In article <suaufm$18qv5$10@news.freedyn.de>
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:
>
> The "educators" involved should be hung by the neck until the body drops off.
> Let the birds eat these assholes.
>

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) � Over the weekend, Fairfax County
parents received upsetting emails from the principals at Langley
High School and Westfield High School. The principals admitted
that they too didn�t notify students they won National Merit
recognition before important college scholarship and admissions
deadlines.

On Monday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Fairfax
County Superintendent Michelle Reid �this alleged behavior may
constitute unlawful discrimination in violation of the Virginia
Human Rights Act� and that his �office will investigate whether
any students' rights were violated.�

Miyares announced Monday he�s expanding his civil rights
investigation to the entire public school system in Fairfax
County.

RELATED | More Fairfax Co. schools didn't notify students of
national merit recognition: Officials

Miyares sent a letter notifying FCPS of the expanded
investigation. Read the full letter here.

<https://www.scribd.com/document/618756642/Miyares-Notice-of-
Investigation-to-FCPS-National-Merit#from_embed>

Shawnna Yashar�s child is a student at Thomas Jefferson High
School for Science and Technology �-- where the award scandal
began.

�I'm surprised, but I'm happy to see that he has expanded the
investigation beyond Thomas Jefferson High School because
obviously, this is an issue that's going on throughout the
school system, a systematic problem that needs to be looked at
as to why the school system is not focusing on these merit and
academic achievements in the way that I think that they should,�
said Yashar.

Some groups, including Loudoun4All, have come to FCPS' defense.

For more Crisis in the Classroom stories, click here
�A lack of notification indeed is a mistake, however the
implication that an error is indicative of a larger issue or
related to equity is premature,� Loudoun4All said in a
statement. �TJHS (Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology) consistently ranks as one of the nation�s top
schools. There has been no evidence that supports intentional
wrongdoing and alleging so is premature.�

Last week, a Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson told
7News �Our preliminary understanding is that the delay this fall
was a unique situation due to human error� at Thomas Jefferson
High School for Science and Technology. But that no longer seems
to be the case as other schools in Fairfax County notify parents
their children were not notified either.

�When you're looking at the top 3% in your craft, and for these
students, this is their craft, academics is what they focus on,
it�s what they've mastered. [The] Top 3% is a really big award.
It's a really big honor,� said Yashar. �So there's no reason to
discount these kids' achievements.�

The delay in notifications comes at a time when FCPS and other
school systems are emphasizing equity and equal outcomes in
schools.

Right now, FCPS is spending nearly half a million dollars for
Mutiu Fagbayi of Performance Fact, Inc. to do strategic planning
consulting for the school system.

"To have true equity you have to be willing to be purposefully
unequal when it comes to resources,� Fagbayi said during a
recent presentation to another school system. �We have to have
the courage and willingness to be purposefully unequal when it
comes to opportunities and access."

Prior to becoming superintendent at FCPS, Reid was the
superintendent of Northshore where Performance Fact, Inc. was
hired to do strategic planning consulting at the school system.

FCPS also paid author Ibram Kendi $20,000 to speak to school
staff for one hour over zoom about equity and race.

Fairfax County resident Mark Spooner calls this a gross misuse
of public funds.

�I think paying anybody that sort of money for a one-hour phone
call is pretty outrageous,� said Spooner. �I think that treating
Kendi as if he is some sort of a guru is very justified in bad
policy. And if you are going to hire people to espouse those
kinds of views, I think it is incumbent upon public officials to
hire somebody else to speak contrary views and I think it
wouldn't have cost $20,000. They could have probably gotten very
competent people to do it for free or for a fraction of the
$20,000. So I think that was a very bad thing for the school
system to have done. Fairfax County Public Library just upped
the ante and recently hired him for a zoom call for one hour or
$22,500. I think this fixation on people like him is a gross
misspending of public funds.�

Some parents would like to see school resources spent on
learning loss instead of equity consulting.

�I think right now the school system has a lot of money that's
in its coffers to spend on learning loss that occurred during
the pandemic,� said Yashar. �Lots of money came in from extra
funding as well as other sources from the state. And that money
hasn't been spent on learning loss programs. There has been no
after-school tutoring programs that have been implemented
throughout Fairfax County Public Schools, even though the Biden
administration did encourage them to partner with organizations
to find people to help teach those after-school high dosage
tutoring classes. So I think FCPS needs to spend some time
focusing on academic excellence and less on some of these other
initiatives.�

RELATED | Fairfax County parents call for accountability after
national merit award scandal

Loudoun4All said in a statement that they believe the criticism
of FCPS is an attack on public education.

�Overall, Loudoun4All believes this most recent attention on
TJHS demonstrates this administration's goal which is to further
politicalize and attack public education,� Loudoun4All added.

Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman said Gov. Glenn Youngkin
is campaigning on a culture war �which is the destruction of
public ed.�

Youngkin called for the investigation into Thomas Jefferson High
School for Science and Technology.

In a blistering letter last week, Gov. Youngkin told AG Miyares,
�I am stunned by news reports alleging that information about
National Merit Awards was withheld from students at Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology until after
important deadlines for college scholarships had passed.�

�I believe this failure may have caused material harm to those
students and their parents,� Youngkin said Tuesday.

House of Delegates candidate Makya Little slammed the critics of
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

"Students in the Commonwealth should have the liberty to learn
free from worry about controversies manufactured by a small
group of unqualified, divisive opportunists seeking power," said
Little.

The Fairfax County superintendent released this statement to the
school community following the announcement of the attorney
general�s investigation:

"Hello FCPS Students, Families, and Staff;

Last month, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) was made aware
that there had been a delay in sharing National Merit
Scholarship Corporation recognition with students from Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)
designated as Commended Students by the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation.

As part of the continuing review of our division-wide internal
practices, it has come to light that there are two other schools
where students did not receive timely notification of their
designation as Commended Students this fall.

As soon as this new development was confirmed, Westfield and
Langley high schools notified all impacted families and their
broader respective school communities. Please be aware that FCPS
is committed to sharing information that impacts our communities
as soon as possible.

Staff has been contacting colleges where these students have
applied to inform them of the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation commendations. We are sincerely sorry for this
error. Each and every student, their experience and success,
remain our priority.

As we continue our division-wide review into these matters, we
remain committed to being transparent with the key findings and
sharing updates as appropriate to ensure each and every FCPS
student is supported and recognized for the excellence they
demonstrate.

FCPS continues to stand ready to work with our partners at the
state level on their investigation. This past weekend, I
proactively communicated this new information to the Office of
the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today,
the Attorney General has extended his investigation to include
all Fairfax County Public Schools.

We understand and value the hard work and dedication of each and
every student, and the families and staff who support them.
Please be assured that we remain resolutely committed to
supporting every student in achieving their unique and fullest
potential.