Last Friday, the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School, Ann Bonitatibus, sent an email to the school’s families boasting that all of its freshmen are on track for algebra I proficiency by the end of the year.
But that’s not much of a brag, Bonitatibus. Let us tell you why.
Bonitatibus is a longtime cheerleader of racial balancing and an equity-based rather than merit-based admissions system at Fairfax County’s magnet school. On June 7, 2020, she sent an email to the school’s families lamenting that TJ does not “reflect the racial composition of [Fairfax County Public Schools].” As a result of Bonitatibus’s activism and a social justice-minded school board, TJ’s admissions policies changed significantly in 2021.
Last week, we explained that TJ’s new equity admissions policies that Bonitatibus supports (explicitly aimed to reduce the number of Asian Americans at the school) undermine the academic integrity of the school. They are comparable to a swim team selecting athletes who can’t swim and require life jackets at the expense of swimmers who are highly proficient in all four strokes.
In her email last week, Bonitatibus essentially admitted to families that the life jacket swimmers, TJ’s freshmen struggling in algebra I, haven’t learned to swim just yet — but that she hopes they will by the end of the year. She has made it quite public that not only are some of this year’s freshmen at TJ two years behind previous merit-based cohorts in math, but that the once flagship school for STEM education had to provide them with remedial “algebra mastery assignments through ALEKS, a digital resource that provides personalized learning.”
The principal’s email is alarming, particularly for a magnet school that prides itself on producing some of the nation’s most talented STEM graduates. Prior to TJ’s admission changes intended to “racially balance” the school, most entering students had completed honors geometry in eighth grade — and notably, honors algebra I in seventh grade. At that time, such remediation under a merit-based admissions system was not only unnecessary but laughable.
Bonitatibus’s email proves that merit is dead in TJ admissions, and that there are likely better options for gifted education in Fairfax County — particularly in private schools.
But if parents seek for their children an education steeped in equity and social engineering, TJ is likely a great contender. Bonitatibus’s email, in addition to excusing mathematical ineptitudes, also touts the school’s gains in so-called social emotional learning indicators. In the last year, Bonitatibus explained, the SEL screener finds that TJ has made 4%-5% increases in students “reporting they have supportive relationships” and that they have “a positive sense of belonging.”
The celebration of these particular milestones cannot compensate for TJ’s academic shortcomings. Rather, these indicators have seemingly become a smoke screen diverting attention from declining academic standards. TJ has slipped from first to fifth in the national ranking this year, and will likely continue to decline as the last merit-based class graduates this June.
The school administration’s narrative, emphasizing SEL gains over academic excellence, does a disservice to students and parents alike. Parents, as stakeholders in their children’s education, are left to wonder about the direction in which the school is headed. And the focus on how students feel rather than on how they perform academically raises questions about the future competencies of graduates in a world that demands both emotional intelligence and academic excellence.
The Supreme Court passed on the opportunity to address this crisis in TJ and show the nation that individual capability matters more than group identity. Its decision not to hear the case Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board has undoubtedly left a profound sense of disappointment and emotional distress among many students, particularly those of Asian descent, who viewed this legal battle as a crucial fight against systemic biases and institutionalized racism in K-12 education.
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Moving forward, given the population density in northern Virginia, there is certainly room for more than one magnet school, as is already the case in many school districts across the nation. Perhaps we should introduce two options for our students: a new, merit-based magnet school, and TJ as it currently stands – a deteriorating equity trap engaged in a social experiment at the expense of its students and its reputation.
If we’re honest, we know without doubt which of the two schools would perform better.
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora is a contributor for the Washington Examiner, a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, an author, member of the Coalition for TJ, and the Fairfax chapter leader of the Independent Women’s Network. Harry Jackson is a former school board candidate, former president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, president of Education Matters Virginia, member of the Coalition for TJ, and a youth sports referee.
