TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

This argument can stop once we agree on an admissions test. Absurd to not have one.

Or, just raise the bar higher for admissions, like higher 3.75+ GPA (complete MS, not just 1st quarter), Geometry HN, all HN core courses, teacher input, some credit to stem electives/achievements (only school sponsored and compare students with in a given school only), use the quotas based on school pyramid and not attending school (50-70% pre-allocated to regions and rest in open) etc. and then either select the top students in each pyramid (and open pool) or even better select using lottery to eliminate all the bias. Don't even have to ask for essays which have to be graded other than the initial application and release the results after grades are finalized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

I don't believe that URM kids will be overwhelmed and incapable of surviving at TJ. I do believe that URM kids who get admitted to TJ only due to the current anti-meritocratic system will likely be overwhelmed at TJ, along with the white and Asian kids who likewise wouldn't have been selected in the old system but slipped in now due to every single somewhat above average kid looking the same on paper.

If FCPS were serious about making sure that URMs and lower income kids reach their potential, they should have performed an audit of Black TJ applicants over the last 10 years to see why the black kids with high grades and Geometry in 8th were getting rejected. Then, they should have addressed those specific factors rather than gutting the entire process. Along with this, they could fund some extra STEM ECs in the lower SES schools. They could strengthen Young Scholars and use it to provide mentoring and support to talented URMs. It makes more sense to lift the URMs than it does to make every excuse in the book as to why they simply can't, and then lower the bar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

This argument can stop once we agree on an admissions test. Absurd to not have one.

Or, just raise the bar higher for admissions, like higher 3.75+ GPA (complete MS, not just 1st quarter), Geometry HN, all HN core courses, teacher input, some credit to stem electives/achievements (only school sponsored and compare students with in a given school only), use the quotas based on school pyramid and not attending school (50-70% pre-allocated to regions and rest in open) etc. and then either select the top students in each pyramid (and open pool) or even better select using lottery to eliminate all the bias. Don't even have to ask for essays which have to be graded other than the initial application and release the results after grades are finalized.

I hate the new admissions system, but I'd totally be on board with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

I don't believe that URM kids will be overwhelmed and incapable of surviving at TJ. I do believe that URM kids who get admitted to TJ only due to the current anti-meritocratic system will likely be overwhelmed at TJ, along with the white and Asian kids who likewise wouldn't have been selected in the old system but slipped in now due to every single somewhat above average kid looking the same on paper.

If FCPS were serious about making sure that URMs and lower income kids reach their potential, they should have performed an audit of Black TJ applicants over the last 10 years to see why the black kids with high grades and Geometry in 8th were getting rejected. Then, they should have addressed those specific factors rather than gutting the entire process. Along with this, they could fund some extra STEM ECs in the lower SES schools. They could strengthen Young Scholars and use it to provide mentoring and support to talented URMs. It makes more sense to lift the URMs than it does to make every excuse in the book as to why they simply can't, and then lower the bar.

I’m the person you quote and I think we agree on the approach. I did not mean to misquote you. There is tons of Anti-Asian racism on this thread but also tons of anti-black and anti-Latinx, so I wanted to call that out as well. I understand your point about any unprepared kid going into TJ.

I agree FCPS was not thoughtful and used a blunt instrument. I’d love to see FCPS take a more targeted approach, although I still question whether having TJ is fair and worthwhile. Or maybe have 2 or 3 TJs? Why are we creating a have/have not system in public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

The foreigners can come to America with nothing and within a few years, get into the top schools. No privilege required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

How about canceling NBA since only a privileged few can get into it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

How selfish it is! Have you ever think about why you cannot benefit it? Did you do your part well enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

How about canceling NBA since only a privileged few can get into it?

Somebody will pop up and say that the NBA is not publicly funded.

Why don’t we cancel UVA’s D-1 basketball program. Or Alabama’s football? Or D-1 athletics everywhere in public universities. There is a remarkable lack of diversity among the athletes.

No - I am not advocating we do that. We should celebrate and promote excellence in every field independent of the racial profile of those that demonstrate excellence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any updates on if the TJ admissions office has finished their process of reviewing the ED data? FOIA mom/dad - did they ever get you the data?

No docs have been provided yet. FCPS still stalling despite multiple requests and multiple paragraphs detailing exactly which records are being requested and why in relation to ED questions.

“In further response to your FOIA request of May 25, 2022, we are unable to process your request because no public records have been identified with reasonable specificity as required by Section 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.”

Note: this sudden interest in verifying ED eligibility happened right after the FOIA request. 🤔

Also of note: Since Jan of 2022, FCPS has been informed about this issue multiple times and looked the other way (that some parents are abusing the true intent of the questions behind free and reduced lunches). Can only speculate as to why they didn’t address this sooner but a couple possible reasons could be: 1) they look great when they can say 33 % is ED (complete fiction) and 2) they underestimated the ability of select DCUMs to take action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Standards are already down, the impact of we may not realize until 4-5 years from now. TJ is already lowering expectations or standards to cater to new set of students and ensure that they are 'meeting' the standards, but only on paper. In couple of years, this will become a new normal for TJ, while it slides down in over all quality as compared to other schools. At the same time, base HS, especially Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly will see more and more higher quality students and carve out ways to meet the demand and interest courses and activities. I would say its a net positive on the whole, though not for TJ specifically.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see much evidence that Asian kids flooded into "under-represented" middle schools like Whitman and Holmes this past year to "game" the new process.

It seems more likely to me that Asian families will just anchor in the top pyramids so they can hedge their bets (still have their kids apply to TJ, but rest assured that the alternative is Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly/Woodson). And, as TJ becomes seen primarily as an alternative to lower-performing high schools, fewer of their kids will apply, just like Asian families in MoCo send their kids to Wootton with only some considering the Blair magnet.

Correct. Asian will stay in top school zones.

Some will have a small house in a lower ranked area and a larger house in the top zone.

Seems so overkill for high school. TJ is just a high school in the end. No one cares if you went to TJ later in life and college outcomes aren’t really better because it’s so competitive. If you read their confessional page, cheating is rampant and kids are totally unhappy. It’s crazy to me that folks are this desperate for TJ. Get a life.

TJ is soooo shiny.

This thread is intended for people interested in TJ. This is not a place to bash TJ as that point is going to fall on deaf ears. What is your purpose except maybe as someone embittered that TJ is unattainable?

I’m not bashing TJ. I’m bashing the parents who have been plotting their child’s path for TJ admissions since 2nd grade because they are obsessed with the prestige.

Why would you bash parents who want their kids to be successful? You seem to be obsessed with perpetuating a particular stereotype of a TJ applicant in the past in order to justify a new process that, as this thread indicates, has been anything but smooth. You've offered next to nothing to suggest that the new process is better at identifying students who may have an actual interest in, or aptitude for, STEM.

I'm bashing parents fostering an unhealthy, toxic environment for our kids.

You could always raise your kids as you see fit, and stop interfering with how other parents raise theirs.

It reeks of privilege for people like you to assert that other parents are somehow fostering an "unhealthy, toxic environment" for your kids. It's like you think you're the ones who should always decide the rules and the appropriate cultural norms.

Hmm. I wonder why teen suicides are out of control. Don’t get me wrong, I blame the sports parents, too. It’s all too much! I feel horrible for these kids who have been robbed of their childhood and expected to plan for a career (or to be an Olympian, get a scholarship, etc) from early childhood. It’s so messed up.

You could just as readily ascribe blame to FCPS officials for keeping schools closed so long, with the resultant isolation, lack of social interaction with peers, and loss of learning. That seems to have much more of an impact on students' mental health than parents encouraging their kids to participate in a Science Olympiad or to apply to TJ.

But, again, if you think it's up to FCPS to counter parents who "rob kids of their childhood," then the logical inference is that you should be advocating for the elimination of the STEM magnet at TJ, and not tinkering with the admissions process to admit more kids who may not be up to the school's challenges.

See, if is all very obvious. The white parents have a playbook which kept them on top. And which they think is the right thing to do. The Asians have a different playbook that they saw. Now that the Asian playbook is winning, whites want to say it is a bad toxi playbook. For a while, whites were embarassed that a minority was doing well. And grudgingly let it go. Then the envy got too much and they started saying you are no longer a minority - let's use the URM weapon to bash them. And here we are. Whatever argument you have - there is a counter. You Asians are just privileged, overworking, cheating, unidimensina, toxic people who need to be replaced. Never mind what your background/income levels are. This is a moment in time to vilify you. There is an absolute problem with the black community which needs to be addressed, but we just have some immigrant kids with motivated patents from Africa and South America being accidental winners here. All power to them. No real impact in areas where there should be. Of course as long as the end result is less Asians. whites are heaving a sigh of temporary relief. There!

Nope.

Whites DGAF. When we looked at the application data on an earlier thread, only 50% of eligible white kids even bothered to apply compared to 90%+ black and Asian kids. White families aren’t “envious” at all.

The community looked at how this valuable resource was being utilized and it was monopolized by a small group of wealthy middle schools. And there were embarrassingly few URMs or ED kids. 0.6% ED in 2024.

Maybe it’s white guilt for building such an unfair system. But it’s certainly not “envy”. You are totally off base.

I disagree. I'm white, and for the most part, white people love the prestige. They just don't want to put in the work like Asian kids do. In this forum alone, there have been numerous threads with parents complaining that their white kids are behind the Asian kids, despite their white kids' superior "natural aptitude." White people want to disincentivize anyone getting rewarded for working harder than they're willing to work. Even in this thread, there are suggestions that the Asian work ethic is toxic, the kids are suffering due to the high expectations, and Asians are doing things wrong because no one is supposed to work that hard in America.

The TJ reform is all about taking away any and all incentives for Asian kids to dominate in academics. If Asian kids are knocked down a few pegs or stop trying so hard, it flows that white kids will look better in comparison. White kids weren't especially interested in TJ because it required too much work for too little gain. If TJ gets watered down and no longer has so many strong Asian students at the top of the class, white kids will flock back.

I have never seen that on here. Examples?

And TJ reform isn’t about knocking down Asian students; it’s an attempt to lift others up by leveling the playing field. This admissions process isn’t perfect but it’s a step in the right direction.

And the civil war was about states’ rights - really it was. It so happened that some citizens of a certain race were impacted. I was not about them. It was all about preserving the federal nature of the union. Just ask the African Americans how they felt.

P.S. ~ don’t be tone deaf. Listen to your Asian neighbors. If they feel wronged then maybe this reform had something to do with it? See what happened in San Francisco with the school board.

Have your listening years on and you will be a more effective and impactful reformer.

What about the Asians who support reform?
https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/press-release/civil-rights-groups-submit-amicus-brief-support-race-neutral-admissions-policy-thomas

Why is it that you think only one subset of the population should have a voice? What about everyone else?

Still waiting on the answer to this.

Do you seek out Clarence Thomas and Herschel Walker when you need input on African American issues?

False equivalence. AAAJ are not crazy extremists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

How about canceling NBA since only a privileged few can get into it?

Not at all the same. The NBA is not a public school that is supposed to provide a free and appropriate education for all funded by tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big disconnect between the people who try to correlate TJ admissions reforms with improvements in students' mental health.

The Asian kids whom they implicitly suggest are hyper-competitive and toxic will not have different parents or abandon their ambitions if they are attending Langley or Chantilly rather than TJ.

URMs who end up in the rigorous, demanding environment of TJ may be particularly prone to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy if they can't keep up with the curriculum (see "imposter syndrome").

If you think TJHSST is problematic, then you should be advocating for the winding-down of the competitive magnet program. And if you think it's up to the system to take actions to reduce the pressure on students county-wide, get rid of the IB Diploma program and cap the number of AP courses kids can take.

Instead, you've somehow convinced yourself that implementing a more random admissions system at TJ will make the school a kinder and gentler place and have big ripple effects throughout FCPS. Most of us aren't buying it. The changes were a crude way to do anything other than just provide a small number of kids who'd otherwise attend low-performing schools with somewhat higher odds of attending a better school.

I absolutely think we should wind down TJ! And scale AAP way back, if not eliminate it. Most kids do not “need” these programs and we spend a ton of money on a very few kids. I’d rather see us spread the money around and raise the bar for everyone.

I want to point out that it is a racists assumption that an URM will be overwhelmed and cannot survive at TJ. If that is true, what is the answer? Let them whither on the vine and not reach their potential? How do URMs ever get ahead then? How do we ever level the playing field and keep TJ? It is an argument in favor of getting rid of TJ and sending the money to the schools where kids have lower resources. Why should a bunch of relatively high income kids get all the benefits? Find a way to make it accessible to all without extensive prep and courses that sell the answers or get rid of it.

Destroy the best high school in the country because a certain group is underrepresented?

Keep it and allow only a privileged few to benefit?

How selfish it is! Have you ever think about why you cannot benefit it? Did you do your part well enough?

What was “my part?” Taking the prep course that gave the answers?