Tuesday, July 27, 2021




Parents accuse top high school of a 'purge' after slashing number of Asian American students by 20% because 'they are the wrong minority'

Parents have accused America's top high school of a 'purge' after slashing its intake of Asian American students by 20 percent because 'they are the wrong minority.'

Anti-Critical Race Theory campaigner Asra Nomani, whose child graduated from the school this year, claims Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) in Virginia is making race a factor in the admissions criteria and discriminating against Asian children.

She said TJ, which ranked the number one school nationwide in the US News Best High Schools report in April and as a public school has no tuition fees, has 'systematically set out to reduce' the number of Asian students joining.

Admissions data shows the class of 2025 has become increasingly diverse with black students making up 7 percent of the year group, up from just 1 percent for the class of 2021.

The proportion of Hispanic students increased from 3 percent to 11 percent while white students climbed from 18 percent to 22 percent.

Asian students continue to make up the majority at 54 percent of the class.

However, this marks a major decrease from 73 percent of the class of 2021 - a decline Nomani said is down to 'new racist standards' in the admissions process.

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, co-authored by Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Erin Wilcox, Nomani said the school's updated admissions criteria was aimed at 'dramatically reducing the number of qualified Asian American students admitted to TJ.'

They claimed that the school's majority Asian school body was the 'wrong kind of minority' in the eyes of the school.

'Over the past year, TJ and Fairfax County Public Schools officials have systematically set out to reduce the number of Asian American students at the highly regarded high school — and based on the most recent admissions data, their purge is succeeding,' they wrote.

'This past year, school leaders bemoaned a lack of 'diversity' at TJ and launched a crusade to change admissions.

'The student body is about 80 percent minority, but the wrong kind of minority for school officials, with about 70 percent Asian and about 10 percent of the minority students black, Hispanic and multiracial.'

The so-called 'purge' that begun with this year's admissions is not due to Asian students being less qualified but because race is now a factor in the decisions, they said.

'When we describe this as a purge against Asian American students by leaders at TJ and Fairfax County Public Schools, that is not rhetorical excess. It's an accurate interpretation of what's happening based on the hard dat,' they wrote.

'The number of Asian American students isn't dropping because they're less qualified; it's dropping because the school has rejiggered the process to make race a factor in the decisions.'

TJ revised its admissions process last year at a time when the nation was demanding racial justice and equality following George Floyd's murder.

Changes included scrapping the admissions test and the $100 application fee in an effort to remove some of the barriers to access for some students including special education students, students eligible for free and/or reduced-price meals, and English Learners.

The school also raised the minimum grade point average (GPA) with the average GPA for 2025 applicants at 3.9 - higher than every other year over the last five years.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Scott Brabrand called the system a 'merit lottery' but the move sparked protests from some unhappy parents.

Nomani and Wilcox claimed the changes amount to the tossing out of the school's 'merit-based, race-blind admissions exam and other rigorous standards.'

'District leaders set out to change that by re-engineering the school's famously strict and competitive admission standards,' they wrote.

'Tossing the merit-based, race-blind admissions exam and other rigorous standards, they instituted a 'holistic' admissions process with quotas and subjective criteria, such as 'experience factors,' that would allow them to achieve a more 'equitable' and desirable racial balance at TJ.

'It was clear that the new standards were aimed at a particular result: dramatically reducing the number of qualified Asian American students admitted to TJ.'

They slammed the 'new racist standards' which 'actively discriminate' against Asian students and 'water[ing] down' the school's focus on merit.

'We warned that the slippery new standards were not only designed to actively discriminate against Asian American students, but would also end up watering down the school's long-standing commitment to achievement through hard work and merit,' they wrote.

Nomani and Wilcox pointed to the data which shows the percentage of Asian students was 'slashed' while 'the percentage of blacks and Hispanics increased — as it did for white students.'

Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Erin Wilcox (pictured) is representing the parents in a suit against the school board
Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Erin Wilcox (pictured) is representing the parents in a suit against the school board

As well as being a parent of a 2021 TJ graduate, Nomani is the cofounder of Coalition for TJ, a group of parents campaigning against the admissions changes at the school.

The group, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, filed a federal lawsuit in March against the Fairfax County School Board over the 'unconstitutional' changes to the admissions process.

The suit claims the new admission standards violate the constitutional right of Asian children to equal protection by discriminating against them based on their race.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the school for comment on the accusations.

Despite the changes to the admissions process, the school's website insists it is still 'merit based and race blind.'

'The new admissions process continues to be merit based and is race blind,' it says.

'Students are allocated a number by which to be identified during the process.

'Admissions evaluators do not know the race, ethnicity, or gender of any applicant.'

TJ has been named the top US school for the last three years in the US News Best High Schools and counts New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, novelist Ian Caldwell and journalist Lisa Desjardins among its alumni.

The clash between parents and the school and school board comes amid a similar debate surrounding the admission of students at Harvard University.

Harvard is being sued by a group that claims it imposes a 'racial penalty' on Asian American applicants by systematically scoring them lower in some categories than other applicants and awarding 'massive preferences' to black and Hispanic applicants.

Harvard denies that it discriminates against Asian American applicants and says its consideration of race is limited.

Lower courts sided with the university but the plaintiffs, a group called Students for Fair Admissions and anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, appealed the decision.

Last month, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to give its views on whether the justices should hear the challenge.

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School Choice Only Option in Divided Nation

The issue of critical race theory is raising a more fundamental question about our nation: education.

Education is about more than teaching children to read and write. It is about transmitting values, transmitting a worldview, that will define how our youth think and how they will live.

Per the Department of Education, in 2020, 56.4 million children were enrolled in K-12 education. Of these, 50.7 million were in public schools, and 5.7 million were in private schools.

So, government plays a substantial role in the education of our children.

Per the Department of Education, “Each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students.” But do we care at all what is taught?

In a survey done by Pew Research last October, just prior to the presidential election, 80% of Donald Trump supporters and 77% of Joe Biden supporters said, regarding the opposition, “Not only do we have different priorities when it comes to politics, but we fundamentally disagree about core American values.”

If half the country disagrees with the other half about “core American values,” what exactly can we expect public schools receiving federal funds to teach regarding the nature and purpose of our Constitution or about our nation’s history?

In a recent survey done by Morning Consult/Politico, of those who said they had seen, read, or heard “a lot” about critical race theory, 7% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans described it negatively.

Among all voters, 36% said it should not be included in K-12 curricula, and 32% said it should be included.

We’re not talking here about a difference of opinion regarding enacting some new national holiday, or difference of opinion about particular government spending programs.

We’re talking about fundamentally different worldviews about our national history and culture.

In one view, our nation is rooted in and defined by racism and oppression. In the other view, the nation’s founding was a landmark moment in human history, in which, for the first time, a society would be defined by human liberty, justice, and equality before the law.

Can we have a school system that mixes oil and water? I don’t think so.

But critical race theory has already made it into many school curricula.

According to the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo, writing in The Wall Street Journal, “Critical race theory-inspired lessons have often devolved into race-based struggle sessions, with public schools forcing children to rank themselves according to a racial hierarchy, subjecting white teachers to ‘antiracist therapy’ and encouraging parents to become ‘white traitors.'”

This is precipitating pushback. Legislation has been introduced in 24 states and enacted in six states, blocking critical race theory instruction—indoctrination is perhaps a better word—in public schools.

Americans are not just deeply divided in understanding our nation’s history. We are deeply divided in our values regarding life itself.

According to a new Gallup poll, for the first time since it has been asking the question, more Americans define themselves as social liberals than social conservatives.

Thirty-four percent define themselves as social liberals, versus 30% defining themselves as social conservatives.

We’re talking here about deep differences in attitudes regarding sex, marriage, family, and abortion.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 30 states and the District of Columbia require their public schools to provide sex education.

But what are they teaching?

I think there is only one answer.

Can we not all agree that our nation is about freedom? If we can agree on this, then it is time for parental choice in education across the nation. Let parents decide what their children will learn, and give parents the freedom to select a school for their child that teaches the worldview and the values that they want. Let parents take responsibility for their children’s future.

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Heritage Battles Nation’s Largest Teachers Union on Critical Race Theory

The Heritage Foundation and its experts have been tireless in its efforts to fight critical race theory.

It’s not often you get singled out for attack in a resolution by one of the nation’s biggest unions. But in its zeal to shove critical race theory into schools, the National Education Association singled out The Heritage Foundation as “one of the well-funded organizations” that is committing “attacks on anti-racist teachers.”

The resolution calls on the NEA to conduct “research” into Heritage and other such groups—a polite way of saying it plans to smear critics of CRT. We’re not intimidated and we won’t be backing away from our effective strategy to educate Americans about the dangers of CRT.

Heritage’s Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy, and Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow, responded to the NEA’s attack with a promise to “continue to take on ideas like CRT.” They said in a statement:

Heritage is proud of its comprehensive work in this field, which has always focused on explaining the facts behind critical race theory and how it is infecting all aspects of our everyday life. We stand with parents, educators, lawmakers, and other Americans who want children to learn about all of America’s history, without indoctrinating them in a toxic narrative that undermines student unity and achievement or implementing CRT’s racially divisive principles in ways that violate the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution. Efforts to treat students or educators differently based upon their skin color not only betray fundamental principles, but they also violate federal civil rights laws and other statutes.

Only a few days later, the NEA scrubbed this resolution from its website after considerable pushback from conservative organizations, including Heritage. The NEA’s original resolution, along with the fallout, earned major coverage in multiple news outlets.

Before it was removed from the NEA’s website, the resolution stated:

NEA will research the organizations attacking educators doing anti-racist work and/or use the research already done and put together a list of resources and recommendations for state affiliates, locals, and individual educators to utilize when they are attacked... The attacks on anti-racist teachers are increasing, coordinated by well-funded organizations such as the Heritage Foundation. We need to be better prepared to respond to these attacks so that our members can continue this important work.

Critical race theory, or CRT, makes race the prism through which its proponents analyze all aspects of American life, categorizing individuals into groups of oppressors and victims. It is a philosophy that is infecting everything from politics and education to the workplace and the military. In the aftermath of the 2020 protests, CRT became the rallying cry of numerous organizations, businesses, and educators.

The Heritage Foundation has been tireless in its efforts to fight critical race theory and numerous Heritage experts have appeared in television interviews and published several reports and commentaries on the issue.

Last year, Gonzalez co-authored a comprehensive Heritage report on the subject with Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman fellow in education. The report, “Critical Race Theory, the New Intolerance, and Its Grip on America,” is one of Heritage’s most-read publications.

Since then, Gonzalez has crisscrossed the country to bring his research on critical race theory and identity politics to audiences eager to counter these left-wing ideas. He has briefed lawmakers in Louisiana, spoken at major conservative conferences, and counseled parents how to fight back against the left’s indoctrination of their kids. In addition, Gonzalez is a go-to resource for media outlets who want sage insight on the dangers of critical race theory.

Gonzalez has also teamed up with Burke to expose colleges of education as a source of critical theory, an offshoot of CRT.

Heritage also published a report by Christopher Rufo, one of CRT’s leading critics, warning of its implications. The report, “Critical Race Theory Would Not Solve Racial Inequality: It Would Deepen It,” documented how critical race theory seeks to undermine the foundations of American society and replace the constitutional system with a near-totalitarian “antiracist” bureaucracy.

Rufo spoke out against the NEA’s latest effort to smear CRT critics, naming Gonzalez as an ally, and promising to counter those who are “ruining American education.”

Heritage’s work is getting noticed. “The Morning Call” newsletter recently praised Rufo and Gonzalez for their leadership:

Rufo and Gonzales are, almost without question, the leaders of the campaign to push back against CRT, and their efforts are (almost) entirely cultural, not political. … Rufo and Gonzalez are neither ham-handed in their calls for state intervention nor quiet and sneaky. They have the luxury of not only being right on the facts, but also of knowing that what they are exposing is largely unknown but would be rejected by the majority of the American people.

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The Department Of Education Has Blinked On Critical Race Theory!

The use of critical race theory in civics education curricula is now part of the United States Department of Education plan to revive.

It all started right after several months of Conservative-led activism against the left-wing ideology.

This left-wing ideology alleges that white people and racial minorities in the United States respectively belong to the oppressor and oppressed classes.

According to The Washington Post reports:

The department published a notice Monday in the Federal Register requesting applications for grants that dropped references to published anti-racism works that had been mentioned in proposed rules released in April for the American History and Civics Education grant program, and that had drawn the ire of conservatives.

The proposed rules did not actually suggest the contested material would be required for grantees to use, but Education Secretary Miguel Cardona addressed concerns of critics by making clear in a blog post that curriculum decisions will not be dictated by the federal government.

The April proposal lauded The New York Times’ “landmark” 1619 Project — which emphasizes the role of slavery as a core reality in the founding of the United States — and quoted from How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. The new notice dropped both references and appeared to avoid any other nods toward critical race theory.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s amendment to the grant proposal was approved by opponents of critical race theory.

Nicole Neily said, President of Parents Defending Education, “Thousands of Americans across the country responded to the federal government’s request for comment on this issue and sent a clear message that this was not an appropriate use of tax dollars, we are gratified that the Biden Administration has responded to this feedback.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) added, “Today’s decision is a win for the parents and students, future generations of Americans deserve to receive a rich, rigorous education in civics and our nation’s history. But this will hardly be the last word in the fight to preserve real history and real civics in the face of the revisionism that is increasingly sought by the far left.”

The framework remains in the American public consciousness as the parents continue to push back against the spread of Critical Race Theory in schools.

Father named Ian Rice an African-American explained to his children’s school board that Critical Race Theory seeks to teach children that “white people are bad” earlier this month.

He said, “That’s not true, that would teach my daughter that her mother is evil.”

Rice told the administrators, “This board and this school district has failed,[Critical race theory] was never meant to be brought into grade schools, high schools — at all. It’s actually taught in the collegiate atmosphere, more importantly, the legal portion of the collegiate atmosphere to see different laws through the lens of race, from an ethical standpoint, not for grade schoolers and high schoolers.”

The racial tensions and issues are “nowhere near what they used to be decades ago,” though America still has “a long way to go,” Rice observed.

Rice closed to raucous applause from fellow parents, “But I believe the people here don’t look at me as a black man, they look at me as a man standing in front of you addressing the issue we are all very passionate about.”

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My other blogs: Main ones below

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

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