TJ Failure to Notify Letter of Commendation Winners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is holding a TJ townhall on January 3rd with Dr Reid now to discuss the issue.

Good for Dr Reid, but did Dr Bonitatibus’ email rub anyone else the wrong way? There was no apology or acknowledgment that this was an unfortunate situation.

Another vote for Dr Bonitatibus has to go…

The email admitted it was human error that caused it. And I defiydo not think this merits firing the principal.

This is the email I received. No admission of human error or apology that I see…

Dear TJHSST Families,

First, I would like to draw your attention to the statement on the FCPS website regarding a delay in sharing National Merit Scholarship Corporation recognition with students designated Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Superintendent Dr. Reid and I are aware that there will be many questions on this topic and would like to give you an opportunity to raise your concerns directly. Dr. Reid will be present at TJ on Tuesday, January 3 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. While Dr. Reid may not have answers for you on Tuesday evening, FCPS has already initiated an investigation and is committed to share any key findings with you as soon as we have them.​​​​​​​

Sincerely,

Dr. Ann N. Bonitatibus

TJHSST Principal

looks perfectly fine to me. They are giving you a chance to air your grievances.

Sure. Townhall is another waste of time and all for show. Nothing is going to come for the townhall, but they can pay themselves on the back that they “listened”.

The email did not offer any apology or acknowledge the unfortunate circumstances. I was the poster who wished the principal would acknowledge/apologize. Another poster indicated the email said was human error. I don’t see that anywhere.
Frankly I’m tired of the administrations screw ups at TJ. PS - this is the first.

[Anonymous]

I’m PP. meant to say this isn’t TJs first screw up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The colleges SAW the applicants' SAT scores. The colleges were well aware that those SAT scores were very high. The label placed on the score (commended) doesn't add anything more important than the score itself...which the colleges had!

Yes, this is all some fake outrage over nothing.

Let’s say it has nothing to do with college admissions. It’s a certificate or award that the school was told to distribute immediately as it was the only way students would know- and they didn’t. College admissions, not being a merit scholar, kids finding out other ways, etc - all irrelevant. What is relevant is the school not timely informing students of something that takes minimal effort to do so.

There are two possible scenarios that I can think of-
1. The letters were deliberately withheld. If so, who empowered this person to make that decision when the rest of FCPS distributed them?
2. There is mismanagement and no oversight of TJ personnel. TJ knows these letters are coming. They come every year. Not 1 person didn’t notice they were passed out?

I go with option #3. It isn’t a big deal.

Option 3 is your opinion.
It’s not the same opinion as the National Merit Corp or FCPS. TJ need to do their job - pass out the letters by the deadline given. Oh I know the next excuse the letters on the satellite they just launched.

Come on - how hard is it to pass out a letter that comes every year. FCPS has how many layers of administration and they can’t pass out a simple letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is holding a TJ townhall on January 3rd with Dr Reid now to discuss the issue.

Good for Dr Reid, but did Dr Bonitatibus’ email rub anyone else the wrong way? There was no apology or acknowledgment that this was an unfortunate situation.

Another vote for Dr Bonitatibus has to go…

The email admitted it was human error that caused it. And I defiydo not think this merits firing the principal.

This is the email I received. No admission of human error or apology that I see…

Dear TJHSST Families,

First, I would like to draw your attention to the statement on the FCPS website regarding a delay in sharing National Merit Scholarship Corporation recognition with students designated Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Superintendent Dr. Reid and I are aware that there will be many questions on this topic and would like to give you an opportunity to raise your concerns directly. Dr. Reid will be present at TJ on Tuesday, January 3 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. While Dr. Reid may not have answers for you on Tuesday evening, FCPS has already initiated an investigation and is committed to share any key findings with you as soon as we have them.​​​​​​​

Sincerely,

Dr. Ann N. Bonitatibus

TJHSST Principal

Click on the link to the "statement on the FCPS website"

[Anonymous]

Do TJ counselors receive notification which colleges these kids applied to before Nov 14th? Just want to make sure that they know and they already communicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is holding a TJ townhall on January 3rd with Dr Reid now to discuss the issue.

Good for Dr Reid, but did Dr Bonitatibus’ email rub anyone else the wrong way? There was no apology or acknowledgment that this was an unfortunate situation.

Another vote for Dr Bonitatibus has to go…

Bonita will be laughing so hard since she enjoys inflicting pain and suffering on Asian students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The colleges SAW the applicants' SAT scores. The colleges were well aware that those SAT scores were very high. The label placed on the score (commended) doesn't add anything more important than the score itself...which the colleges had!

Yes, this is all some fake outrage over nothing.

Let’s say it has nothing to do with college admissions. It’s a certificate or award that the school was told to distribute immediately as it was the only way students would know- and they didn’t. College admissions, not being a merit scholar, kids finding out other ways, etc - all irrelevant. What is relevant is the school not timely informing students of something that takes minimal effort to do so.

For YEARS! That means done intentionally. Tack on the PUNITIVE damages that she will have to pay personally since punitive damages are not paid by the employer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The colleges SAW the applicants' SAT scores. The colleges were well aware that those SAT scores were very high. The label placed on the score (commended) doesn't add anything more important than the score itself...which the colleges had!

Yes, this is all some fake outrage over nothing.

Let’s say it has nothing to do with college admissions. It’s a certificate or award that the school was told to distribute immediately as it was the only way students would know- and they didn’t. College admissions, not being a merit scholar, kids finding out other ways, etc - all irrelevant. What is relevant is the school not timely informing students of something that takes minimal effort to do so.

It is not the only way a student would know. They already know their PSAT score and the cutoff is public knowledge and widely distributed on the internet. It isn’t hard.

Yes or no:

the school had a duty to distribute them asap

they didn’t

and distribution requires minimal effort and organization

Everything else is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The colleges SAW the applicants' SAT scores. The colleges were well aware that those SAT scores were very high. The label placed on the score (commended) doesn't add anything more important than the score itself...which the colleges had!

Yes, this is all some fake outrage over nothing.

Let’s say it has nothing to do with college admissions. It’s a certificate or award that the school was told to distribute immediately as it was the only way students would know- and they didn’t. College admissions, not being a merit scholar, kids finding out other ways, etc - all irrelevant. What is relevant is the school not timely informing students of something that takes minimal effort to do so.

For YEARS! That means done intentionally. Tack on the PUNITIVE damages that she will have to pay personally since punitive damages are not paid by the employer!

She should be homeless.

[Anonymous]

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — A group of Fairfax County parents is demanding action after they say administrators at one of the top high schools in northern Virginia delayed informing students that they had qualified for a national award.

Parents tell 7News that officials at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology need to be held accountable for not notifying students that they earned a prestigious national award ahead of looming college application deadlines.

"To my shock, I learned two years later that my son had been a commended student in the fall of 2020," said Asra Nomani, an alumni parent of a TJ student. "He never found out, countless other families and students never found out."

https://wjla.com/news/local/thomas-jefferson-high-school-delay-notifying-students-national-merit-awards-ann-bonitatibus-brandon-kosatka-tj-fairfax-county-fcps-parents-angry-top-ranked-northern-virginia-scadal-education-scholarship-college-admissions-demand-firing-investigation

[Anonymous]

"It has monetary significance, it has career significance, and this, this sabotaging of children is happening as Fairfax County school system puts out a strategy in which they are saying explicitly that they want equal outcomes for every student. We all want every student to thrive in society and in our schools. But we do not do that by denying kids opportunities. I think that's something that we should all agree upon."

[Anonymous]

So were the students emailed, or not?

[Anonymous]

Friday morning, Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears announced that she has "reached out to the Governor and Attorney General and asked for an investigation."

[Anonymous]

Parents want Thomas Jefferson High School leaders fired over awards controversy.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Parents rallied outside Fairfax County Public Schools headquarters Friday afternoon, calling for leaders at one of the nation's top-ranked high schools to be fired.

A mother of a student at Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, Shawna Yashar, claims that for years, students haven't been properly informed about their National Merit Scholar recognitions.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/parents-want-thomas-jefferson-high-school-leaders-fired-over-awards-controversy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The colleges SAW the applicants' SAT scores. The colleges were well aware that those SAT scores were very high. The label placed on the score (commended) doesn't add anything more important than the score itself...which the colleges had!

Yes, this is all some fake outrage over nothing.

Let’s say it has nothing to do with college admissions. It’s a certificate or award that the school was told to distribute immediately as it was the only way students would know- and they didn’t. College admissions, not being a merit scholar, kids finding out other ways, etc - all irrelevant. What is relevant is the school not timely informing students of something that takes minimal effort to do so.

It is not the only way a student would know. They already know their PSAT score and the cutoff is public knowledge and widely distributed on the internet. It isn’t hard.

The PSAT scores are not in the same format as the NMSF cutoffs. Sure, you can look up how to do this, but it's not as obvious as the SAT or ACT scores.