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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 8th grader is in Algebra 1 and thinks Math would be tough at TJ, especially since calculus is required. How to convince them to accept the offer? Is it that difficult from base school?[/quote]If you want to convince them, you could point out that they would likely take calculus at their base school. If you have the money, you could agree to pay for tutoring/afterschooling in math.[/quote]
Don't FCPS base schools allow graduation with just Algebra 2? No need for calculus at base school, but TJ requires it?[/quote]

TJ is a magnate school with different expectations. When you apply to TJ, you apply understanding that you will be taking math and science classes that are more intense and involved. A look at the math catalog shows that the math class are mainly one semester long and are not labeled Geometry, Algebra 2, and the like. Talking to the students at TJ points to math classes that are compacted and intense.

If you want to take the same classes you would take at yoru base school, don't apply to TJ, go to your base school. If you want to be challenged in math and science, apply for TJ knowing that the standards are different.

You would not apply to attend MIT and get there and go "But why do I have to take different classes that are harder then UVA?" Same for TJ. You apply for TJ to attend TJ with compacted math, Calculus as a bse requirement for graduation, and more challenging science offerings. [/quote]

But, TJ is a public HS not an elite college. The current system basically setups the non-AAP and Alp 1 students to fail. Why take them in and keep them at the bottom?[/quote]

TJ is an elite HS, that is the point of the Governor's Schools. They are meant to support gifted kids in specific academic fields.

I think that kids should have to have completed Geometry to apply to TJ. I suspect that FCPS selected Algebra 1 because there would not be enough Black and Hispanic kids taking Geometry in 8th grade to be considered and the NAACP was threatening a law suit over the lack of Black students at TJ.

TJ was developed for a very specific reason and the classes and program. There are plenty of Black and Hispanic kids who are capable of attending and succeeding at TJ. Some of those kids attend schools that have less of a track record applying to and being accepted into TJ. I have not problem with the shift to guaranteeing seats for a percentage of kids at every MS that can send kids to TJ. That solves the problem of most of the kids coming from 3-5 MS. It opens up opportunities for kids who are smart and capable of succeeding at TJ who have not had the same level of enrichment at home or the same peer group at school. I fully believe that those kids can handle TJ but they have to want to be there.

Stop lowering the bar for capable kids. You are making excuses when there is no need for excuses. I am sure that there are kids who arrive from every MS who are shocked by the expectations at TJ. Kids left for their base school before the admissions change. The answer is not to change the expectations of the school but to offer supports so that the kids have a chance to succeed and thrive. It sounds like TJ is doing just that. [/quote]

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