Save Merit.

Let Kids Thrive.

America faces a war on merit. It is a war on our kids.
We are standing up for merit. For kids.

The TJ Scandal

Intrepid parents of students and alumni of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, or TJ, a Governor’s School in Alexandria, Virginia, have discovered a disturbing truth that has shocked the nation: for years, the principal, Ann Bonitatibus, and administrators have hid National Merit Commended Student Awards from students. It’s not a “one-time” error in the fall of 2022, as administrators claim, but rather a pattern and practice of systemic injustice that must be abolished.

Our Demands

A coalition of parent groups — including American Hindu Coalition, Chinese American Parents Association of Northern Virginia, Coalition for TJ, Hispanics for STEM, Fight for Schools and Army of Parents — hand-delivered a letter to Fairfax County Public Schools Supt. Michelle Reid with demands to eliminate the flawed notion of “equal outcomes for every student” and save merit. The letter is being delivered to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares and other leaders.

What You Can Do

Since June 2020, our families — mostly minority, mostly immigrant, have led the parents’ movement against school boards, educrats and actvists more committed to indoctrination than education. We have elected a governor, won a historic court decision and inspired and galvanized a national parents’ movement. Join us in this movement by taking action to save merit. Our current campaign is to #SaveMerit at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.You can help us behind-the-scenes and out front.

News Flash

Gov. Youngkin calls for an investigation! Yes!

STATEMENT: Our diverse coalition of parents from northern Virginia cheer the news from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, calling for an investigation by Attorney General Jason Miyares into the systemic injustice against the kids at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. We the parents have said from day one that there is a war on merit and there is a war on children. The letter from Gov. Youngkin is sheer poetry. He sees us. He sees our families. He recognizes that violating children’s rights in education is a civil rights violation and it’s a human rights violation. We will win.

Read parent reactions at this link.

Associated Press – Youngkin seeks probe of delayed awards at elite high school – Jan. 3, 2022 – Matthew Barakat

WJLA – Gov. Youngkin urges Miyares to launch investigation into Fairfax County school scandal – Jan. 3, 2023 – 7NewsStaff

FOX & Friends interview about the damage done

Watch Harry Jackson, a TJ father, speak about the cost of the scholarships lost on the lives of young people.

400,000+ views because merit matters!

FOX5 reporter Sierra Fox interviewed TJ parents Harry Jackson and Srilekha Palle on a topic that earned 400,000+ views and counting because we care about education!

@TheSierraFox @FOX5DC

Learn more →

@MatthewBarakat @AP and @NBC Washington

Learn more →

@Gellman_Scott @WTOP

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Accidental Activists

We are ordinary parents, like most of you. We are also mama bears and papa bears, and nobody gets between us and our cubs. And nobody stands in the way of their education.

Ying Julia McCaskill is a volleyball mom at TJHSST from China

Learn more →

Srilekha Palle walked miles to go to school in India

Learn more →

Asra Q. Nomani arrived in the U.S. at 4, not knowing a word of English

Born in Bombay, India, in the first generation after British colonialism, Asra Nomani knew not a word of English, growing up in public schools and becoming a Wall Street Journal reporter at the age of 23 and a mother years later.

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears

This is reprehensible. I have reached out to the Governor and Attorney General and asked for an investigation. Our children’s education is not a zero-sum game. We cannot punish success in order to have “equal outcomes at all costs”.

— Dec. 30, 2022, 7:50 AM

Read the Emails

On Sept. 16 of this year, National Merit sent a letter to Principal Ann Bonitatibus listing 240 students recognized as Commended Students.

The letter included these words in bold type: “Please present the letters of commendation as soon as possible since it is the students’ only notification.”

Read the emails

 

Fortune in the Book

We are inspired by the parents and grandparents whose courage is fearless. Watch their stories in a mini-documentary created by Pacific Legal Foundation.


We want to hear from you, whether you’re a parent or a congressional office.


We you or someone you know potentially impacted by the delays at TJ. Let us know how.


Numerous groups collaborated to write this petition to local, state and federal officials.

Shawnna Yashar

TJ mother

Mama Bear
Spotlight

It takes a lot to speak to the world. But our parents overcome their fears because they know if they don’t, who will? That’s what happened to Shawnna Yashar when she discovered that administrators at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology had waited a month to tell students they were National Merit Commended Students. She started digging and the rest of the story became international news. Previously, she spoke to CNN about learning loss. Thank you, Shawnna!

“Keeping these certificates from students is theft by the state,” says Shawnna Yashar, the mother of a TJ student impacted by the delay delivering National Merit Commendation awards.

How the New ‘Equity’ Agenda Threatens Merit

School administrators nationwide, have implemented an “equitable grading” policy, for example, in Fairfax County, Virginia, eliminating zeros, giving students a grade of 50 percent just for showing up, and assigning a cryptic code of “NTI” for assignments not turned in. It’s a race to the bottom.

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