The Fairfax County School Board voted to enact several changes to the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). The Board sought to develop an admissions policy that recognized and addressed cultural and socioeconomic barriers to access while maintaining the high standards for which the school is known. 

The new criteria, which will be used to select the class of 2025, is based on a holistic review aimed at improving diversity and access at the school. The changes to the current process include the following:

• Increase of the capacity of each admitting class to 550 from 480;
• Elimination of the Quant-Q, ACT Aspire Reading and Science tests;
• Elimination of the application fee;
• Elimination of the teacher recommendations;
• The top 1.5 percent of eighth-grade students at each public middle school who meet the minimum standards will be offered admission

The holistic process will evaluate students on 1) grade point average (GPA);  2) a student portrait sheet where students will need to demonstrate Portrait of a Graduate attributes and 21st Century Skills; 3) a problem-solving essay; and 4) experience factors – which include provisions for economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, special education students, and/or students who are currently attending underrepresented middle schools. The new admissions policy also includes recruitment communications to all eligible students and targeted recruitment of students from such disadvantaged groups.

The Board also approved several follow-on motions to further strengthen the admissions policy including the administration of the essay and student information sheet to all eligible students at their middle schools. This change will be effective for the 2026 class and opts eligible students into the application process. The School Board also voted to establish a process, effective for the 2027 class, that will proportionally allocate seats to the top eligible 8th grade students in each of Fairfax County’s middle schools.

The PTSA Diversity Committee of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology will hold its second Diversity in STEM Talk in February! This series is especially for elementary and middle school students in grades 4-8.

Join us Monday, February 8, at 6 p.m. to hear from Anthony Nunez, CEO INF Robotics Inc. and Carla Rodriguez, Head of Operations INF Robotics Inc. Mr. Nunez graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Applied Information Technology and from Worchester Polytechnic University with a masters degree in Systems Engineering. Mr. Nunez is a published author in robotics, holds two robotics patents and has over a decade of experience building all forms of land, air and water robots in addition to working for DARPA Autonomous Vehicles programs, where he worked on the early versions of autonomous cars. Mr. Nunez has successfully lobbied Congress as part of the National Robotics Week Advisory Council to have the second week in April recognized for robotics and STEM education importance in the U.S.

Ms. Rodriguez has worked as Vice President of Infamous Robotics where she grew the company's curriculum offerings and expanded on key partnerships with the Smithsonian, the U.S. State Department and others. Ms. Rodriguez is a key architect of the Robotics Inventor curriculum and has experience building everything from snake robots to autonomous robots for healthcare. She has been a key mentor for children building their first robot for years, helping them get over roadblocks and build confidence around themselves and STEM. Through their current work at INF Robotics Inc., dba INF Care, Mr. Nunez and Ms. Rodriguez are bringing robotics and assistive technologies to older adults to improve their health and aging in place experience. Some questions we'll explore are:

• What sparked their interest in STEM?
• What is happening in the field of robotics?
• How are robotics and technology used in health care?

Parents, register at this Zoom link: http://bit.ly/TJStemTalk2

Submit questions in advance here: https://bit.ly/tjdiversitytalks