Superintendent Who Cut Entrance Exam at Nation’s Best High School Will Resign
“Brabrand’s resignation follows more than a year of controversy between factions of parents and district leaders”
Thomas Jefferson High School in Virginia was sued for alleged anti-Asian discrimination. Following the decision to end the entrance exam, Asian admissions dropped significantly. This debacle might have something to do with the superintendent’s decision.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Superintendent Who Eliminated Entrance Exam at Nation’s Top High School To Resign
The Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent who eliminated the entrance exam at the nation’s top high school announced he will leave his post next year.
Scott Brabrand will not renew his contract with Fairfax, Va., public schools after it expires in July 2022, according to a Thursday district news release. Brabrand touted his top accomplishments in the announcement, including “embedding an equity focus” and “broadening access” to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The latter effort spurred two groups of parents to sue the district for anti-Asian discrimination.
Brabrand’s resignation follows more than a year of controversy between factions of parents and district leaders, which began last spring after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In October, the district approved Brabrand’s proposal to dismantle the merit-based admissions process for Thomas Jefferson—often ranked as the nation’s top high school—as part of the district’s focus on “equity.”
“We have heard from many members of the TJ community—current and former—who have raised concerns about diversity at the school,” Brabrand said in a statement at the time. “TJ must reflect the diversity, equity, and inclusiveness that is core to the mission and values of Fairfax County Public Schools.”
In December, the district adopted a quota system to boost black and Hispanic enrollment. The updated admissions process capped the number of students that each of Fairfax’s middle schools could send to Thomas Jefferson. The three middle schools known for feeding students to Thomas Jefferson have largely Asian-American populations, and as a result, the updated admissions process cut the number of Asian students admitted to the following year’s freshman class By 16 Percent. The number of white students admitted rose by 43 percent.
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Comments
Not renewing your contract is not resigning. It’s just moving on at the end of your term.
And the people of this district need to be very watchful from now on. He’s going to feel like he has nothing to lose and he’s liable to become an even bigger problem before he goes.
Or was he fired? Our superintendent in our district just resigned with one year to go, same as this guy, and I am trying to figure out if he jumped or was pushed.
The quoted article seems to suggest that Asian-American students and white students are distinctly different populations. Some people of color would argue that Asian-Americans are a subset of white people. This reminds me of the argument over the “one drop rule.” Historically, if a citizen had one drop of blood from the disfavored group, he would be treated as a member of that class for segregation
The fundamental problem is that Fairfax County Schools built a magnet school as a center for excellence on a merit-based philosophy. It sought external funding from corporate donors and the public on that basis. The school even obtained its own supercomputer! It attracted some of the best teachers, and hence the best students who in turn established a college admission pipeline to the best schools. Success built its reputation helping it gain more success.
Mr. Brabrant’s “equity” argument makes no sense and is contrary to the values of most FCPS parents and taxpayers.
It is patently absurd to say that ‘…Asian Americans are a subset of White people,’ and this is the first time that I have heard that argument made.
Virginia and FCPS taxpayers feel that students from all funding districts should have a reasonable opportunity to attend the top PUBLIC school. If parents from three districts want to fund their own top PRIVATE school, they are welcome – but what they appear to want is to tax everyone else in Virginia for their own benefit.
Also, the article above is very misleading. The Asian students are STILL heavily favored in the admissions process and their student numbers significantly outnumber white, black and brown students even though white students make up the majority of the students and Asians are only 20% of students in FCPS. (I believe that the term Asians includes Indians.)
In addition, the article above seems to have one mis-statement. Rather than admission being capped for students from certain schools, a certain number of slots are allocated for each feeder school and the leftover unallocated slots are open to students from any school.