Fairfax County school board adopts holistic admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School

The entrance to TJ is modeled after Monticello. [Keith Pham]

The Fairfax County School Board has agreed to a new, holistic admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, beginning with TJ’s class of 2025.

“The board sought to develop an admissions policy that recognized historical inequities and addressed racial and socioeconomic barriers to students while maintaining the high standards for which the school is known,” said school board Chair Ricardy Anderson (Mason).

A holistic review will be done of students whose applications demonstrate enhanced merit, and 550 seats will then be offered to the highest-evaluated students.

Related story: Fairfax County school board considers revised proposals for TJ

The top 1.5 percent of the eighth-grade class at each public middle school meeting the minimum standards will be eligible for admission.Students will be evaluated on their grade point average; a portrait sheet where they will be asked to demonstrate Portrait of a Graduate attributes and 21st century skills; a problem-solving essay; and experience factors, including students who are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, special education students, or students who are currently attending underrepresented middle schools.

The board previously agreed to eliminate the admissions test and application fee.

The new admissions process is different from the earlier holistic proposal, which set caps for the FCPS regions, rather than individual schools.

The new admissions policy also includes sending recruitment communications to all eligible students, targeted recruitment of underrepresented students, presentations to students and parents, and a virtual open house, all available in multiple languages.

As a result, the middle schools in Mason District – Glasgow, Holmes, and Poe – could eventually send more students to TJ.

The board decision was made as a result of careful deliberation, Anderson, which included input from experts and internal stakeholders and an examination of the admissions policies for similar magnet schools.

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