Missed TJ teacher name entry deadline (appeal process)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
But given the fact that multiple people missed the deadline, it's clear their process is bad.

Further, if the teacher recommendations are not actually due until 2/11, then prospective students should be able to submit them. Why does the school need to know the teacher's name? What if the teacher agreed, something happened, and they had to get a different teacher to do it? It doesn't make any sense to have to give the teachers name ahead of time. It would only make sense if the system they were using or their admin people had very poor processes or could not understand the system itself.

Or, multiple people are disorganized (a more likely scenario)

[Anonymous]

I get that this result is upsetting, but they have done it this way for years and I can’t recall anyone having a problem with it before. When my child was a semifinalist, we read the information and noted the date for the names to be sent in right away. The dates are not hidden in any way and seemed pretty obvious.

I just don’t see how they can change the rules for one group of kids (or their parents, actually). What would they say to kids in past years who missed the deadline and didn’t get a second chance? To be fair, they have to apply the same rules from year to year.

Sometimes when something seemingly bad happens, we look back and realize that it was actually a good thing because it set us off on an even better path. I hope that ends up to be true for your children in this situation.

[Anonymous]

The teachers usually want an email anyway because a lot of them will ask the student for some bullet points as reminders of what the kids has done in class.

There was a requirement to ask the teachers face to face

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The teachers usually want an email anyway because a lot of them will ask the student for some bullet points as reminders of what the kids has done in class.

There was a requirement to ask the teachers face to face

One of our teachers required a face to face request, the other one did not, and just asked for an email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The teachers usually want an email anyway because a lot of them will ask the student for some bullet points as reminders of what the kids has done in class.

There was a requirement to ask the teachers face to face

Is this requirement in the application information from TJ or is this an individual middle school/teacher requirement? I don’t remember seeing this the year my child applied.

[Anonymous]

Please send the letter and cc the school board. Your kids’ applications next year will be rejected on grounds of inability to read simple dates and to follow simple instructions.

Or is it the parents “dream” for kid to go to TJ? Again, this school is for gifted kids who want it! Not for their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please send the letter and cc the school board. Your kids’ applications next year will be rejected on grounds of inability to read simple dates and to follow simple instructions.

Or is it the parents “dream” for kid to go to TJ? Again, this school is for gifted kids who want it! Not for their parents.

You are so rude. I’m a different poster. This missed deadline makes no statement about this kid’s ability or desire to go to tj, whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The teachers usually want an email anyway because a lot of them will ask the student for some bullet points as reminders of what the kids has done in class.

There was a requirement to ask the teachers face to face

Is this requirement in the application information from TJ or is this an individual middle school/teacher requirement? I don’t remember seeing this the year my child applied.

0931 here. This was not a requirement in the application information from TJ. It seems to be an individual teacher requirement.
The teacher who required a face to face request had strict requirements on internal deadline dates such as 1) talk to me by x date 2) provide me with your answers to my questionnaire by x date. This teacher had talked to the students about this process when school started. Teacher also rounded up the semifinalists in class to remind them of the internal process. I thought this teacher was well organized. The other teacher didn't ask for anything at all!

I will agree that this application process has a lot of logistical hoops- but then again, everything has logistical hoops. I did pay attention to all the dates myself, wrote them all on the family calendar. DS had a pretty good handle on the deadlines but I still sat with him when he logged into the TJ portal to enter the teacher names. Anticipating any system glitches, i had him screenshot the "Your request for teacher recommendations have been submitted" confirmation.

I imagine that applying for college will be just like this, but with multiple schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The teachers usually want an email anyway because a lot of them will ask the student for some bullet points as reminders of what the kids has done in class.

There was a requirement to ask the teachers face to face

Is this requirement in the application information from TJ or is this an individual middle school/teacher requirement? I don’t remember seeing this the year my child applied.

0931 here. This was not a requirement in the application information from TJ. It seems to be an individual teacher requirement.
The teacher who required a face to face request had strict requirements on internal deadline dates such as 1) talk to me by x date 2) provide me with your answers to my questionnaire by x date. This teacher had talked to the students about this process when school started. Teacher also rounded up the semifinalists in class to remind them of the internal process. I thought this teacher was well organized. The other teacher didn't ask for anything at all!

I will agree that this application process has a lot of logistical hoops- but then again, everything has logistical hoops. I did pay attention to all the dates myself, wrote them all on the family calendar. DS had a pretty good handle on the deadlines but I still sat with him when he logged into the TJ portal to enter the teacher names. Anticipating any system glitches, i had him screenshot the "Your request for teacher recommendations have been submitted" confirmation.

I imagine that applying for college will be just like this, but with multiple schools.

So except for certain teachers who requested that students ask face to face, semifinalists had a full week to ask teachers because they could have sent an email at any time during that week. It seems that the majority of applicants had enough time to complete this step on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting discussions.

From my experience of college admissions with several kids in different colleges (2 of them in ivies and 1 private and 1 in state school), college application itself is really hard deadline. Supplementary documents/details are soft deadlines with many colleges accepting them even after deadline. For example SAT/ACT scores, teacher or counselor recommendations etc.

All the best for the kids.

My dd is a senior this year, so the college app process is fresh in my mind.

Much like the TJ application, there is no wavering on entering the names of your recommenders and electronically “inviting” them to submit the recommendation. The occasional leeway only exists if the teacher is late submitting the recommendation from their end.

[Anonymous]

The letter is poorly written, absolutely full of grammatical errors, and involves too much emotion. A petition for something like this is ridiculous and will fall on deaf ears, but if you insist on continuing, have it proofread by a native English speaker who has done business style writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear TJHSST admissions officials and FCPS Board Members,

Sub: Petition to allow TJ semi-finalists to take final test; who missed to provide teacher names by Jan 25th deadline because of short time to react due to school closures and other compelling reasons

We are a group of parents whose kids were all excited about doing everything required of them to apply to TJHSST. They have been working on the application process since last year, starting with the information sessions, then completing the applications, taking the tests, and finally receiving the much awaited semi-finalist decisions. On Jan 18th, our kids received the happy news that they made it to the next round. They immediately started to mentally prepare for the next assessment.

Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last long. In the excitement, they missed noticing the Jan. 25 deadline for submitting the two teacher names needed for teacher recommendations. As they were awaiting the email for the next assessment venue, date and time, it became clear on Jan 26th or soon after that they had missed this crucial deadline when their peers were discussing about submitting the teacher names for the recommendation letters. This was such a crushing discovery for them that it is going to take some time to recover from it after all the things they did right to get to that point.

Why the Jan 25th deadline was harsh and unfair?
In hindsight, we can now see that the deadline was stated in the semi-finalist communication, and it was also listed in the Important Dates in the application process. However, we believe that enforcing this deadline and rejecting students s who otherwise done everything right to become the semi-finalist in this process is harsh and unfair for the following reasons:

The deadline for submitting the names was little less than 3 school days after the Jan 18th notification date. Further, Jan 21st was the MLK holiday, Jan 22nd was 2 hour school delay because of weather, and 25th was a student holiday. Jan 24th was second grading period ending date.
Less than 3 days’ time is too short to talk with teachers and obtain their permission to provide their names, especially considering that it was also the end of the grading period and therefore a very busy week both for teachers and students.
Without having known beforehand what would be required for the next steps following semi-finalist announcement, how it would be communicated and to whom, it was extremely hard to plan, keep track and fulfill the demands from this short week in the middle the complex application process through the period Sep 2018 to Jan 25th.
The only other time the kids and parents could have paid close attention to this Jan 25th deadline prior to the Jan 18th notification letter was when they submitted their applications last Sept.
However, we don't recall of any option to enter the teacher names in the application portal prior to Jan 18th.
It was nearly impossible to visualize, track, and enter the teacher names when the students were preoccupied with the anticipation of the semi-finalist decisions and the upcoming Essay/SIS Administration.
Why the Jan 25th deadline was easy to miss unlike others?
We as the parents totally understand the need for deadlines and having the prerequisites met before moving forward to the next stage of the applications. At the same time, looking at all other steps involved in the whole application process, it is hard to understand the rationale behind the strict 1-week deadline.The communication on this was extremely limited and inconspicuous:
The only trigger was the Jan 18th email to check the decision
The email didn't mention the impending crucial deadline
There was no clear indication in the email or on the application site warning the students that they must provide the teacher names by Jan 25th or else their application would be cancelled even though they qualified as semi-finalist
Fewer than 3 school days were provided to get consent of teachers and provide their names in the busy second grading period ending week
While some middle school counselors sent out reminder emails to their students to provide teacher names, our students are unfortunately not at those schools
TJ prep centers monitor these deadlines carefully and notify students about this critical deadlines but some of our students are not at those prep centers
A semi-finalist would have to be aware that he or she needed to login to see any indication of the above deadline or its implications whatsoever;
It is too easy to miss to the notification and impending short deadline given that families are dealing with ailments, family or work related issues (such as the government shutdown), single parents dealing with everything, no proper internet connectivity during vacations, etc.
Some of the affected students had web site accessibility issues and was kicked out 4PM sharp on 1/25
One student could attend school only one day between Jan 18 and 25 due to health issues, making it impossible to obtain consent from teachers to provide their names to TJ. Another student was dealing with stressful family situation.
It is extremely unfortunate that such a crucial communication that would jeopardize the entire application process was not highlighted more clearly. These students have otherwise demonstrated that they are very smart, dedicated, diligent, high achievers. To disqualify them solely on the basis of the Jan. 25 deadline does a disservice to them and to TJ.

What we are requesting to consider for future admissions?
We sincerely believe that disqualification solely on the basis of the Jan 25th deadline is completely unfair to the kids who worked so hard and are so eager to be part of such a great learning environment. In future, a better approach to obtaining teacher recommendation from the students in the semi-finalist group could be achieved by several other means, such as:.
Making it clear at the start of the process that semi-finalists will have to provide teacher names for recommendations as of a given date.
Allowing the students to enter the teacher names ahead in the portal but only submit it to the teachers of the semi-finalists.
Ensuring TJ notifies the semi-finalists and parents of next steps and deadlines in an email. As noted, some of the other middle schools provided email notification to their students, but our students were at a disadvantage in that our schools did not provide such notice.
Allowing a longer period for obtaining and providing teacher names, for example, at least 5 school days’ time.
What we are requesting to consider for now?
Given our logical explanation that so many students missed the deadline not for the lack of trying or caring but rather simply as a culmination of several factors such as the short deadline, limited communications on the deadline and the implications, and different circumstances that each of these kids and families were under during that one week, we request that the admissions committee reconsider the applications of these deserving, qualified students.
We have talked with our children’s teachers and they are willing to honor Feb 11th deadline;
and
Given that teachers are ready to meet the deadline, please allow students to take the Feb 9th test while teachers complete recommendations by the Feb 11th deadline.
After all, 'to err is human'! Should the kids be punished so harshly for missing out on this step in the big scheme things in this year-long application process? They should not be judged for their character, intellect, their quest to excellence and suitability to TJ on this one aspect. They should not given a message that their GPA,, test scores, their hard work in their last 10 years of schooling, and everything else mean nothing in light of this one deadline to obtain teacher names. We sincerely hope you will be able to provide the right answers and make the right calls in light of our above explanations.

Thank you for taking time to review our petition!

Sincerely,

Concerned parents (on behalf of the bright, potential TJ students)


CC: FCPS Board Members

Such a poorly drafted Email - too long and horrible language. They will just read it and toss it. Please consider redrafting and making it concise and the language better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I like the conversation and point of views here. Appreciate very much the reasoned comments from those said supportive words. Thank you. You are all very kind.

I also accept the opposite views, and have no problem with TJ sticking to a strict deadline. If you think being strict should define TJ, that's all good. But it is also true that elite institutions (more elite than TJ, in fact) have flexibilities on matters like these, as many have noted.

Btw, I was in contact with the Director of Admissions, and respect their policy, so there's that. He said politely that there is no appeal process at this stage. I am not sure if it implied there is an appeal on the final selections. I thought I saw that somewhere(?). If so, it is very odd that you can appeal a selection decision at the end, but not a missed interim date to send a name. If they also allow late teacher rec past deadline as some said here, but not the entry of the teacher name, that is also super-weird. Anyway, that's what it is today.

It was an email saying check online, then the decision congratulatory note, which the parents or student can open. I lumped them as 'email'.

As someone said, different folks, different strokes. Daughter runs her schedule. But for something huge like this which could be life-changing, at her age now, no way in hell we would not help. Every thing else, she runs. Others might prefer their kids to do everything on their own, that's also cool. In our case, I am sure we would feel even worse if she missed it on her own, and we sat there doing nothing.

I don't really internalize the negative attacks. This is the internet after all. I'm convinced enough of her abilities as it is now. Wherever school she attends, she'll be decent.

All the best folks and enjoy your day!

OP you seem like a very nice and positive person. Sorry this happened, but everything happens for the best. Your child will be happier and that matters more - TJ does not define happiness or success in life. All will be just well and your child will excel wherever she is. Don't be sad, at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That letter is horrendous.

+100% Petitioning parents -trying to help you from yourselves. Missing the deadline sux. It's disappointing. But now its time to focus on something else. The petition and the very embarrassing letter are not the answer.

Let. It. Go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were lucky to have our daughter quality as a TJ semifinalist this year. Unfortunately, we missed the teacher name entry deadline last Friday (name entry, not the final recommendation text) for TJHSST. The admission director said we have to pull out from the application and cannot continue. I was searching for an appeal process but most links lead nowhere.

In our household, I was responsible for TJ date tracking. I completely missed the Jan 25th date in the congratulatory email, and was surprised when we checked Sunday evening. All along we thought she could talk to her teachers this week. She already had two teachers in mind last week, but we were oblivious to the Friday deadline, else we could have done the name entry that day. Between a couple of school tests last week, my daughter was preparing for the essays on the 9th.

We now have to withdraw from the process. It is heartbreaking --and I will feel guilty forever-- to deny her a chance to test for a TJ spot because of a missed name entry (because I missed a sentence while overjoyed reading the email ; I remember thinking, ok, the next date we have to know is the 9th). But the official response was a very dry you can't continue.

Is anyone familiar with an appeal? The appeal is not on the selection, just to be allowed to continue to the essay exam. Her teachers already agreed to write a recommendation.

Appreciate any tips. Thank you.

(This is probably a unique case so it would be easy to identify me, but will try to be anon.)

Allowing kids to submit past the deadline is unfair to the kids/parents who made sure they were on top of it. The very fact that you missed the deadline shows the dedication. Last year my DD was the one who monitored the deadlines, and all us were on board. Where was your DC in this whole process?