Anonymous
10/03/2020 12:26
Subject: TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
I sent a 2e (ADHD) kid to TJ. He graduated successfully with a 4.0W (middle of the class) and went on to the perfect college *for him*. TJ can be done by 2e kids. But make no mistake, it took a lot of extra parent support, time, effort, money. He had an ADHD coach for 2 years. We seemed to be in constant contact with his teachers. His guidance counselor and I were in constant communication. Some teachers fought 504 accommodations (and he didn’t have many). One refused to honor them and we had to change his class.
He did tech track, which was very hands on, and was perfect for him academically. And played music at TJ all 4 years, also hands on and helps with ADHD. But TJ would not change any core requirement due to his LD. He took every test (did get 1.5 time in math only), did every assignment, and was graded under the same standards. Which I always thought was fair. He didn’t have to stay if it wasn’t worth it to him, and his TJ diploma means a lot to him because he earned it like everyone else.
TL;DR: having BTDT, I would encourage 2e kids to apply and go for it. But, only if they really want it and have a lot of supports at home. Parents will need to be very involved at home and school. And the family needs to be honest with themselves after freshman year about whether TJ is worth it. Giving 2e kids a plus factor is a mistake. TJ is hard for any kids. It is much harder with an LD.
He did tech track, which was very hands on, and was perfect for him academically. And played music at TJ all 4 years, also hands on and helps with ADHD. But TJ would not change any core requirement due to his LD. He took every test (did get 1.5 time in math only), did every assignment, and was graded under the same standards. Which I always thought was fair. He didn’t have to stay if it wasn’t worth it to him, and his TJ diploma means a lot to him because he earned it like everyone else.
TL;DR: having BTDT, I would encourage 2e kids to apply and go for it. But, only if they really want it and have a lot of supports at home. Parents will need to be very involved at home and school. And the family needs to be honest with themselves after freshman year about whether TJ is worth it. Giving 2e kids a plus factor is a mistake. TJ is hard for any kids. It is much harder with an LD.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 11:18
Subject: TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:How to pick the top 100 students without any objective measures? Who is more deserving? The kid that spends all weekends in soup kitchen or the kid that performs at Carnegie Hall? How about the kid that day dreaming about solving the world energy crisis but have no tangible output, just ideas?
The logic the school board is using seems to be dependent on assuming the righteousness of their actions and the unworthiness of its opponents. Throw that out of the equation and it becomes significantly (untenably?) weaker.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 11:13
Subject: TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
How to pick the top 100 students without any objective measures? Who is more deserving? The kid that spends all weekends in soup kitchen or the kid that performs at Carnegie Hall? How about the kid that day dreaming about solving the world energy crisis but have no tangible output, just ideas?
Anonymous
10/03/2020 10:58
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honest question - do black people even want to go to TJ? Why is this such a priority for the SB?
Why are they not focused on getting kids back in school??
TJ gets national scrutiny because it's often ranked the #1 high school in the nation by US News & World Report.
FCPS doesn't like the blowback TJ sometimes gets for its low URM numbers.
Nobody in the rest of the nation cares about the other schools.
Not often, unless you think twice is often.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 10:46
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:AAP is for the brightest students so it naturally makes sense the bulk of the admits would come from those ranks
As many others have said the real way to address equity is to fix AAP
Appeals should be eliminated so pushy UMC whites and asians can't game the system and special efforts should be taken to better identify smart URM
Why can’t both happen? We can’t wait another ten years.
Yep, it’s been a decade already with platitudes and hand-wringing about the system needing to be fixed.
It needs to be changed. Now.
I don't see anything broken, so I'm not sure what needs to be fixed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 10:34
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The top 100 is not the top 100 as in the most gifted or intelligent. This reads as though it's 100 seats set aside where they can take into account socioeconomic factors and underrepresented middle schools etc. In other words, 100 seats set aside to make sure they can get more URMs in the class and take the luck of the lottery out of the equation when it comes to certain groups they want in the class.
That is on p9/25. Note Brabrand used the word ethical in his Townhall. https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BTZTK3753486/$file/TJHSST%20Admissions%20Revised%20Proposal%20for%20Posting%2010.6.2020.pdf
3 components for the 100:
1. "Student Portrait Sheet is designed to draw out qualities in areas aligned to Portrait of a Graduate and 21st Century Skills" includes Ethical/Global Citizen. That is at https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/portrait-graduate
2. Problem-Solving Essay.
3. Experience Factors
• Special education
• English language learner
• Economically disadvantaged
• Under-represented FCPS school (3 or fewer offered over the last 3 years)
The 100 are decided pre lottery. Slide 21 includes some additional costs for TJ out of the tax payer provided funds that go along with the caring culture and p 20 includes additional FCPS outside of the normal school day stuff for URM in STEM. Nothing on curriculum in actual classes k-8.
Under represented FCPS school could be school attended not base school. FCAG has some numbers for various years per school and some are 0 or TS-too small. The original merit lottery presentation would not guarantee the intended result like this one with the 100 weighted for experience factors. https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/opinion/guest-column-admission-reforms-coming-for-governor-s-schools/article_74fc0fe6-de46-11ea-aa83-df25da7131e2.html
Surovell ends with "We will also consider eliminating governor’s schools if they are unable to adopt more equitable admissions policies." So how is the budget looking this year for FX, FCPS, VA, sending jurisdictions? Last time I checked we in a pandemic and FCPS is closed. Brabrand wants to spend even more money on TJ which cost FX taxpayers over 3m extra than a base school.
Taxpayers paid for the labs so they should be used. That 3m would be about a lot less if it was run as an academy. Many under represented schools in FX are IB and feed to IB high schools. Perhaps they should focus on STEM related curriculum and scrap IB, teach grammar, sync instruction and stop wasting money. FCPS has too much variation and nothing ever changes. Most after schooling is simply a reaction to FCPS deficiencies.
I'm highly not reassured. From our perspective, DC was denied AAP, despite being a 99-percenter and having top or next-to-top scores in the school on all tests (including WISC), being well beyond grade level, and being a minority in the sense of being the child of two immigrants. I'm skeptical as to whether this move will be handled in good faith by the school board and whether it will reflect fairly and equitably for everyone. Looks like it very easily could be about the school board engineering itself a way to claim that they know better than people who rightfully know better than them.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 10:00
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Brabrand is the biggest idiot ever to run FCPS.
After spending so much time and capital claiming the current system doesn’t necessarily identify the kids who would benefit from TJ the most, he pivots to a system that would set aside 100 seats for the “top performers,” totally undermining the logic for any lottery. If you can identify 100 top performers, you can identify 475 top performers.
With this idiocy, their half-baked attempt at reform has completely jumped the shark. Any School Board member who supports it should be tossed in the next election. All this is happening on the fly. It reeks of desperation to appease everyone, when it should please no one. If FCPS no longer has any real grasp about why TJ exists, they should either leave TJ alone for now or shut it down completely.
After spending so much time and capital claiming the current system doesn’t necessarily identify the kids who would benefit from TJ the most, he pivots to a system that would set aside 100 seats for the “top performers,” totally undermining the logic for any lottery. If you can identify 100 top performers, you can identify 475 top performers.
With this idiocy, their half-baked attempt at reform has completely jumped the shark. Any School Board member who supports it should be tossed in the next election. All this is happening on the fly. It reeks of desperation to appease everyone, when it should please no one. If FCPS no longer has any real grasp about why TJ exists, they should either leave TJ alone for now or shut it down completely.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 09:52
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is directly from woke college admissions
Emphasis of soft skills over tests
Targeted Outreach to URM
Remedial summer/prep classes (Hey idiots if students need rememdial classes they have no business going in the first place)
Not true actually. MIT does this.
that's the point it's ridiculous
California does it right. The top students none of the diversity/woke/SJW bs
California does not do it by race. There was a court challenge and now they do it by SES. Race by proxy, but poor whites and asians are included as well.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 08:08
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:AAP is for the brightest students so it naturally makes sense the bulk of the admits would come from those ranks
As many others have said the real way to address equity is to fix AAP
Appeals should be eliminated so pushy UMC whites and asians can't game the system and special efforts should be taken to better identify smart URM
Why can’t both happen? We can’t wait another ten years.
Yep, it’s been a decade already with platitudes and hand-wringing about the system needing to be fixed.
It needs to be changed. Now.
Switching TJ from taking the top to taking people from the top 40% is ridiculous
The rigor and school quality is going to be less than the top tracks in most base schools now
Anonymous
10/03/2020 08:06
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is directly from woke college admissions
Emphasis of soft skills over tests
Targeted Outreach to URM
Remedial summer/prep classes (Hey idiots if students need rememdial classes they have no business going in the first place)
Not true actually. MIT does this.
that's the point it's ridiculous
California does it right. The top students none of the diversity/woke/SJW bs
Anonymous
10/03/2020 08:01
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:AAP is for the brightest students so it naturally makes sense the bulk of the admits would come from those ranks
As many others have said the real way to address equity is to fix AAP
Appeals should be eliminated so pushy UMC whites and asians can't game the system and special efforts should be taken to better identify smart URM
Why can’t both happen? We can’t wait another ten years.
Yep, it’s been a decade already with platitudes and hand-wringing about the system needing to be fixed.
It needs to be changed. Now.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 08:01
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:This is directly from woke college admissions
Emphasis of soft skills over tests
Targeted Outreach to URM
Remedial summer/prep classes (Hey idiots if students need rememdial classes they have no business going in the first place)
Not true actually. MIT does this.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 08:00
Subject: TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:I think this top 100 is going to put a lot of weight on the Experience Factors specifically with special education. I've heard of kids that are twice exceptional and didn't get into TJ and were shocked. I don't know anything about the number of kids at TJ with 504's or IEPs but I do know that they do apply and don't get in. I think the current freshman class (2024) of TJ was prepped so hard that non prepped kids didn't have a chance. I don't think prepping is cheating but this class of 2024 always had a very large number of AAP kids. Most of the elem schools with centers had AAP classes that outnumber the gen ed class for this year of students.
Hmm. It’s almost like the current process is ... discriminatory?
Anonymous
10/03/2020 07:56
Subject: Re:TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:AAP is for the brightest students so it naturally makes sense the bulk of the admits would come from those ranks
As many others have said the real way to address equity is to fix AAP
Appeals should be eliminated so pushy UMC whites and asians can't game the system and special efforts should be taken to better identify smart URM
Why can’t both happen? We can’t wait another ten years.
Anonymous
10/03/2020 07:55
Subject: TJHSST Admissions Revised Proposal to be sent on 10/6
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think this top 100 is going to put a lot of weight on the Experience Factors specifically with special education. I've heard of kids that are twice exceptional and didn't get into TJ and were shocked. I don't know anything about the number of kids at TJ with 504's or IEPs but I do know that they do apply and don't get in. I think the current freshman class (2024) of TJ was prepped so hard that non prepped kids didn't have a chance. I don't think prepping is cheating but this class of 2024 always had a very large number of AAP kids. Most of the elem schools with centers had AAP classes that outnumber the gen ed class for this year of students.
You do understand that most people who apply don’t get in, right?
Yes I do.