It’s been 8 years since I wrote about this topic.  And, no, it’s not because my son (the youngest of all my children) has long been out of school.  But, it’s because since the last (imho) screwup of this elite school, not many additional (bad) choices have been made.

But, obviously that’s about to change.

I’m pretty sure most of you heard about the “super”schools that exist in New York City.  Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, Arts and Music, and Bronx Science.   These schools, while public, have entrance exams to ensure that the best of the best matriculate.  (Back when I was in college, Brooklyn Tech was the ‘feeder school’ for my undergraduate school- Brooklyn Poly.  Now that Brooklyn Poly has been kidnaped by NYU, I have no clue as to what obtains.)

I’m not sure many of you have heard of the “super” school that exists in Northern Virginia.  The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has been considered the No. 1 or No. 2 public high school in the States- almost for the entirety of its 35 year existence.  Like the schools in NY City, there have been entrance requirements.  And, like the schools in NY City, TJ graduates have their choice of colleges and generally place well (including winning) the Regeneron High School Science Fair.

But…

Folks are worried that Latino and Black enrollment (single digit representation) at TJ is fairly limited.  The graduating class of 2024  will have 10 Blacks among them.  (The graduating class of 1800 is about 70% Asian, 20% White, 2.6% Hispanic, and under 2% who were Black.  Oh- and only 1.7% (regardless of race) are low income students.

So, Scott Brabrand (Fairfax Schools Superintendent) is proposing to kill the two part entrance exam, the application fee, and the need for teacher recommendations.  Oh, wait- it gets better.  The five regions that TJ covers will have a lottery system to discern who gets to go.  No academic elites. (The only other requirement is a 3.5 GPA [which is higher than the current minimum of 3.0- but then, there are those rigorous admission tests] and “enrollment” in Algebra I- not even its successful  completion!)

(The five regions are not equally represented.  But, that’s because  Fairfax kids are the primary target.  The surrounding communities (Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, and the City of Falls Church) reimburse Fairfax County for the costs of educating their elite children at TJ. The City of Alexandria School Board refuses to participate. So, the student class is 18 from Arlington, 2 from Falls Church, 68 from Prince William, and 62 from Loudoun- with 350 coming from Fairfax.)

So, the plan is to dumb down the school so more Blacks and Hispanics matriculate?  Instead of finding the qualified minority kids and encouraging them to learn at TJ?   That’s NOT a racist concept?  Jeez.

I admit that the current system only accepts 19% of the applicants.  And, while the system has been race-blind, socioeconomic status certainly does affect the results.  The wealthier parents purchase coaching, test prep, and the like for their kids to ensure they can get in.

It’s also true that many kids DON’T want to be TJ-ers.  Data demonstrate that the chances to be accepted at a top college are reduced.  (Paul Attewell of CUNY (City University of New York) found that Ivy League schools take more kids from neighborhood rather than elite high schools.  As an example, its quoted that only 12 of the 91 TJ 2000 graduates were accepted by Harvard.  Except Harvard would not want a significant portion of its freshman class to come from one place- so that’s not much of “an example”.) Plus, TJ is considered a pressure-cooker- or a place where a bunch of overachievers support and inspire their compatriots to obtain one of the best STEM educations around.

And, Fairfax County (where TJ officially resides) has not done a stellar job of opening up gifted-and-talented programs to those who are neither White nor Asian (minorities only comprise 18% of those in the program.)  This new concept claims it will raise Black enrollment to 6% and Hispanic enrollment to 8%, plus the lower economic strata would comprise almost 11% of the new students- but it would exclude about 300 folks who would really benefit from the elite program as they would under the obtaining rules now.

As a matter of fact, when I first wrote about TJ about a decade ago a new “open” enrollment program was being instituted.  And, as you can see from the above numbers, the school hasn’t gathered in the minority students.

Since I wrote this, the School Board nixed the big lottery and the entrance exam and application fee- cutting the lottery down to 300 (from 400), with the rest (now 200 others) picked by capabilities.  But, that may not be the last word.

Stay tuned for what actually happens.

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Today, the 19th of October, the Washington Post (online) posted the thoughts of a Black TJ Student.  It is a worthwhile read.  (Yes, she is a proponent of the lottery- of which I am not.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/10/19/thomas-jefferson-high-school-diversity