Reply to student admissions and TJ lawsuit

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Perception is not always reality. I am not worried if my comments falls flat for the people in this thread who argue that anything that decreases the number of Asians at TJ as racist because there is nothing that can be done that will be seen as fair to those folks. Short of returning to the old system that is systemically unfair to kids who do not have the money or knowledge or ability (having to care for siblings/work/do something for the family) to attend STEM extras or take extra math or take Prep classes, nothing will make that particular crowd happy. Everything that changes the old system is, by de fault, racist. There is no conversation to be had.

Adjusting the seats so that there is a guarantee that kids meeting basic requirements that can be achieved in all Middle Schools in FCPS will be able to earn a seat at TJ is not racist. Any person or any race can take honors classes and Algebra and maintain a specific GPA.  You can argue that it is not rigorous enough to attend TJ and we can disagree on that but it is a baseline criteria that everyone has an opportunity to achieve, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status.

The geographic guarantee means that there will be fewer at will seats for kids at the traditional feeder schools because there are now students from all MS accepted at TJ and accepting the offer to attend TJ.

The idea that most Asian students interested in TJ attend the AAP Centers for MS means that fewer Asian students will be selected for TJ. The fact that most of the Black and Hispanic kids that were selected for TJ this year are at non AAP Center schools and are at MS that have not has as many kids selected using the old criteria.

People who are so interested in TJ can choose to send their kids to their base MS and not the Center. That doesn't guarantee anything because we are discussing 7-12 seats per year and the extra qualifiers probably come into play when there are multiple people who fall into that top 1.5% and that will decrease the chance of an Asian or White candidate at those schools.

You can argue that TJ selection criteria should be different but plenty of people feel differently. Not every kid has access to STEM extra curricular activities or supplemental math classes so that they are taking Algebra in 6th grade, heck not every school allows Algebra in 6th grade. My kids ES does not discuss Algebra in 6th grade and we are an UMC school and it is not a possibility. Not every kid is taking prep classes or doing prep books for the NNAT or CogAT or the TJ tests. While some think that the fact that parents, and some kids, are pursuing those options for their kids and the kids excel in them is an indication how much more deserving those kids are of attending TJ, many people don't agree. And that disagreement, at least for me, has nothing to do with race and everything to do with reasonable access requirements for a public resource in the form of TJ.

My kid is white, UMC and will be attending Rachel Carson because it his base school. He is also in AAP so would have the change of attending one of the Centers if Carson wasn't his base. These changes are likely to diminish his chances of attending TJ. I am fine with that. I don't know if he is going to be interested in TJ when that time comes. I also know that he will have excellent opportunities at his base HS.

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Two wrongs don't make a right.  The TJ situation before last year was not right.  The "fix" was not right either.  And here we are.

I don't have a solution but to me clearly the school board and Braband did not have to rush it (especially in the middle of the Pandemic when schools were dealing with unprecedented issues).  Where does the solution lie?  Perhaps in more inclusive consultation and less of "us and them".  Less of the moral police speaking down to the impacted folks.  The eventual outcome will not please all but at least everyone would feel like they had a say in the design.

UVA is inclusive and diverse and they make sure that they do not fill up the class with high-stats/well resourced NoVA kids.  [b]How did they do that?[/b]   There has been very little theater and chest-thumping from the UVA administration (unlike our School Board) and everyone seems ok?

I understand that UVA and FCPS are different but that is why we need leadership on the School Board to deal with seemingly intractable problems and not pork barrel politicians with pet issues.    [/quote]

UVA and pretty much every major university accomplishes this goal in large part through soft geographic quotas. They have a soft cap on the number of students that they'll take from Northern Virginia and Virginia as a whole. They go out and find outstandingly qualified students from different parts of the country, and they ensure that what they're looking for includes diverse skill sets and interests, which by nature is going to result in a more diverse population.

So.... there's that.[/quote]

And that is exactly the point.  Done without the Drama.  Nobody feels wronged.  And no chest-thumping politicians claiming credit for the equity revolution of the century.   This could have been done at FCPS.  Less drama, more consultation - some well thought through investments in the Carson, Longfellow clusters to assuage those that would be impacted.  And a couple of years for change to play out at a pace that everyone could absorb.

Unfortunately, the need for political headlines came before everything.  Now we have a messed-up divided community, a pyrrhic victory for the Dems and a school board expending resources fighting the Governor.  This could have been different if there was wisdom and foresight on the part of the school board.  Alas.. [/quote]

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