Posts Tagged ‘National Merit awards’
Good Riddance to TJ’s Principal
Earlier this week, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced that Ann Bonitatibus, the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJ”), was “resigning” to take a new position in the central office. The announcement followed the release of data showing that TJ’s number of National Merit semifinalists had plummeted from 165 last…
Read MoreFCPS Spins the Decline in SAT Scores
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) posted a misleading article last week entitled “Fairfax County Students Continue to Outperform SAT State and Global Averages.” The school Superintendent, Michelle Reid, touted the same data at the October 12 meeting of the School Board, using a chart labeled “Fairfax seniors have consistently outperformed state and global SAT outcomes.” The…
Read MoreThe Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly — Update on National Merit Litigation
The Fairfax County General District Court conducted a pretrial conference this morning in Spooner v. Fairfax County School Board, which seeks to compel the school system (“FCPS”) to produce an outside law firm’s report on its investigation into the failure of several high schools to provide timely notice to students and families of “commended student” awards…
Read MoreNational Merit Awards Controversy — Update
As previously reported, a controversy erupted in December of last year regarding delays by administrators in the Fairfax County Public School system (FCPS) in notifying students and families about prestigious National Merit “commended student” awards. In response, the FCPS Superintendent announced that a law firm was being hired to conduct an independent investigation into the…
Read MoreFairfax School Board Is Sued Over National Merit Secrecy
Fairfax Schools Monitor has sued the Fairfax County School Board to compel the release of its factual findings concerning the National Merit “commended student” controversy. The suit was filed on April 27 in the Fairfax County General District Court under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. (“FOIA”). Background In December 2022 an article in the…
Read MoreDid Fairfax Schools Hide Academic Awards from Families — Update
On March 29, 2023, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) published the “Key Findings” of a hired law firm’s investigation into allegations that school officials had failed to inform students and parents of National Merit “commended student” awards. The document is HERE. “Key Findings” concedes that students in several FCPS high schools didn’t receive timely notices…
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