TJ - which middle schools had students accepted in 2017
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Anonymous
Demographics have shifted, but not that much. The percentage of Asian applicants went from 34 to 54, percent admitted went from 38 to 75. I don't begrudge any hardworking students who were accepted but this is a self-fulfilling trend |
Anonymous
FCPS Youth Survey. TJ has higher than average levels of bullying by a parent, higher than average racial/cultural bullying, much higher than average levels of stress and much, much lower than average getting enough sleep. These are not good things. https://www.tjhsst.edu/~emglazer/TJHSST%20Pyramid%202015%20Youth%20Survey%20Data.pdf |
Anonymous
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Sounds like you all want a quota system. Maybe want to check with the Supreme Court on that one.
The admissions process is not based on a single test. It considers many items. I am hopeful that the new test will weed out the prepped kids -- Asian or not. My kid is there, did not prep at all, happens to be biracial and, gasp, 1/2 Asian, and is loving it. I'm sick of you assholes judging her and us as preppers, tiger parents and unqualified when you don't know us. Just judging me and my daughter based on the color of our skin. |
Anonymous
Then your kid isn't even counted as Asian by TJ right? She checked the multicultural box? |
Anonymous
Thanks for the link. It is very interesting, and in fact the survey shows TJ students on average stands better on all other counts except the three pointed above. Considering drugs, alchohol, depression, early sex, and on and on are more dangerous this is a good indication for TJ. I am not saying that the three issues you mentioned are to be taken ligtly, however, you need place it in overall context. Lack of sleep, got to do with school work load, and here one can agree/disagree how much is appropriate for a school like TJ. |
Anonymous
Public schools can manage holistic admissions better than this. And you know it. If UVA or WM had admit numbers this skewed across all categories-- race, ethnicity, gender-- people in VA would Lose. Their. Minds. And the legislature would intervene. The year UVA admits a class that is 75% Asian or 60% male or 1% AA or 1% Hispanic, or 1% first gen is the year all hell breaks lose in VA. Like UVA and WM, TJ could fill 2-3 schools with fully qualified applicants who have talent and drive and will succeed. TJ needs to diversify, because diversity adds value. Working with different types of people. Having class discussions where you have to recognize that people have different viewpoints. Having hroup member swith fifferent ideas and goals. These make students more successful. And they have plenty of applicants from all sorts of backgrounds and can make diversity happen without sacrificing academic excellence. And, BTW, I think they need to start with economic diversity, not race, and find a way to get FARMS numbers up. Most TJ parents have poured time, money and energy into their kids education for years. Not everyone can do this. TJ should still be a possibility for kids with parents working 2 jobs an not much money, if they have talent and work hard enough. Same as college look at 1st Gen applicants differently. Sorry you don't like it, but I don't like where my kid's school is headed. The culture of cheating is insane. Approach 100 proven episodes this year alone? That is not ok. If parents and the Admin wanted it to stop, it would stop. 3 strikes (fail the test, fail the class, then leave the school), you're back to your base school. TJ drops kids from falling below a 3.0. The could do this. But, there is almost no pressure from parents to stop the cheating. And the pressure for a high go GPA at all costs, sleep and mental health and ethical behavior be damned, is slowing killing the school. And this may not be your family. Or most Asian families. But, it is on a steady uptick in mental health crises and cheating and excessive workload in recent years and has closely tracked the rise of the Asian super school. Parents and the community should not be okay with this trend. And they need to get over their fear of talking about the interplay of race and school culture, and have an honest discussion of what TJ should be going forward, and how to make it happen. Is the Newsweek #1 rating the most important thing? Highest SAYS at all costs, no matter how high the price? Or would be take being ranked 5th if the cheating was under better control, and students were able to have a healthier lifestyle? It's a legit question and a legit concern, and we should be able to talk about it. We should be respectful. We should hear each other out. We should not assume that "every" Asian or white kid or poor kid is a certain way. But we need to talk about where we are heading (in terms of school culture-- values, not the ic culture) and if it is what we want. TJ needs to be more diverse. But more importantly, TJ needs to get real about reasonable expectations and the health and welfare of the students. |
Anonymous
Except, the fact that TJ is doing so well in areas like sex and drugs shouldn't be a shock. High SES academically oriented kids who were hand chosen. T TJ student body is very different demographically than a base school. So no-- gangs and heroine are not big issues. The stress, lack of sleep, parents pushing too hard. They are big problems for TJ kids. We should be addressing them. And the survey does not even ask about cheating... |
Anonymous
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My kid (ethnicity unimportant) has been told that she is on a one strike you're out policy. 1st honor code violation and we will move her back to the base school. We did not raise a cheater. We do not intend to let TJ turn her into one.
She says she understands. But she looks at me and says that she would be in the top 20% of her class, rather that the top half, if she could cheat. That cheating is easy and kids walk out of a test and openly tell their friends in the hallways exactly what is being tested. That they buy exact copies of the test from test banks, because teachers do not change them. And that most of the top 1/3 of the school cheats consistently. So, you tell me. Should I tell DD it's okay to cheat because everyone else does and the "punishments" for being caught are laughable? Because TJ has told kids they cannot inform colleges that a kid has a history of cheating? Because everyone knows who cheats and how, but nothing is done? |
Anonymous
| Isn't winning everything in America? I mean, that is what we are learning from the leaders of our nation, that so long as you are winning the methods do not matter, so why stricter standards for HS students. |
Anonymous
I do not believe the Supreme Court has issued any opinions that would foreclose FCPS from discontinuing the TJ magnet or allocating slots by feeder school pyramid. |
Anonymous
Because it's great that my TJ kid is smart. But it's also important that he have a strong moral compass. That he knows what the right thing is, that he do it, even when other kids are not, and that his peer group is a positive one. I have no interest in my kid hanging out with kids who are drinking and doing drugs in high school. Likewise, I have no interest in his peer group being full of cheaters. I raised him to be a better person than that. Why didn't the parents of the nearly 100 kids with honor code violations-- just the confirmed ones. And just this year. Seriously. I want to hear from one of these parents, who are so offended by people expressing concerns about the demographic shifts, but had a child honor code violation. Why did you not tell your kid that their character is more important than a TJ diploma and that you would not leave them in a school where they felt they had to cheat to succeed? And then bounce them back to their base school? Kids talk. Everyone knows who these kids are. Everyone knows who the parents are. I don't want you or your kid at TJ and a lot of TJ parents feel this way. So please-- tell me why you, as a parent, are allowing this? The problem isn't that TJ is too Asian. It's that too many kids feel like the ends justify the means in terms of cheating. And that the kids who do are overwhelmingly Asian. |
Anonymous
The Supreme Court would also allow FCPS to use race and gender as "plus factors" in admissions decisions. Most states do, except CA, which has a state prop. |
Anonymous
You are entitled to your opinion. That said, no one really cares whether you like or don't like other kids at TJ. You are not in charge of admissions or school administrations, and correctly so, because there are people with more sober minds who do this in a measured way. Let the adults in charge address the issues. They have been successful in building the #1 ranked STEM school in the country and will figure out a way to continue this success. |
Anonymous
In that case, Asian kids should get a plus, another bonus added, since they are minority. |
Anonymous
I promise you that you would see her and assume she is totally Asian and apply all your stereotypes to her. But, yes, she checks the multiracial box. |