Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Address
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Show map of Northern Virginia Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Show map of Virginia Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Show map of the US
6560 Braddock Road Alexandria, Virginia 22312
Information
School type	Public, magnet high school
Founded	1985
School district	Fairfax County Public Schools
Principal	Ann Bonitatibus
Staff	approximately 106 full-time staff
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1854[1]
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Red, white, and navy
Athletics conference	Capital Conference 13 5A North Region
Team name	Colonials
Accreditation	SACS CASI[1]
USNWR ranking	No. 6 (2017)[2]
Average SAT scores (2016)	2198
Newspaper	tjTODAY
Yearbook	Techniques
Communities served	Northern Virginia
Feeder schools	Northern Virginia schools
Graduates	99%
Acceptance rate	14–18%
Website	tjhsst.edu

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet school in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is a regional high school operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.

As a publicly funded and administered high school with a selective admission process, it is often compared with notable public magnet schools, although it discontinued non-application based admission after the class of 1988. Attendance at the school is open to students in six local jurisdictions based on an admissions test, prior academic achievement, recommendations, and essays. The selective admissions program was initiated in 1985 through the cooperation of state and county governments, as well as corporate sponsorship from the defense and technology industries. The school occupies the building of the previous Thomas Jefferson High School (constructed in 1965). It is one of 18 Virginia Governor's Schools, and a founding member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. In 2016, the school placed first in Newsweek's annual "America's Top High Schools" rankings^[3] for the third consecutive year and fifth in US News & World Report's 2016 High School Rankings.^[4]

Students

In 2015 and in 2016 the ratio of acceptances to applications was 17 and 17.9%,^[5] Students of Asian origin constitute around 60%-70% of the student population in 2013–14 and also in 2016-2017.^[6][5] The ethnic demographics of the students in the class of 2019 were 21.8% white, 74% Asian, 1.7% Black, and 2.6% Hispanic.^[5] Hispanic and Black students make up less than four percent of student body, while the same groups constitute about thirty percent of the student population in the area.^[7]

In 2012, a civil rights complaint against the school was filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights by Coalition of the Silence, an advocacy group led by former county School Board member Tina Hone, and the Fairfax chapter of the NAACP.^[8][9] In response, the Office of Civil Rights, in September 2012, opened an investigation.^[10][11]

The school is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system of Fairfax County, Virginia. Students from Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and from the City of Falls Church are also eligible for admission.^[12]

Curriculum

The school offers an extensive mathematics and science curriculum, including courses in artificial intelligence, computer vision, parallel computing, organic chemistry, neurobiology, nanobiotechnology, marine biology, DNA science, signal processing, computational physics, and quantum mechanics. The school also offers a rigorous mathematics program, offering courses such as differential equations, complex variables, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, and concrete math. Almost all courses are taught at the Honors, Advanced Placement, or post-Advanced Placement level (exceptions including P.E. classes, Design & Tech (which all freshmen must take), and performing arts classes). All students are required to complete Calculus (AB or BC), in addition to either AP English Language and Composition or AP English Literature and Composition and AP United States Government and Politics, before graduation. All students are required to complete an introductory Java or an accelerated introductory Python computer science course before their junior year, or, subject to a placement test, an Advanced Placement Computer Science A plus Data Structures computer science class.

The school also offers a strong humanities and foreign language curriculum. Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), and Russian are taught in addition to the more traditional German, French, Spanish, and Latin. Every other year, Pskov State Pedagogical University students from Russia visit the school. In 2013, the language department celebrated the twenty-year anniversary of its sister school relationship with Chiben Gakuen High School, a Japanese high school famous for its baseball program. Each year in March, ten exchange students and one teacher come to spend a month in the US. TJ students are given the opportunity to reciprocate during the summer with the school's Chiben Summer Program.

All students must pursue a special TJ Diploma. The TJ Diploma requirements duplicate those of the Virginia Advanced Studies Diploma with additional mathematics, computer science, earth science, and engineering requirements.

Accreditation

The school is accredited by AdvancED.^[1]

Awards and distinctions

In 2016, the school placed first in Newsweek's annual "America's Top High Schools" rankings for the third consecutive year. Previously, it ranked 8th in the 2013 rankings and 10th in the 2012 rankings, the first year it was included. It was ranked No. 1 among "America's Best High Schools" in a study by U.S. News and World Report from 2007 to 2010. In the same rankings, it placed fifth in 2016, third in 2015, fourth in 2014 and 2013, and second in 2012 and 2011. The average SAT scores for various graduating classes has consistently been above 2150.^[13][14]

In 2007, the school had 14 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists.,^[15] 15 in 2009^[16] and 13 in 2010.^[17]

In 2007, for schools with more than 800 students in grades 10–12, TJ was cited as having the highest-performing AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP French Language, AP Government and Politics, U.S., and AP U.S. History courses among all schools worldwide.^[18] In 2014, 3864 AP Exams were taken by students; over 97% earned a score of 3, 4, or 5.

Eight Rhodes Scholars have graduated from the school.

President Barack Obama signed the America Invents Act into law on September 16, 2011 at the school. The law was made to reform U.S. patent laws.^[19]

Renovation

The school was undergoing renovation, which was completed by the end of April 2017. The renovation cost of about $89 million includes $67.4 million for construction, plus other costs related to permits, design fees, utilities and equipment. A replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello dome graces the school’s entrance, colloquially known as "The Dome" by students and staff. The renovation overhauls the school's aging facilities, many of which had not been updated since the school was built in 1964.^[20]

Embezzlement Case

School employee Susan Thanh Litwin of Woodbridge, Virginia embezzled more than $279,000 from the school between about March 2008 and January 2010. Working as a finance technician and using her signature authority, she was able to transfer funds that were intended for school use into her personal accounts, which she then used to support a gambling addiction. She was arrested on March 5, 2010.^[21] She pleaded guilty to the charges on May 6, 2010^[22] and was sentenced to 15 months in prison on August 13, 2010.^[23]

Activities

TJ³Sat project

The Systems Engineering Course designed and built a CubeSat which was launched on November 19, 2013 from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital Sciences Corporation donated the CubeSat Kit to the school on December 6, 2006 and provided the launch for the satellite. After a successful launch at 8:15PM, TJ³SAT became the first satellite launched into space that was built by high school students.^[24] The launched satellite contained a 4-watt transmitter operating on amateur radio frequencies, and a text-to-speech module to allow it to broadcast ASCII-encoded messages sent to it from Jefferson.

Computer Systems Lab

Logo used by the CSL, incorporating the Linux mascot.

The school's computer systems lab is one of the few high school computing facilities with a supercomputer. In 1988, a team from the school won an ETA-10P supercomputer in the SuperQuest competition, a national science competition for high school students.^[25] The ETA-10P was damaged by a roof leak in the 1990s. Cray Inc. donated a new SV1 supercomputer, known as Seymour, to the school on December 4, 2002.

The lab also supported a number of Sun Microsystems thin clients for use by students enrolled in AP Computer Science. In 2008, the school received a grant from Sun Microsystems for $388,048, which was student-written. The Syslab was given 7 Sun workstations, 12 Sun servers, and 145 Sun Rays for distribution throughout the school. These were placed in the existing AP Computer Science Lab and the science classrooms, support backend services, and serve as kiosks placed around the school for guests, students, and faculty. However, the Sun Rays were taken out of the AP Computer Science Lab due to teachers' objections. By 2014, the Sun Ray clients were decommissioned, and replaced with Linux-based thin clients running LTSP.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Arts

In 2013 and 2017, the wind ensemble of the school was among fifteen high-school bands invited to the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis.^[30]

Athletics

School teams have won 18 VHSL state titles in athletic activities, all at the AAA level until 2013, then it moved to the newly formed 5A Division.

References

Further reading

• Lindsey, Drew. "Success Factory: Inside America’s Best High School", Washingtonian, October 1, 2009.