Opponents to TJ Lottery - You Need Other Talking Points

[Anonymous]

Opponents to TJ lottery change are making this mostly about alleged discrimination against Asians and whether FCPS is embracing Critical Race Theory.

This is not going to resonate with most people in the county, as they see Asian students thriving at other schools besides TJ and don't care if Brabrand hires a CRT speaker for an hour.

However, they do care about basic management of schools and facilities by FCPS.

Brabrand has no plan for how to handle the influx of students at Chantilly, Langley, McLean and Oakton HS (the pyramids that send the most kids to TJ) if TJ switches to a regional lottery.

Since he took over FCPS has dropped the ball when it has come to facilities and boundary changes. They have made no progress on the construction of a new high school in western Fairfax or on boundary studies to relieve overcrowding at Glen Forest ES, Shrevewood ES, or McLean HS.

In comparison, FCPS has done other things under Brabrand that are anti-"equity." They moved students from Jackson MS to wealthier Thoreau MS in Vienna, increasing the concentration of low-income students at Jackson. They also upped the proposed budget for an addition at West Potomac HS from roughly $15 million to $35 million so they could build West Potomac out to 3000 students and avoid moving White students to poorer Mount Vernon HS.

Brabrand should not be bringing his lottery proposal to the table unless he has a detailed plan to address how FCPS will handle more students at already overcrowded schools. At some point students will return to school in the buildings and conditions will be more challenging at the schools like Chantilly, McLean and Oakton that are already crowded.

We cannot have a school system where School Board members only discuss ideas and do not make sure FCPS staff has a clear plan how to handle the logistics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Opponents to TJ lottery change are making this mostly about alleged discrimination against Asians and whether FCPS is embracing Critical Race Theory.

This is not going to resonate with most people in the county, as they see Asian students thriving at other schools besides TJ and don't care if Brabrand hires a CRT speaker for an hour.

However, they do care about basic management of schools and facilities by FCPS.

Brabrand has no plan for how to handle the influx of students at Chantilly, Langley, McLean and Oakton HS (the pyramids that send the most kids to TJ) if TJ switches to a regional lottery.

Since he took over FCPS has dropped the ball when it has come to facilities and boundary changes. They have made no progress on the construction of a new high school in western Fairfax or on boundary studies to relieve overcrowding at Glen Forest ES, Shrevewood ES, or McLean HS.

In comparison, FCPS has done other things under Brabrand that are anti-"equity." They moved students from Jackson MS to wealthier Thoreau MS in Vienna, increasing the concentration of low-income students at Jackson. They also upped the proposed budget for an addition at West Potomac HS from roughly $15 million to $35 million so they could build West Potomac out to 3000 students and avoid moving White students to poorer Mount Vernon HS.

Brabrand should not be bringing his lottery proposal to the table unless he has a detailed plan to address how FCPS will handle more students at already overcrowded schools. At some point students will return to school in the buildings and conditions will be more challenging at the schools like Chantilly, McLean and Oakton that are already crowded.

We cannot have a school system where School Board members only discuss ideas and do not make sure FCPS staff has a clear plan how to handle the logistics.

I think Asians should boycott the lottery too. There is no way that the public will tolerate 80% Whites at TJ + the overcrowding as a result at the schools you mentioned above.

[Anonymous]

I would also add that the advocates should acknowlege that the current process has flaws. (Its no secret that 28% of the class of 2024 came from one prep company.)

Ignoring the elephant in the room will not make it go away and people will dismiss you if you do not address it.

[Anonymous]

Those points have been made. The lottery is going to benefit largely whites. It will also benefit local privates. It will do nothing to URMs. If they want more URMs to TJ, they can do so now. The application process is already holistic.

But you need to call a spade a spade. Langley needs to be redistributed long ago to solve the capacity issue. But since they don't have the courage to confront the rich white parents in Langley, they will denigrate Asian parents and students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would also add that the advocates should acknowlege that the current process has flaws. (Its no secret that 28% of the class of 2024 came from one prep company.)

Ignoring the elephant in the room will not make it go away and people will dismiss you if you do not address it.

Shut that prep company down then. Don't use it as a straw man to attack all Asians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would also add that the advocates should acknowlege that the current process has flaws. (Its no secret that 28% of the class of 2024 came from one prep company.)

Ignoring the elephant in the room will not make it go away and people will dismiss you if you do not address it.

Shut that prep company down then. Don't use it as a straw man to attack all Asians.

They don’t have any good arguments other than false claims of they cheat.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I think it’s the other way. Few racist idiots posting over and over because of their inferiority complex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I think it’s the other way. Few racist idiots posting over and over because of their inferiority complex.

Hmm. I thought "how can you do X when you can't even do Y" to FCPS was a relevant question. But it's clearly people trying to drive as big a wedge as they can between people, and simply by claiming the high moral ground in each case. That rarely works in this county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I mean, can you blame them? They moved to their homes, to this area, this county, even this country out of a misguided belief that TJ was the end-all be-all of education.

They spend thousands of dollars in many cases on additional enrichment activities to play by the rules of a game that they were promised privileged access to.

And now the rules are changing. And they don’t understand why it has to change now, and so they parrot the talking points of their Trump-loving and Trump-emulating fearless leader.

Those who are already at TJ want a voice in the process, failing to realize that they are the very problem that needs to be solved and confirming their toxicity with each bad-faith argument they put forth.

They realistically have no idea what the new racial balance of the school will be post-lottery, or any idea of how the lottery pool will be selected or what size it will be or what the actual impact on the school will be. Yet they claim there will be issues with transportation, or overcrowding, or lack of readiness.

Those accustomed to status view equity as racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I mean, can you blame them? They moved to their homes, to this area, this county, even this country out of a misguided belief that TJ was the end-all be-all of education.

They spend thousands of dollars in many cases on additional enrichment activities to play by the rules of a game that they were promised privileged access to.

And now the rules are changing. And they don’t understand why it has to change now, and so they parrot the talking points of their Trump-loving and Trump-emulating fearless leader.

Those who are already at TJ want a voice in the process, failing to realize that they are the very problem that needs to be solved and confirming their toxicity with each bad-faith argument they put forth.

They realistically have no idea what the new racial balance of the school will be post-lottery, or any idea of how the lottery pool will be selected or what size it will be or what the actual impact on the school will be. Yet they claim there will be issues with transportation, or overcrowding, or lack of readiness.

Those accustomed to status view equity as racism.

It is not bad faith to suggest FCPS has to think about the enrollment impacts on other schools. That is one reason why the School Board members representing Chantilly and McLean didn’t express support for Brabrand’s proposal right away. He said nothing to suggest he’d given it any thought. And, for sure, members like Keys Gamarra don’t care at all if some schools end up with even more trailers as long as they can take credit for more URMs at TJ.

[Anonymous]

It's the number 1 high school in the country. I think they were doing something right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I mean, can you blame them? They moved to their homes, to this area, this county, even this country out of a misguided belief that TJ was the end-all be-all of education.

They spend thousands of dollars in many cases on additional enrichment activities to play by the rules of a game that they were promised privileged access to.

And now the rules are changing. And they don’t understand why it has to change now, and so they parrot the talking points of their Trump-loving and Trump-emulating fearless leader.

Those who are already at TJ want a voice in the process, failing to realize that they are the very problem that needs to be solved and confirming their toxicity with each bad-faith argument they put forth.

They realistically have no idea what the new racial balance of the school will be post-lottery, or any idea of how the lottery pool will be selected or what size it will be or what the actual impact on the school will be. Yet they claim there will be issues with transportation, or overcrowding, or lack of readiness.

Those accustomed to status view equity as racism.

It is not bad faith to suggest FCPS has to think about the enrollment impacts on other schools. That is one reason why the School Board members representing Chantilly and McLean didn’t express support for Brabrand’s proposal right away. He said nothing to suggest he’d given it any thought. And, for sure, members like Keys Gamarra don’t care at all if some schools end up with even more trailers as long as they can take credit for more URMs at TJ.

Because in the end, the impact is not going to be any more significant than the regular year-over-year ADM noise between years. Many students who would otherwise attend TJ will attend private schools. Families will move out of the area. The impact will not be massive - you’re talking about maybe 10-20 kids per high school per year, and that’s statistical noise given the fluctuations in ADM numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the number 1 high school in the country. I think they were doing something right.

Yep. They were selecting students with standardized testing as a baseline, guaranteeing them a student body who would fare well on SATs, ACTs, and APs, which is what those rankings are based on.

Best test takers does not equal best students or even smartest kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. So it seems the people most aggrieved with the TJ proposal stick with the same argument they keep making over and over again. It really makes me think it's just a handful of incensed posters.

I mean, can you blame them? They moved to their homes, to this area, this county, even this country out of a misguided belief that TJ was the end-all be-all of education.

They spend thousands of dollars in many cases on additional enrichment activities to play by the rules of a game that they were promised privileged access to.

And now the rules are changing. And they don’t understand why it has to change now, and so they parrot the talking points of their Trump-loving and Trump-emulating fearless leader.

Those who are already at TJ want a voice in the process, failing to realize that they are the very problem that needs to be solved and confirming their toxicity with each bad-faith argument they put forth.

They realistically have no idea what the new racial balance of the school will be post-lottery, or any idea of how the lottery pool will be selected or what size it will be or what the actual impact on the school will be. Yet they claim there will be issues with transportation, or overcrowding, or lack of readiness.

Those accustomed to status view equity as racism.

Keep fooling yourself with delusional “equity” arguments imbecile.