Top-Ranked Virginia High School Accused of Depriving Students of Merit Awards in the Name of Equity

[Turd Fergusen]

Fairfax County Public Schools are acknowledging a problem after a Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology parent accused school administrators of deliberately withholding National Merit commendations.

The allegations first appeared in the conservative publication City Journal, where an article written by local schools activist Asra Nomani claims that Thomas Jefferson’s principal and director of student services had intentionally withheld notification of National Merit commendations from students who had qualified. The article claims the withholding is part of a deliberate "war on merit" campaign.

National Merit awards are students who score among the top roughly 50,000 students in the nation on the PSAT. Of those 50,000 recipients, only about 16,000 are considered semi-finalists who can go on to compete for scholarships through the program. The other roughly 34,000 are considered “Commended Students” as their scores were not high enough to qualify as semi-finalists. Still, many college admissions sites recommend listing the commendation on college applications.

According to the article, the school failed to properly notify students and their parents of the commendations, though semifinalists were notified by the school and featured in a list published each September by Fairfax County Public Schools. As one of 18 governor’s schools in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson accepts high school students from Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties, as well as the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, but is operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Full Article

Fairfax County Public Schools didn't notify TJ's National Merit 'Commended Students;' school system says working to remedy situation

Fairfax County Public Schools are acknowledging a problem after a Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology parent accused school administrators of deliberately withholding National Merit commendations.

www.insidenova.com

 

[knockout]

Love the woke mentality, diversity above qualification and everyone gets a trophy or no one does
The liberal woke have overrun the educational system and government, indoctrination starts at a very young age and intensifies through college

 

[Satanica]

There were two Fulbright Scholarship winners at my high school. No one got butt hurt over it when others did well. There was literally zero flack or jealousy over grades and, if there was, no one made a big deal about it. Back then I think there was more jealousy over who was a cheerleader and social stuff like that.

 

[Metalfan]

It's another negative outcome for young adults,now it seems there is no reason to work hard for anything.

 

[Turd Fergusen]

Virginia AG expands probe into 'woke racism' at schools amid merit award controversy​

Jason Miyares says Fairfax County's school 'equity' policy drastically dropped Asian enrollment​

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is expanding his probe into a prestigious state high school delaying the notification of National Merit Awards to include all public schools in Fairfax County.

Miyares joined "Fox & Friends" Tuesday to discuss the decision to expand the investigation after two more county schools admitted to delaying notification of the significant academic achievements.

"We want to demand excellence. We want our students to not have this 'war on merit,'" Miyares told Ainsley Earhardt. "What we have seen unfortunately in some areas of the country is what I call woke racism, which is reverse discrimination against the wrong groups in those individuals' minds. We want to make sure that in this country everybody has an equal playing field and everybody can achieve their dreams. We certainly don't want anybody to be held back because of who they are and their ethnic background."

Virginia AG expands probe into 'woke racism' at schools amid merit award controversy

Virginia AG Jason Miyares announced the expansion of the school merit award investigation to include the 'equity' agenda's impact on Asian enrollment.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Sejanus]

Idiocy.

It would make more sense to actually let people know as a school you produced students of academic excellence.
Short sighted in favor of an ass backwards agenda.
This was not a bright choice.

 

[Turd Fergusen]

Elite Virginia school’s admissions practices don’t discriminate against Asian-Americans: appeals court​

A federal appeals court panel upheld the admissions practices at an elite public high school in Northern Virginia Tuesday, turning aside claims that officials were discriminating against Asian-American students.

In a split vote, the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier district court ruling that held the Fairfax County School Board had implemented an unconstitutional admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a highly selective magnet school in Alexandria.

Coalition for TJ, a parents group that initiated the lawsuit in 2021, has argued the policy disproportionately rejected Asian-American applicants, who comprise more than 70% of the student body, by eliminating standardized tests for the sake of more racially diverse admissions.

“After thorough consideration of the record and the appellate contentions, we are satisfied that the challenged admissions policy does not disparately impact Asian American students and that the Coalition cannot establish that the Board adopted its race-neutral policy with any discriminatory intent,” Judge Robert B. King, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote for the majority.

The ruling conceded that Thomas Jefferson High accepted fewer Asian students after the policy was adopted in 2020, but said the high school got more “low-income Asian American admittees” and that many applicants came from “historically underrepresented” middle schools as a result.

Elite Virginia school’s admissions practices don’t discriminate against Asian-Americans: appeals court

A federal appellate court has upheld race-based admissions at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, saying that it does not discriminate against Asian students.

nypost.com

 

[Turd Fergusen]

Supreme Court passes on case alleging elite Virginia school discriminates against Asian-Americans​

The Supreme Court announced Tuesday it would not hear a case alleging an elite public high school in Northern Virginia discriminates against prospective Asian-American students, drawing an impassioned dissent from Justice Samuel Alito.

The justices’ refusal to consider the petition against the Fairfax County School Board signaled unwillingness to immediately expand on their landmark decision last year that outlawed race-based affirmative action at most US colleges and universities.

The case centered on Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, one of the highest-ranked secondary schools in the country.

Coalition for TJ, a group representing parents of prospective students, had argued that the Fairfax board had adopted an admissions policy in December 2020 that unlawfully penalized Asian-American students based on race.

Supreme Court passes on case alleging elite Virginia school discriminates against Asian-Americans

The Supreme Court passed on reviewing a challenge against admissions practices at the Northern Virginia high school, drawing an impassioned dissent from Justice Thomas Alito.

nypost.com