“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice... If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”
– William Faulkner
TJAAG Press Releases
TJAAG APPLAUDS FAIRFAX COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT BRABRAND’S AND THE FCPS SCHOOL BOARD’S FRESH LOOK AT TJHSST ADMISSIONS | September 15, 2020
TJAAG ENDORSES THE FCPS MERIT LOTTERY SYSTEM FOR TJHSST | September 23, 2020
Coalition for TJ misses the mark on Honesty: Rebuttal to Coalition for TJ’s “FCPS Lottery Plan Gets ‘F’ Grade” October 3, 2020
Press on TJ
TJ’s struggle with equity and inclusion has received much attention over the years.
Fairfax school board switches to ‘holistic review’ admissions system for Thomas Jefferson High School
December 2020 | Washington Post
The Fairfax County Public Schools board voted Thursday to adopt a “holistic review” for admissions to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a revision meant to boost diversity at the top-tier magnet school and that ends months of fraught and fiery debate. more…
Didi’s voice
October 2020 | Washington Post
Didi Elsyad closed the door to her bedroom, and the sound of her 10-year-old brother practicing violin shut off abruptly. She crossed to her desk and the waiting laptop, its screen split between a gray panel and the face of her friend, Lisa Raj Singh. The panel, empty at the moment, would soon show a virtual School Board meeting slated to decide the future of admissions at their school more…
Proposed change to admissions policy sparks debate at Fairfax County school
September 2020 | WUSA9
Fairfax school leaders are considering changing the way one of the most prestigious high schools in America admits its students. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax County, is a regional “Governor’s School.” According to the Virginia Department of Education more…
What will it take for Thomas Jefferson High School to Change
August 2020 | Washington Post
Thirty years ago, I was admitted to the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which students call “TJ.” There I was, surrounded by overachievers at the place that had recently been on the cover of U.S. News and World Report as the best high school in the nation. I found my niche in student government and served as vice president and president in my four years. more…
At a top magnet school with few black or Latino students, a push for change meets resistance
July 2020 | Washington Post
When Christine Contreras-Slaughter saw the asterisks, she thought of her children. She was staring at enrollment data for the Class of 2024 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the Northern Virginia magnet school that often ranks as the top public high school in the United States and more…
Call to Action by the TJ Principal
June 2020 | The Connector
I would like to simultaneously call the TJ community to action in three areas. First, our school is a rich tapestry of heritages; however, we do not reflect the racial composition in FCPS. Our 32 black students and 47 Hispanic students fill three classrooms. If our demographics actually represented FCPS, we would enroll 180 black and 460 Hispanic students, filling nearly 22 classrooms. The most recent TJ admissions trend, unfortunately, does not close more…
Introduction to Playing hide & seek with diversity, a series of student stories
June 2020 | TJ Today
The first three dates mark influential events of the Black Lives Matter movement- the days Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd went from being Black civilians to victims of ignorance and intolerance. These three people are only a few of the many Black men and women who’ve lost their lives to systemic racism, sparking outrage across the country. more…
My not so Black-and-White look at diversity at Jefferson
June 2020 | TJ Today
Black people are less talented at this age. Black people are less academically driven. Black people are less qualified to be here than most Asians that apply. Those are things that have come up in conversations I’ve had regarding the shockingly low number of Black students admitted to the Jefferson class of 2024. The lack of diversity – racially and financially – at Jefferson has been an issue for years. How exactly did we get here? more…
Virginia 2020 Budget Language Requires Governor’s Schools to Submit Diversity Goals Plan to Gov. Northam by Oct. 1
June 2020 | Blue Virginia
Earlier today, I wrote about how, this past Monday, Fairfax County Public Schools posted admission information for the the Class of 2024 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (aka, “TJ”), and that the numbers show only 3.3% Hispanic students and ZERO African-American students admitted. more…
Little: Diversity goals are a great start
February 2020 | InsideNoVa
Last month, I learned that Gov. Ralph Northam proposed budget language stating that, “Each academic year, governor’s schools shall set diversity goals for its student body and faculty, and develop a plan to meet said goals in collaboration with community partners at public meetings.” more…
The Diversity Dilemma in Selective Public Schools
2019 | Future Ed
One of few bright spots in the just-released National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results was an increase in the number of students reaching "advanced" level in both math and reading at the 4th- and 8th-grades. more…
Why are black and Hispanic students underrepresented in this Northern Virginia gifted program?
February 2018 | Washington Post
Black and Hispanic students have long been underrepresented in the elementary advanced academic program in Fairfax County, which puts students on track for… more…
A Stubborn Excellence Gap: Despite efforts, diversity stalls at an elite public high school
2018 | Education Next
There are 1,800 students at one of the best high schools in America, and thousands more vying to get in. The acceptance rate this spring at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a selective magnet school outside Washington, D.C., was just 15 percent—a touch lower… more...
Panel Rejects Bid to Alter Elite Va. High School's Admissions
January 2018 | Associated Press
A Virginia Senate committee has rejected legislation aimed at increasing low-income students at one of the country's top-ranked public high schools. The panel overwhelmingly voted against a bill by Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell to require Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County to admit… more…
Commentary: An Opportunity To Improve TJ
February 2018 | The Connector
To the Editor: The following open letter was addressed to state Sen. Steve Newman, chair of the Education and Health Committee.
As graduates of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), we were deeply troubled to read that the Education… more…
Does the No. 1 High School in America Practice Discrimination? Fairfax's Thomas Jefferson High School is still less than 5 percent African-American and Latino. Improving that number has proved complicated
April 2017 | Washingtonian
Just outside Annandale’s Koreatown, a stately dome modeled after Monticello’s stands above the entrance to the best high school in America. more…
Being a minority at America’s best high school
August 2012 | Washington Post
Yes, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson High School For Science and Technology Had a Hispanic Student Body President With a Learning Disability. If you Google “Anita Kinney,” you’ll find a prolific cancer researcher at a Utah university. That Anita Kinney is a genius. I’ve followed her career and lived in her daunting shadow for many years. more…
Fairfax releases TJ admissions data
April 2012 | Washington Post
The percentage of Asian students and boys admitted to Fairfax’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology rose this year, while the proportion of white students and girls fell, according to a demographic outline of the Class of 2016 released last week. The elite magnet school opened its doors to 480 students out of more than 3,400 applicants in a selection process… more…
The new Thomas Jefferson? It includes remedial math
May 2012 | Washington Post
Once upon a time, President Ronald Reagan visited Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to celebrate the creation of a school for students likely bound, by interest and aptitude, for productive lives as scientists, engineers and mathematicians. The president heralded Jefferson as a sign of the nation’s renewed commitment to excellence in science, technology,… more…
As Thomas Jefferson adds help for poor English skills, some Va. parents fume
March 2011 | Washington Post
As Northern Virginia became home to more immigrant families in recent decades, Fairfax County officials say they started programs to teach English as a second language at every school - about 200 of them. Except one. The holdout was the region's hallowed magnet school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,… more…
The Quest
August 2005 | Washington Post
The eighth-graders were razor sharp, slicing through logic problems with astonishing ease. Problem 26: Five students are seated at a round table, facing the table. Howard is next to Tina and on her right. Jeff is next to Beth and on her right. Melinda is not sitting next to Beth. What is the seating arrangement, starting with Melinda and going to her left? Many of the 20 or so students sitting in a classroom at Thomas Jefferson High School… more…
