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Parents Can No Longer Opt Out Of Social And Emotional Learning

Public school parents are often told to opt out of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons if they don’t want their children to participate. But ...

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This Week’s Teachers Union Report Card: New Mexico’s teacher union opposes a 180-day school year

“New Mexico has fallen so far behind in public school performance—we rank last in the nation—that kids could use eight days a week in classes, never ...

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This Week’s Teachers Union Report Card: Chicago Teachers Union Demands Taxpayer-Funded Housing

"We want (teachers) to work and make money that puts them above the poverty line," Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates declared ...

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What if DEI corrupts youth sports as it did Thomas Jefferson High School?

This op-ed was written by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, IWN member and chapter leader in Virginia, and Harry Jackson, member of IWN. Originally appeared on Washington Examiner.


Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to hear the Coalition for TJ’s case against the Fairfax County School Board. In 2021, school board members implemented new admissions policies for the county’s magnet school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, or TJ, with the explicitly stated intent of racial balancing to reduce the number of Asian American students.

Among other things, the new admissions process eliminates the entrance exam, reduces the significance of applicants’ participation in accelerated classes, particularly math, and removes the advantage of a high GPA after the 3.5 GPA cutoff. 

When the school board chairman, Karl Frisch, issued a statement in support of the Supreme Court’s cert denial in this case, he touted the 3.9 GPA of the incoming TJ class. Frisch is gaslighting us. A 3.9 GPA does not mean the same thing without a rigorous course load that includes honors geometry or Algebra 2. Students enrolled in challenging courses have their grades recorded on their high school transcripts as weighted. 

Likely as a result of these changes, TJ’s national ranking has decreased from first to fifth in the 2023-2024 U.S. News and World Report. With the last merit-based class graduating this year, the school’s placement is likely to sink even further. 

The district’s superintendent, Michelle Reid, is in denial. Despite the decrease in TJ’s rank, she sent an email to parents on Feb. 20 that stated, “TJHSST continues to be ranked as the #1 high school in the country.”

If we applied the equity standards in the name of racial balancing to youth sports, we would also see a decline in performance. 

Take swimming, for example. Stroke proficiency contributes to speedier race times at swim meets. However, champions of diversity, equity, and inclusion might object to that criterion on the grounds that not all possible competitors have had equal access to facilities and coaches. In the name of equity, a more inclusive swim team assessment might include ground races to evaluate speed. 

If a new member of the equity-based team cannot swim, coaches would need to start the swimmer with a life jacket in the same way that some students at TJ now must take remedial math. The life-jacket swimmer would be taking the place of an athlete proficient in all four strokes, much like the remedial math student is accepted to TJ at the expense of a student, most likely Asian American, who completed honors geometry or Algebra 2 in eighth grade.    

In the same way, let’s consider what might qualify someone for the equity kabaddi team, dominated by South Asians. If you have heard of kabaddi, then you’re in. In the world of racial balancing, there would be little need for experience with the ancient Indian sport or strength and skills assessments.

We all know you can’t teach height, and that’s just not fair and equitable. On the more inclusive basketball team, anyone over 5 feet, 5 inches would be considered equal — much like there’s no differentiation between a 3.5 and 4.2 GPA after the initial cutoff for TJ applicants. The rebound advantage of the 6-foot-8-inch athlete is unfair and also would be overlooked, and so would his vertical jump and speed. When the team’s performance inevitably plummets, we can all applaud them through our rose-colored glasses and claim they are still “#1,” just as Reid did.

With the revised criteria, the sports teams would lose their competitive advantages in the same way TJ has and will continue to lose its competitive advantage in STEM education. While TJ might be ranked at the top of a list for institutionalized racism against Asians, the school is not the flagship it once was for science and technology.

Indeed, the district’s Democratic school board members should consider changing the name of the magnet school to reflect their new priorities — something like “Thomas Jefferson High School for Social Engineering and Equity.”

This Week’s Teachers Union Report Card: West Virginia Education Association Advocates for Obscenity

The West Virginia Education Association just joined the chorus of activists advocating for explicit books in classrooms and school libraries. The uni...

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Debate Prep: Super Tuesday, Teachers and Students Wary About Discussing Gender Identity, Johnson and Trump Champion IVF Along With Other Republicans

Each week, IW's policy experts work together to craft talking points that help us deliver our messages as effectively as possible. IW spokeswomen use...

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