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Woke principal's mission dubbed 'race to the bottom'
American Thinker ^ | 9 Jan, 2023 | Robyn Dolgin

Posted on 01/09/2023 6:41:51 PM PST by MtnClimber

Virginia's Thomas Jefferson School of Science and Technology principal, Ann Bonitatibus, has pushed parents to the tipping point with her latest "diversity mission" at one of the top-rated high schools in the nation.

Her quest for "fairness" led her to make the unprecedented decision to withhold the names of students who had earned National Merit scholar awards because she "did not want to hurt the feelings" of less accomplished students.

The outrageous policy was compounded by one parent learning that the decision had dated back five years from the time the administrator had joined the T.J. faculty.

"Keeping these certificates from the students is theft by the state," says Shawna Yashar, an attorney and proud parent of a T.J. student. "I learned — two years after the fact — that National Merit had recognized my son, a graduate of T.J.'s Class of 2021," added Yashar.

Ms. Yashar — who is regarded as a formidable parent at school board meetings — learned that 40 students had been recognized as "Commended Students" in 2021 alone. They, too, had been denied the opportunity to include the merit award for the purpose of obtaining a boost to an Ivy League college or enjoying an advantage to securing a scholarship.

Outraged parents are determined to uncover the list for each year in order to learn whether their children received the honor. It's not too far afield to estimate that 1,200 T.J. students earned the honor based on previous records for the past five years, writes Asra Nomani, an investigative journalist.

Things have never been more vitriolic between parents and T.J. faculty.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Education; Society
KEYWORDS: communism; education; schoolboard; virginia
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1 posted on 01/09/2023 6:41:51 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

Parents have been remarkably restrained in these issues, but the DOJ would like to consider them domestic terrorists.


2 posted on 01/09/2023 6:42:03 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

She’s still the working principal?
I was hoping that school would have at very least put her on paid leave, along with the guy who was assisting her in the deceptions.


3 posted on 01/09/2023 6:54:39 PM PST by lee martell
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To: MtnClimber

“They, too, had been denied the opportunity to include the merit award for the purpose of obtaining a boost to an Ivy League college or enjoying an advantage to securing a scholarship.”

This might be treated as an actual loss of money in a class-action tort suit. I’m sure there’s a lawyer somewhere who would give it a go.


4 posted on 01/09/2023 7:14:43 PM PST by proxy_user
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To: MtnClimber

This story has been fabricated.

And the lie keeps spreading.


5 posted on 01/09/2023 7:14:58 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: MtnClimber

“Her quest for “fairness” led her to make the unprecedented decision to withhold the names of students who had earned National Merit scholar awards because she “did not want to hurt the feelings” of less accomplished students.”

Getting your feelings hurt is a great motivator to do BETTER.


6 posted on 01/09/2023 7:29:07 PM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: MtnClimber

And the quarterback is toast!
I wonder if the governor with the VA department of education has the ability to dismiss her with prejudice and into retirement before the parents silver hammer crashes. Maybe with such a peace offering the state can minimize the payout the judge will impose for the lawsuit that is coming. You know the principal does not have the funds to pay her way out of the shellacking.


7 posted on 01/09/2023 7:29:42 PM PST by Liaison (TANSTAAFL)
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To: Tired of Taxes

Full of shiite you are.

-fJRoberts-


8 posted on 01/09/2023 7:57:12 PM PST by A strike ("The worse, the better."-.Lenin (& Schwab & Soros)
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To: A strike

Nope. The article is.


9 posted on 01/09/2023 7:59:03 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes

Could you point me to evidence of your claims?


10 posted on 01/09/2023 8:04:28 PM PST by Captainpaintball (America needs a CONSERVATIVE dictator to return it to a Constitutional Republic. )
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To: Tired of Taxes

OK non-shiitehead show the article false
.
.-fJROBERTS-


11 posted on 01/09/2023 8:04:32 PM PST by A strike ("The worse, the better."-.Lenin (& Schwab & Soros)
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To: MtnClimber

I do not understand why I have not once read the phrase “breach of fiduciary duty” in any of the stories about this. Because that is what I see this as. A FLAGRANT breach of fiduciary duty.

Hopefully it will appear in the many briefs that will be filed in the soon to be pressed suits.


12 posted on 01/09/2023 8:14:29 PM PST by jocon307 (Democrats delenda est.)
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To: MtnClimber

For those wondering, this is socialism at its finest with the government ensuring equal outcome regardless of talent, ability, or intellect.


13 posted on 01/09/2023 8:16:54 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Inside every leftist is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
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To: Captainpaintball; A strike

I posted the information on earlier threads.

Here’s the gist:

The higher scoring students are the semi-finalists, some of whom become finalists. Some finalists become winners.

The “commended” students are the ones who scored high (top 3%, I think), but not high enough for the cutoff.

This school brags about its semifinalists. It’s a top school with many semifinalists every year.

It also has many “commended students” who receive “letters of commendation” commending them for their good work.

Long story short: This school had so many commended students, that the package was delayed due to lack of postage. The school received the letters late, but the principal still signed all of them within 48 hours. She gave the letters to Student Services to be distributed. That department didn’t distribute all the letters to teachers for another month. Then the teachers handed out the letters in class.

That’s the real story.

These were not National Merit Scholars.


14 posted on 01/09/2023 8:19:18 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes
Long story short: This school had so many commended students, that the package was delayed due to lack of postage. The school received the letters late, but the principal still signed all of them within 48 hours. She gave the letters to Student Services to be distributed. That department didn’t distribute all the letters to teachers for another month. Then the teachers handed out the letters in class.

Even your "long story short" shows complete ineptitude on the part of school officials. "Delayed due to lack of postage"? Really? "didn’t distribute all the letters to teachers for another month" Really?

It would appear you have a vested interest in this incident. I'm sorry, but this will end up being litigated, and whomever you're trying to cover for will not fare well.

15 posted on 01/09/2023 8:35:07 PM PST by JennysCool ("It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." - Mark Twain)
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To: Tired of Taxes

“Her quest for “fairness’ led her to make the unprecedented decision to withhold the names of students who had earned National Merit scholar awards ...”
“These are not National Merit Scholars.”
You know this how? Go on with your Leftist bad@$$ self.

-fGRoberts-


16 posted on 01/09/2023 8:44:34 PM PST by A strike ("The worse, the better."-.Lenin (& Schwab & Soros)
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To: Captainpaintball; A strike

You can read it all for yourselves here:

Here’s more information about the National Merit Scholarship and the differences between Commended Students, Semifinalists, Finalists, and Winners:
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=424

Thomas Jefferson is a top school. It brags about its highest scorers. It lists the semifinalists online:
https://www.fcps.edu/news/two-hundred-thirty-eight-fcps-students-are-2023-national-merit-semifinalists

Here are the emails between the parent and the school. The parent is complaining that “letters of commendation” were delivered late for Commended Students.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23466063-national-merit-tjhsst-emails


17 posted on 01/09/2023 9:10:46 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: A strike
-"Go on with your Leftist bad@$$ self."-

LOL. No, I'm not a leftist. I think parents should pay for their own children's education. All education should be bought and sold on the free market.

18 posted on 01/09/2023 9:18:11 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: JennysCool

I don’t care about litigation against this school. I have nothing to do with this school. I don’t know these people.

I just hate when spin is put on a story. (See my post #17 above for links.)

This school received about 240 letters of commendation this year. The National Merit Scholarship committee didn’t include enough postage on the package.

Still, the school received the letters by mid-October. The principal signed them all within 48 hours of receiving them. She gave them to Student Services to distribute. Student Services gave the letters to the teachers to hand out in class on November 14.

The real story is that the school overlooked their lower-scoring students - the “commended” students (who are high scorers compared with students in other schools).

But, the story has been twisted as if the opposite happened.


19 posted on 01/09/2023 9:32:30 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes
This story has been fabricated. And the lie keeps spreading.

Okay, so how about you tell us the real truth?

< crickets >

Yeah, I didn't think so!

Regards,

20 posted on 01/09/2023 11:09:01 PM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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