Virginia’s parents were angry after a top-rated high school allegedly delayed notifying students of national academic awards in the name of “equality”, leaving them unable to explain recognition in some college applications.
Fairfax County parent Asra Nomani joined “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday to discuss why schools are delaying awards and the importance of meritocracy in the classroom.
“This year the whole controversy exploded because kids got their certificates, weeks past their initial college application deadlines, just dropped on their desks as if they were just pieces of paper,” Nomani told co-host Todd Piro.
VIRGINIAN PARENTS POLITICATE SCHOOLS: ‘ATTACKS ON FAMILY AND CHURCH’
Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“And this amazing mother named Shawna Yashar started asking questions, as every parent should,” he continued. “From the issue of transgender story hours to indoctrination in schools, this is yet another form of the race to the bottom that schools are currently in.”
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) in Alexandria, Virginia, allegedly delayed academic awards for years, according to Nomani, because of its tactic of advocating “the same outcome for every student, without exception.”
Schools have even implemented policies that give students 50% just for showing up to class, and administrators have eliminated zero altogether.
The pending award is provided by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which recognizes the top achieving high school students nationally. TJ received his 2022 awards in October but didn’t distribute them to students until a month later, after the initial application deadline had passed, according to Nomani. Nomani’s son, a TJ 2021 graduate, was awarded a Commended Student award in September 2020 but was never notified, he wrote in the City Journal.
When Yashar, the mother who initially sounded the alarm about being late for school, brought the issue to the fore, she was met with rejection from the school, said Nomani.
“Schools want to recognize students as individuals, not their achievements, as if the two had to be separated,” he said.
Nomani notes the issue is not exclusive to Virginia schools, however, arguing the “war on merit” is a problem within the national education system.
“It’s part of this agenda that is fooling America,” Nomani said. “These kids are the people who are going to be… scientists coming up with our solutions to the things that make us pull our hair out.
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“This is important not just for this cohort of kids at this school, but for all of America, because these wars over achievement are everywhere.”
In a statement sent to FOX 5 DC, Fairfax County Public Schools said: “FCPS understands the hard work and dedication of every student competing for college admissions and scholarship opportunities. Once the fall 2022 notice issue materialized, counselors emailed and placed a follow-up call. to each of the colleges these students have applied to and notify them of the National Merit Scholarship Award.We are continuing to investigate the matter and will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure consistency in the notification of proper and timely recognition of the National Merit Award going forward. “