Just what a stem school needs is to BLM its selection process.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology needs to change its admissions policy, according to Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Scott Brabrand. In a proposal he submitted to the county school board on Tuesday, Brabrand shared a vision for a transformed admissions process that he hopes will increase diversity at the competitive high school. The new system would eliminate the admissions test and $100 application fee and introduce a “merit lottery” process.
This proposal comes after a recent outcry from alumni about the demographic breakdown of students in the incoming freshman class of 2024. Fewer than ten Black students were offered admission, a number so low that it wasn’t included in the FCPS news release reporting class statistics. Like many years before, the majority admitted this year are Asian students, who make up 73 percent of the incoming class. But unlike in years past, TJ alums and students spoke out after this announcement to share their painful experiences with racism and demand that the school overhaul its skewed policy.
TJ’s admissions debate goes back decades. Since its founding in 1985, the student population has remained mostly white and Asian students. Although there have been many efforts to increase diversity in the admissions process, those have largely failed to make significant or lasting change. In 2012, the Fairfax chapter of the NAACP was among the groups that filed a complaint alleging that TJ was shutting out Black and Latinx students.
"I was supposed to take the calculus class but instead they made me go pick cotton in the fields behind the school and they beat me when I didn't pick enough!"
The alumni from that school need to stop donations immediately. Grow some balls. Stand up for your beliefs. Speak up.
The school has shown it doesn’t care about students or alumni.
The alumni from that school need to stop donations immediately. Grow some balls. Stand up for your beliefs. Speak up.
The school has shown it doesn’t care about students or alumni.