TJ Parents and Alumni - Time to Get On Board

[Anonymous]

TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

Holy crap....someone reasonable....

[Anonymous]

Sure, have nothing else to do, but to request metro passes for some strangers.

[Anonymous]

Why should Asian alums support this change to let themselves be replaced with white people? Serious question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

I would never lie to my children that the school for the best has become the school for the slightly above average random.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

I would never lie to my children that the school for the best has become the school for the slightly above average random.

It was never and is not "the school for the best" (and what does "best" even mean?!). We don't live in an X-Men comic or Harry Potter book. It's a school for students with aptitude and ambition to pursue advanced high school coursework with an emphasis on STEM, that is currently doing a poor job of selecting for anything other than extensive test grooming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should Asian alums support this change to let themselves be replaced with white people? Serious question.

Didn't realize that anyone was going to come take our diplomas and redistribute them. Whatever shall we do...*eye roll*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should Asian alums support this change to let themselves be replaced with white people? Serious question.

Didn't realize that anyone was going to come take our diplomas and redistribute them. Whatever shall we do...*eye roll*

Your choice to pretend not to understand is noted.

[Anonymous]

OP, not sure why you are telling is what to do or how to feel?

This is a seriously flawed proposal with key details missing. No one has explained what factors are considered before placing someone in the lottery pool other than 3.5 GPA. They allude to an essay but gave no information about its impact on being placed in the pool. Are they considering other factors to be in the pool? Race?

It’s pretty shocking that you claim to be a TJ parent and are fine with this proposal that is pretty much a totally secret arrangement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, not sure why you are telling is what to do or how to feel?

This is a seriously flawed proposal with key details missing. No one has explained what factors are considered before placing someone in the lottery pool other than 3.5 GPA. They allude to an essay but gave no information about its impact on being placed in the pool. Are they considering other factors to be in the pool? Race?

It’s pretty shocking that you claim to be a TJ parent and are fine with this proposal that is pretty much a totally secret arrangement.

Why do people insist on leaving off a 3.5 GPA and completing Algebra 1 by the end of eighth grade. It is not fully clear if the kids will need to get letters of recommendation or not. It would be better if they laid out what the exact process would look like but they have already posted two major requirements which will greatly reduce the number of kids who are eligible.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I am a realist.

The status quo is changing. You can either be a part of that change - help FCPS and TJ figure out how to implement - or you can keep complaining.

I wrote my SB member suggesting that each MS identify a handful of students - no more than 10 per MS - of the truly gifted in STEM - as my experience with TJ has been that while there are a handful of kids in each class who are truly head and shoulders above the rest, the rest of the kids are generally interchangeable and could have been replaced by other kids who applied and were not accepted. She wrote back that this was the kind of concrete suggestion they needed - not just saying "no lottery."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parent here who supports diversity efforts, recognizes that new system is not perfect, but acknowledges that the old one wasn't either. The writing is on the wall, decisions have been made and the vote is just a formality - time to stop complaining and time to start trying to make this work as best it can.

Honestly - if your kid loves TJ as much as mine, then you owe it to the school to help them succeed. My kid came from one of the under-represented MS and I promise you that there were many bright kids there who could have taken my kid's place at TJ and thrived.

Encourage your children to embrace the new class. Encourage TJ to adapt transportation solutions to support kids without family resources - Metro passes, etc.

Let the new system work before you doom it to failure.

It is already doomed to failure! This solves nothing! Period. The whole thing is bonkers! So is your post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I am a realist.

The status quo is changing. You can either be a part of that change - help FCPS and TJ figure out how to implement - or you can keep complaining.

I wrote my SB member suggesting that each MS identify a handful of students - no more than 10 per MS - of the truly gifted in STEM - as my experience with TJ has been that while there are a handful of kids in each class who are truly head and shoulders above the rest, the rest of the kids are generally interchangeable and could have been replaced by other kids who applied and were not accepted. She wrote back that this was the kind of concrete suggestion they needed - not just saying "no lottery."

Oh, so you’re not on board with the proposal. Got it. Yes, of course, we have been communicating our ideas to our Board members. I spoke with one yesterday and have another meeting in a few weeks. The proposal is not thought out or detailed, nor is it wise. There is no need to accept it and move on a week after it was issued from above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I am a realist.

The status quo is changing. You can either be a part of that change - help FCPS and TJ figure out how to implement - or you can keep complaining.

I wrote my SB member suggesting that each MS identify a handful of students - no more than 10 per MS - of the truly gifted in STEM - as my experience with TJ has been that while there are a handful of kids in each class who are truly head and shoulders above the rest, the rest of the kids are generally interchangeable and could have been replaced by other kids who applied and were not accepted. She wrote back that this was the kind of concrete suggestion they needed - not just saying "no lottery."

Oh, so you’re not on board with the proposal. Got it. Yes, of course, we have been communicating our ideas to our Board members. I spoke with one yesterday and have another meeting in a few weeks. The proposal is not thought out or detailed, nor is it wise. There is no need to accept it and move on a week after it was issued from above.

DP. There isn't any amount of barking from the alumni, parents, or current students that will have an ounce of impact on the current school board, Brabrand, or TJ Admissions.

[Anonymous]

Also, forgot to add, Brabrand pretty much rejected outright the idea that any kid needs TJ at last night's town hall meeting so he will not be supportive of MS recommending kids. He doesn't even want teacher input. They're all biased, apparently.

FCAG suggested a two stage process that tried to get at the group of kids that really are suited for TJ (as it currently stands).