For years, two administrators at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) have been withholding notifications of National Merit awards from the school’s families, most of them Asian, thus denying students the right to use those awards to boost their college-admission prospects and earn scholarships.
This episode has emerged amid the school district’s new strategy of “equal outcomes for every student, without exception.” School administrators, for instance, have implemented an “equitable grading” policy that eliminates zeros, gives students a grade of 50 percent just for showing up, and assigns a cryptic code of “NTI” for assignments not turned in. It’s a race to the bottom.
An intrepid Thomas Jefferson parent, Shawna Yashar, a lawyer, uncovered the withholding of National Merit awards. Since starting as a freshman at the school in September 2019, her son, who is part Arab American, studied statistical analysis, literature reviews, and college-level science late into the night. This workload was necessary to keep him up to speed with the advanced studies at TJ, which U.S. News & World Report ranks as America’s top school.
Last fall, along with about 1.5 million U.S. high school juniors, the Yashar teen took the PSAT, which determines whether a student qualifies as a prestigious National Merit scholar. When it came time to submit his college applications this fall, he didn’t have a National Merit honor to report — but it wasn’t because he hadn’t earned the award.
When you lie, or withhold information, and you get paid (knowingly or unknowingly) for your service, it is called fraud because you are profiting from deception. The two administrators need to be fired, charged and tried, then sued in civil court for damages.
Some pigs are more equal than others.
The potential for a civil suit is considerable. Very real damage has been done to the students.
No wonder the principal Ann Bonitatibus has not said anything publicly. Her lawyer may well have advised her to be quiet, as anything she says is fodder for the complainants.
Fire them all!!
So, making sure other students’ ‘feewings’ weren’t hurt was more important than contributing to the success of students who earned, yes earned, the extra consideration and scholarships colleges would give a National Merit Scholar. That certainly is stealing from those students. It’s theft.
Some people deserve to be shot, hanged, and tarred and feathered, in no particular order.
Tarred and feathered for maxiumum pain, then hanged and if still found alive shot with anti aircraft guns.
All should be shown on pay per view, give the masses their Circus and games.
Hey don’t want to tell dumb As*es they are feral and useless. No lets glorify their achievements, twerking destroying peoples property beating up innocent people.
I look forward to my entire flight crew of affirmative-action hires. At least I will have died in support of racial equity. Right? What better way to kill off my white privilege?
Meanwhile, my half-black daughter in law has already received more scholarship $$, prestigious college degrees (PhD), and has cumulatively earned more $$ at the age of 39, than I will have in my entire 45 year career. But at least I don’t have to worry about the PO-leece stopping my car for a broken taillight. Wait! That has already happened to me … in my youth … twice. Yeah … keep telling yourself “equity” is needed to “level the playing field”
I wonder how many of those administrators, needing surgery, would opt for one of their “equitably promoted” students wielding the scalpel.
And the bottom is where all the shit ends up.
Say, who wants to drive on a bridge built by these “winners”?
“Everybody has won and all must have prizes.”
Bizarrely, the principal’s Twitter account is unprotected and open to comments. I suspect that will change soon.
I can see them denying Asians a prize for being smart, but Arabs? What are they doing? Working their way through the alphabet?
“part Arab” … not A-rab enough?
all must be punished for the unequal outcomes from low performace black students
Sue, sue, sue all the administrators involved into the ground. Then start a social media campaign to warn school parents nationwide not to let them be hired in their districts.
Actually, financial ruin is far to lenient treatment for these scum (administrators), considering the harm they have caused these children.
We have reached a point where public servants have become perfectly amoral vessels of ambition.
Giant lawsuit pending, no doubt.it should be accompanied by criminal charges.