Waitlisted at TJ - now what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the link to the FCAG report I just mentioned:
https://www.fcag.org/documents/TJ_Class_of_2025_analysis.pdf

Yes, we know the students that were admitted weren't as well prepped as in years past but were selected because they were naturally more gifted than the less successful preppers.

Diversity is great and diversity in any cohort enriches the cohort - schools or workplace.

But to claim that by increasing diversity we have somehow admitted more “naturally gifted” students is the kind of asinine wokeness that is leading the progressives to ruin.

You wanted a more diverse class through this reform - understood. But to claim all this BS around natural giftedness, et al demonstrates an absolute absence of logic or a cult-like following of woke ideology.

+1. We can't win if our position is that doing away with a test and giving extra points for "experience factors" such as poverty and ESL is the trick to getting the best and brightest. We are so much better off sticking to the fact that all of Fairfax pays taxes that support TJ so all middle schools in Fairfax should have the opportunity to send the top 1.5% of their middle school student body to TJ. Why is that so hard to stand behind?

Disagree, admitting the top performers from all schools will result in a stronger cohort than admitting the 3rd tier preppers from the most affluent school. This is just common sense, but some parents dislike this since it makes it harder to game admissions.

Bull. It is not common sense. It's your load of crap opinion. Don't try to assume away the issue by labelling your unsupported and unsubstantiated opinions as common sense. #wokie

It's a well known fact that admitting the top performers from all schools results in a stronger cohort than admitting the 3rd tier preppers from the most affluent school. This is just common sense, but some affluent parents dislike this since it makes it harder to game admissions with their $$$.

You nailed it!

It's not hard to see that some pyramids have far more higher-achieving kids than others. You can ignore these differences, which are apparent in both middle schools and high schools other than TJ, but pretending that there isn't a far deeper bench in some pyramids than others is willful blindness. It's obvious that you try to mask it by suggesting that disparities that are the result of differences in resources, intelligence, and parental commitment to their children's education is all somehow due to test prepping.

You aren't fooling anyone.

There certainly is a far deeper bench at Carson than there is at, say, Whitman. That’s why Carson STILL gets in 50-60 kids compared to 5-6 at Whitman.

This is a better situation than 80-90 kids from Carson and 0 kids from Whitman, and if you can’t understand that on its face you don’t understand the classroom environment. And that’s fine - but don’t pretend that you do.

In other words, the case for TJ now isn’t to take the strongest kids in the region and cultivate their talents, but to rescue some above-average kids from the Mount Vernon pyramid, as they’d otherwise be stuck at an under-performing IB school that FCPS is too lazy to do anything about.

1) It's a false choice - TJ can do both because you're talking about a class of 550 kids. TJ doesn't need the 80th best kid from Carson - that kid doesn't provide any additional value to the environment.

2) The kids coming from that pyramid are significantly better than "above average".

What a ridiculous response. If the 80th best kid from Carson is a stronger applicant than the 2nd best applicant from Whitman, the Carson kid should get the nod, unless you’re simply committed to arbitrary, residential tokenism.

And if there were a large cohort of well above-average kids from Whitman, they wouldn’t have needed Brabrand and the School Board coming to their rescue to re-engineer the entire process.

Please educate yourself before spewing your personal opinions on educational policy driven by your self-serving desires. Are you going to argue against real academic researchers from Johns Hopkins and Duke? What makes you so qualified to tell FCPS what's best for the kids?
Effect of Local Norms on Racial and Ethnic Representation in Gifted Education
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2332858419848446

Agree, but it's also just common sense that policies that favor the naturally gifted over the least successful prepper from a rich school will result in a stronger, more diverse cohort.

Again with the "it's common sense" and then some strawman argument. I think it's "common sense" that a higher score on a really hard admissions test is a policy that favors the naturally gifted over one that give bonus points to applicants based on income and geography.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

On the contrary, I know my kid is so excited to start TJ this fall. They would never have bothered to even apply in years past because the old system was so rigged in favor of the rich MS's. Overall I think this will be one of the strongest classes in recent memory because the new process favors on innate talent and ability over prep.

So your child is too unmotivated and too afraid of challenge to have bothered to apply in the old system, yet you think he'll be successful at TJ?

[Anonymous]

Are any kids moving from waitlist? Will the people on the waitlist receive any communication whether positive or negative?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

More of the exceptionally gifted are going to be attending schools other than TJ, so get used to it.

Not sure if your post is criticizing the TJ changes or advocating to curtail opportunities for truly exceptional kids unless they end up at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the link to the FCAG report I just mentioned:
https://www.fcag.org/documents/TJ_Class_of_2025_analysis.pdf

Yes, we know the students that were admitted weren't as well prepped as in years past but were selected because they were naturally more gifted than the less successful preppers.

Diversity is great and diversity in any cohort enriches the cohort - schools or workplace.

But to claim that by increasing diversity we have somehow admitted more “naturally gifted” students is the kind of asinine wokeness that is leading the progressives to ruin.

You wanted a more diverse class through this reform - understood. But to claim all this BS around natural giftedness, et al demonstrates an absolute absence of logic or a cult-like following of woke ideology.

+1. We can't win if our position is that doing away with a test and giving extra points for "experience factors" such as poverty and ESL is the trick to getting the best and brightest. We are so much better off sticking to the fact that all of Fairfax pays taxes that support TJ so all middle schools in Fairfax should have the opportunity to send the top 1.5% of their middle school student body to TJ. Why is that so hard to stand behind?

Disagree, admitting the top performers from all schools will result in a stronger cohort than admitting the 3rd tier preppers from the most affluent school. This is just common sense, but some parents dislike this since it makes it harder to game admissions.

Bull. It is not common sense. It's your load of crap opinion. Don't try to assume away the issue by labelling your unsupported and unsubstantiated opinions as common sense. #wokie

It's a well known fact that admitting the top performers from all schools results in a stronger cohort than admitting the 3rd tier preppers from the most affluent school. This is just common sense, but some affluent parents dislike this since it makes it harder to game admissions with their $$$.

You nailed it!

It's not hard to see that some pyramids have far more higher-achieving kids than others. You can ignore these differences, which are apparent in both middle schools and high schools other than TJ, but pretending that there isn't a far deeper bench in some pyramids than others is willful blindness. It's obvious that you try to mask it by suggesting that disparities that are the result of differences in resources, intelligence, and parental commitment to their children's education is all somehow due to test prepping.

You aren't fooling anyone.

There certainly is a far deeper bench at Carson than there is at, say, Whitman. That’s why Carson STILL gets in 50-60 kids compared to 5-6 at Whitman.

This is a better situation than 80-90 kids from Carson and 0 kids from Whitman, and if you can’t understand that on its face you don’t understand the classroom environment. And that’s fine - but don’t pretend that you do.

In other words, the case for TJ now isn’t to take the strongest kids in the region and cultivate their talents, but to rescue some above-average kids from the Mount Vernon pyramid, as they’d otherwise be stuck at an under-performing IB school that FCPS is too lazy to do anything about.

1) It's a false choice - TJ can do both because you're talking about a class of 550 kids. TJ doesn't need the 80th best kid from Carson - that kid doesn't provide any additional value to the environment.

2) The kids coming from that pyramid are significantly better than "above average".

What a ridiculous response. If the 80th best kid from Carson is a stronger applicant than the 2nd best applicant from Whitman, the Carson kid should get the nod, unless you’re simply committed to arbitrary, residential tokenism.

And if there were a large cohort of well above-average kids from Whitman, they wouldn’t have needed Brabrand and the School Board coming to their rescue to re-engineer the entire process.

Please educate yourself before spewing your personal opinions on educational policy driven by your self-serving desires. Are you going to argue against real academic researchers from Johns Hopkins and Duke? What makes you so qualified to tell FCPS what's best for the kids?
Effect of Local Norms on Racial and Ethnic Representation in Gifted Education
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2332858419848446

We choose areas of study and topics of research. Of course published works spring out of our very personal mind. By the way, have you read this paper at all? Did you understand it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

Why do you NOT push your kids? If you have no interest in math and your kid’s math, why would you NOT leave the TJ seats alone to those who love STEM and deserve them after years of hard work? Where were you during the nine school years when we checked our kids homework, looked for supplements, solved problem with them, helped them set goals…

I’m so tired of your stupid “truly exceptional gifted”. Losers never understands that they never made it because they are LAZY and dumb. You are now “advocates” now since you were lazy with your next generation and never got involved in their well/being!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

The TJ catchment area would include around 30,000 kids per grade level. While the top kids may not be Terrence Tao, there are 50 or so kids in each grade level who are "exceptionally gifted" enough to need more than is available at the local high school. These kids ought to get into TJ, but since many aren't doing so in the current system, the schools should try to provide something for them. If nothing else, a dual enrollment virtual academy class could cover the kids who take Calc BC in 9th or 10th grade but don't get into TJ.

FCPS doesn't allow that many kids to take Algebra in 6th or earlier. Most of the kids who take Calc in 10th and run out of math classes in 12th got there by taking summer Geometry. The easiest way to serve the needs of the exceptionally gifted but also cut back on the over-acceleration is to continue allowing the outliers to take Algebra early, but eliminate the option to jump ahead through summer Geometry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

Why do you NOT push your kids? If you have no interest in math and your kid’s math, why would you NOT leave the TJ seats alone to those who love STEM and deserve them after years of hard work? Where were you during the nine school years when we checked our kids homework, looked for supplements, solved problem with them, helped them set goals…

I’m so tired of your stupid “truly exceptional gifted”. Losers never understands that they never made it because they are LAZY and dumb. You are now “advocates” now since you were lazy with your next generation and never got involved in their well/being!

You can support your kids interests without pushing them. My kid asks to do supplemental math so we do math. He was not interested in math camp this summer but was interested in robotics and coding and 3D printing so he is going to camp for those things. I would not enroll him in those programs without his interest.

If he does not continue to do the supplemental math and the STEM type camps but he met the requirements for TJ and was willing to fill out the application and go through those steps and apply for a spot, more power to him. He met the requirements and he is capable, so why shouldn't he apply for a spot? Because he didn't know in 5th grade that he wanted to go to TJ so he didn't do extra math in 5th grade? Or he didn't attend all STEM camps?

I will actively discourage taking math classes during summer school. I don't think that you can cover an entire school years math in a month in an effective fashion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And AGAIN - it doesn't serve elite educational communities to have a whole mess of kids within their walls come from the same few schools. Even if the 80th best kid from Carson scores somewhat higher on a few objective metrics than the top kid from Whitman, the only way you can genuinely believe that the kid from Carson will contribute more to the community is to have zero experience in elite academic environments.

Why should acceptance be based on contributions to the community?

Because in the end, the value of TJ both to the student and to the Northern Virginia STEM community is in the academic environment that it provides, and consequently to the students that it produces.

It is unthinkable that the number of applications to each TJ class remains relatively similar to what it was 20 years ago given the explosion of population in the catchment area. TJ should be fielding over 5000 applications every year, which would result in a stronger talent pool and a better overall class of kids - but for too long too many exceptional students in the area have not been adequately persuaded to overcome the obstacles (travel, workload, etc) to go to the school because the environment isn't attractive enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

Why do you NOT push your kids? If you have no interest in math and your kid’s math, why would you NOT leave the TJ seats alone to those who love STEM and deserve them after years of hard work? Where were you during the nine school years when we checked our kids homework, looked for supplements, solved problem with them, helped them set goals…

I’m so tired of your stupid “truly exceptional gifted”. Losers never understands that they never made it because they are LAZY and dumb. You are now “advocates” now since you were lazy with your next generation and never got involved in their well/being!

You can support your kids interests without pushing them. My kid asks to do supplemental math so we do math. He was not interested in math camp this summer but was interested in robotics and coding and 3D printing so he is going to camp for those things. I would not enroll him in those programs without his interest.

If he does not continue to do the supplemental math and the STEM type camps but he met the requirements for TJ and was willing to fill out the application and go through those steps and apply for a spot, more power to him. He met the requirements and he is capable, so why shouldn't he apply for a spot? Because he didn't know in 5th grade that he wanted to go to TJ so he didn't do extra math in 5th grade? Or he didn't attend all STEM camps?

I will actively discourage taking math classes during summer school. I don't think that you can cover an entire school years math in a month in an effective fashion.

Why would you actively discourage if your kid wants to do it? you actually think you have more experience than a kid. that's so wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

The TJ catchment area would include around 30,000 kids per grade level. While the top kids may not be Terrence Tao, there are 50 or so kids in each grade level who are "exceptionally gifted" enough to need more than is available at the local high school. These kids ought to get into TJ, but since many aren't doing so in the current system, the schools should try to provide something for them. If nothing else, a dual enrollment virtual academy class could cover the kids who take Calc BC in 9th or 10th grade but don't get into TJ.

FCPS doesn't allow that many kids to take Algebra in 6th or earlier. Most of the kids who take Calc in 10th and run out of math classes in 12th got there by taking summer Geometry. The easiest way to serve the needs of the exceptionally gifted but also cut back on the over-acceleration is to continue allowing the outliers to take Algebra early, but eliminate the option to jump ahead through summer Geometry.

I wouldn't be so sure that the current system is missing out on those top 50 type kids. For one thing, plenty of the kids in the Class of 2025 were comparable to those absolute best-of-the-best that have historically existed at TJ, and for another, a staggering number of families in this area don't really have a good idea of what constitutes "best of the best".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

Why do you NOT push your kids? If you have no interest in math and your kid’s math, why would you NOT leave the TJ seats alone to those who love STEM and deserve them after years of hard work? Where were you during the nine school years when we checked our kids homework, looked for supplements, solved problem with them, helped them set goals…

I’m so tired of your stupid “truly exceptional gifted”. Losers never understands that they never made it because they are LAZY and dumb. You are now “advocates” now since you were lazy with your next generation and never got involved in their well/being!

You can support your kids interests without pushing them. My kid asks to do supplemental math so we do math. He was not interested in math camp this summer but was interested in robotics and coding and 3D printing so he is going to camp for those things. I would not enroll him in those programs without his interest.

If he does not continue to do the supplemental math and the STEM type camps but he met the requirements for TJ and was willing to fill out the application and go through those steps and apply for a spot, more power to him. He met the requirements and he is capable, so why shouldn't he apply for a spot? Because he didn't know in 5th grade that he wanted to go to TJ so he didn't do extra math in 5th grade? Or he didn't attend all STEM camps?

I will actively discourage taking math classes during summer school. I don't think that you can cover an entire school years math in a month in an effective fashion.

Why would you actively discourage if your kid wants to do it? you actually think you have more experience than a kid. that's so wrong.

DP. The reasons to discourage a kid from slamming a year's worth of math into a month are to:

1) prevent burnout - you would be amazed at how many TJ kids burn out on math after a couple of years and switch to an AP Stat track rather than a MultiVar/LinAlg track - and additionally kids need breaks in the summer

2) invariably when you do a year's worth of math that quickly you're going to have gaps in understanding as kids try to find easy ways to solve problems rather than learning the underlying concepts fully and completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reformed TJ admission is just a plan to ensure that all schools are left behind in terms of facilities, courses available etc.

How so? If that's the plan, it will fail miserably.

One suspects the geniuses in FCPS thought the new process would somehow incentivize people to move their kids to "under-represented" middle schools and, therefore, start to level the playing field.

Instead, it will reduce the appeal of TJ and enhance the appeal of the pyramids that had been sending the most kids to TJ previously, especially Langley, McLean, Chantilly, and Oakton.

And then the parents at those schools will demand more STEM courses for their kids, and if FCPS doesn't oblige the School Board members who are already on very shaky ground in their districts will get kicked out of office.

Ya, they may have replaced the 87th best kid at Cooper with the best kid from a less affluent school. I honestly believe the the number 1 kid from the less affluent school would test much higher anyway if afforded similar opportunities to those available to wealthy families.


This is happening at McLean big time. They are adding two more post-AP CS classes. These classes are essentially the same classes taught at TJ.

Its a total waste of money! I don’t know why they don’t just let the kids drive/bus over to TJ during the “free block” and take the class. Or teach it online. Hiring a teacher for two classes doesn’t make sense.

That is a big waste of money. Dual enrollment exists for a reason. McLean students, or any student, who finds themselves seeking such courses should look into Northern Virginia Community College or GMU dual enrollment to take those those classes. There's no reason for FCPS to cater to such small groups of students scattered across the county for post-K12 material.

Exactly. To all the abolish-TJ advocators, think about how much more taxpayer money it will cost FCPS to create these specialized courses at multiple high schools, rather than efficiently concentrating them into one school for the exceptionally gifted.

Well, there's a difference between those who are truly exceptionally gifted and those who are pushed to acceleration. I suspect a fair amount of students fall into the latter thanks to their parents. Very few pre-teens would ask out of the blue to take advanced math during their summers to get 2-3 years ahead. If they are begging for advanced math in ES, then maybe you might have the next Terence Tao in your hands. So I'm arguing that FCPS need not cater to students that were rather needlessly accelerated to get to multivar calculus and DE by 12th grade. Leave that to parents to deal with and take advantage of concurrent dual enrollment. TJ shouldn't have to absorb all of it either.

The TJ catchment area would include around 30,000 kids per grade level. While the top kids may not be Terrence Tao, there are 50 or so kids in each grade level who are "exceptionally gifted" enough to need more than is available at the local high school. These kids ought to get into TJ, but since many aren't doing so in the current system, the schools should try to provide something for them. If nothing else, a dual enrollment virtual academy class could cover the kids who take Calc BC in 9th or 10th grade but don't get into TJ.

FCPS doesn't allow that many kids to take Algebra in 6th or earlier. Most of the kids who take Calc in 10th and run out of math classes in 12th got there by taking summer Geometry. The easiest way to serve the needs of the exceptionally gifted but also cut back on the over-acceleration is to continue allowing the outliers to take Algebra early, but eliminate the option to jump ahead through summer Geometry.

I wouldn't be so sure that the current system is missing out on those top 50 type kids. For one thing, plenty of the kids in the Class of 2025 were comparable to those absolute best-of-the-best that have historically existed at TJ, and for another, a staggering number of families in this area don't really have a good idea of what constitutes "best of the best".