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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Response: This has been discussed. Some claim there are other opportunities such as STEM academies, AOS or problem with long commute etc. Others claim whites are being racist that this is like 'white flight" due to too many Asians. Whether the white flight is due to laziness, not being smart enough, dislike of Asians or some combination of all these, we will have to see. But it doesn't paint white students in a very favorable light whichever way you cut it.

T[b]here has been some fairly blatant racism directed towards white students from Asian and other parents on this thread.  I think that casts those parents in a negative light, and suggests that white students may increasingly view TJ as a hostile environment, in which case it's an entirely rational decision for some of them to avoid the school.   How many times do you want to keep repeating that white students are "lazy"?  Why don't you go ahead and throw in that black students are "shiftless" for good measure?    [/b]

Response: Why does it matter whether the school is primarily Asian, Hispanics, whites or blacks? That is totally irrelevant. Period. We need bright and capable STEM people for our economy and for our future. Technology and computers are increasingly playing vital roles and the whole world will continue to be more technology driven. We are already at a competitive disadvantage compared to some other countries. Disparaging schools like TJ just because it has many Asians is idiotic. Whether the scientists and engineers are blacks or Asians or whatever, we need competent scientists for our future and to continue to prosper as a nation.

[b]I understand your position here essentially to be that the benefits derived from cultivating the talents of future scientists and engineers at TJ outweighs any negative impact that having a single magnet school may have on the educational environment at other schools.  That may be the case, but I'm not sure you'd find widespread report for such a cold-hearted calculus - which is more akin to how the Chinese and Russians identify promising athletes than what we typically have aspired to encourage in this country.   [/b]

Response: I think you are insulting the other base schools. There are plenty of smart and capable students at other base schools. Just look at the number of students rejected each year. Thousands of students who are highly capable are rejected each year and attend base schools. On top of that, there are other capable students who had not applied to TJ attending base schools. TJ model should serve as a counter balance to the prevailing culture and attitude that education is not very important, learning is not very important. There is too much over the top celebration of sports and entertainment. Sure those things are important but studying and learning are just as important if not more for school age children. Also, your claim that TJ sends a message that other races should not bother to apply is not true. FCPS wants to have more black and Hispanic students. They made that absolutely clear. The reduction in applications by blacks and Hispanics is relatively minor. Only the white applicant numbers have declined in noticeable numbers. In fact the numbers kept increasing (despite the continued dismal admission rates for blacks and Hispanics) to 2012 and then declined only in the last two years. The decline could be attributed to the overall decline in the number of teenagers beginning with 2011/2012. There are many studies indicating the total number of teenagers are declining after having increased for the last 20 plus years due to the echo baby boomers disappearing. Even some of the Ivy League Universities have reported decreased number of applicants for last year and this year due to this phenomena. The important thing is to improve the elementary and the middle schools and increase number of Hispanics and blacks into the AAP so that they are properly educated and prepared for school like TJ.

[b]You are incorrect here in several respects.  First, white, black and Hispanic applications to TJ are all trending sharply downward.  Second, regardless of what may be occurring elsewhere in the country, the number of middle-school students in NoVa has only been increasing in recent years. In other words, the number of applications to TJ is falling precisely at a time when the number of students who might be expected to apply is rising.   
[/b]

There are already STEM magnet schools in other states. They don't dwell on the demographics of the students. They care about educating and providing the best possible learning environment to prepare their students to do well at any universities. This is like AAP preparing young students to do well in ANY high schools. Schools like TJ prepare students to be ready and to perform well in ANY universities. Do you know that large percentage of URMs drop out of top universities prior to graduation? Why is that? They were not educated to handle rigorous academic environments. [/quote]

[b]This does not make the case for setting up more TJs in other states, but instead for devoting more attention to schools in the area that have large percentages of URMs.  That is less likely to occur if we're using our resources on an expensive renovation of TJ that will include an expensive, min-Rotunda entrance and state-of-the-art labs that URMs likely will never see.  It appears to me that you simply got carried away with your zeal to make TJ admissions based solely on the results of an admissions exams, and forgot the point - which was that it's open to question whether creating more magnet schools will be net beneficial or detrimental.    [/b][/quote]

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