Officials at Thomas Jefferson High School were late notifying students of their 'commended' status from the National Merit Scholarship program. Now parents want the school's top leaders fired.
about the school withholding the notifications. “Checking that little box on the application becomes your ticket into all kinds of opportunities.”Now, parents plan to deliver a letter to state and county education leaders demanding that Ann Bonitatibus, the principal at Thomas Jefferson, and Brandon Kosatka, director of student services, be terminated from their posts.
This year, just 50,000 of the highest scorers qualified for recognition. The top scorers are named finalists or semifinalists, meaning they can compete for a Merit Scholarship award. Fairfax County students who earned that status wereWith the Commended Students, Fairfax County Public Schools called the delay a “one-time human error” and denied allegations that Thomas Jefferson officials deliberately withheld information from the 261 students receiving that distinction.
About 34,000 students nationwide qualified as commended students. Those students do not compete for Merit Scholarships but are eligible for other awards. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which oversees the competition, advises high schools to notify students of this distinction — a process that did not happen until late this fall at Thomas Jefferson, parents said.
Other parents have since come forward to share similar experiences or criticize the school for the delay. Harry Jackson, whose son is a junior, said the issue could have “catastrophic” effects for the student body at Thomas Jefferson — the majority of which are students of color.
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