At least seven high schools in Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County have now been accused of intentionally withholding merit awards from students in what’s looking less like a bad decision made by a few administrators, and more and more like a district-wide scandal.
MRCTV reported several weeks ago that families of National Merit Commended Students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, ranked as the nation’s #1 school, had been deliberately denied their awards by school officials, with some accusing the school of withholding the certificates from students over at least the past five years in a move that impacted thousands of students. The prestigious award, handed out by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to students through their respective schools, can open doors for scholarships and college admissions for high schoolers, as the commendation recognizes winners as ranking among the top 3% of scholars in the entire country.
But despite claims by TJHS Director of Student Services Brandon Kosatka that the school's withholding of Commended Student certificates from their intended recipients this past fall was simply a “one-time” oversight due to “human error,” parents of TJHS students who graduated as far back as 2019 say they only found out their child had earned the award years after they’d already graduated, accusing the school of holding back the awards for at least the past five years as part of the district's new push for “equity.”
And it looks like Thomas Jefferson High School isn’t the only one. At least six other Fairfax schools - including Langley High School, Westfield High School, Annandale High School, Edison High School, Lewis High School, and West Potomac High School - have now been accused of failing to give students the National Merit awards they’d earned after taking the PSATs last fall, according to the Fairfax Times. Students at several schools have claimed that they received the awards late, well after college application deadlines had already passed.
On top of that, it looks like racial discrimination could be in play. The Fairfax Times reports:
A running live analysis by Fairfax County Times on the racial demographic of students impacted, an issue that initiated a civil rights investigation by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, reveals that the percentage of National Merit Semifinalists – a level above the Commended Students – who are of Asian American heritage at these seven schools total about 127 students of 156 students, or about 81 percent of the National Merit Semifinalist recipients.
Thomas Jefferson High School is already being investigated by Miyares' office for nixing their notoriously difficult entrance exams for "experience"-based admissions criteria, allegedly to limit the percentage of Asian-American students while increasing the number of other racial minorities.
MRCTV also reported earlier this month that while Thomas Jefferson High School was busy reportedly keeping National Merit awards from students who’d earned them, Fairfax County Public Schools was forking out nearly half a million in taxpayer cash to a California company for “equity data analysis,” promoting the goal of “equal outcomes for every student, without exception.”
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