at Title 1 schools who are qualified will be more willing to apply because they know that the distribution of seats more evenly distributed.

It might also benefit everyone by decreasing the race to pad the resume for the Middle School kids at the better off Middle Schools. If you have the grades and the tests scores, you have a shot. You don't have to do 5 clubs. That reduced pressure would probably benefit the 11 and 12 year olds in Middle School.

TJ ends up with a more diverse student body and there is still a qualification process that insures that kids are STEM focused/interested and can handle the more rigorous course load.

Let's institute the same "Lottery System" for UVA and William and Mary.

There is a world of difference between a 17-19 year old and an 11-12 year old. Kids in Middle School are in a very different place in terms of their needs then a High School senior and there is nothing wrong with a process that reflects that. And Colleges are a very different business then a Public High School.

The lottery system already exists

there is a baseline and if you are special (legacy, URM, certain geographic region, special talent, i'm sure I'm missing some you get the picture) you can get in as long as you meet the baseline above folks with "higher scores"

everyone knows this is how it works. Colleges never just take the people with the best scores.

TJ doesn’t just take applicants with the highest test scores. The subjective part is much more important than grades or scores. The admission process is holistic.

The subjective portion matters a lot less than you would think. There are NO extra points for girls for example. The Admissions Office has confirmed that they do not attempt to balance gender whatsoever. Girls are being disadvantaged by the current admissions policies.