BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK
SIX-YEAR OLD STUDENT SHOOTS TEACHER
Shocking news was reported from Newport News, Virginia, on Friday afternoon. A six-year old student at Richneck Elementary School was taken into police custody after shooting his teacher. According to reports, the shooting was not accidental. Fortunately, the teacher was able to receive immediate care and is in stable condition.
VARSITY BLUES MASTERMIND IS SENTENCED
On Wednesday January 4, William Singer–the mastermind behind the Varsity Blues admissions scandal– was sentenced. After pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud the US and obstruction of justice, Singer was given 3.5 years in federal prison. Additionally, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit over $10 million. During the court proceeding, Singer issued an apology, admitting a loss of moral and “ethical values.” He is scheduled to report to prison on February 27.
VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATIONS AT TJ HIGH SCHOOL
Last week Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares launched two civil rights investigations at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, VA. These investigations are in response to recent claims that the school failed to recognize National Merit Award winners in the fall of 2022. Miyares’ team is also looking into recently revised admissions policies that many have deemed discriminatory. School officials referred to the National Merit notification as a one-time human error. However, emails have now surfaced showing similar patterns with award notifications from 2020, and two more schools (Langley and Westfield) have also indicated that they failed to notify students this year. More on our thoughts below…
NEW DETAILS EMERGE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO MURDER CASES
University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared in court last week and was then transferred from Pennsylvania to Idaho. As Kohberger awaits a January 12 hearing, new details about the case are emerging. Court documents reveal information about Kohberger’s actions the night of the murder, including key details about his car and phone usage. Based on the information, investigators suspect that Kohberger may have planned the attack. However, police have not been able to determine a motive yet.
PROGRESSIVE SCHOOL GETS A CONSERVATIVE OVERHAUL
New College of Florida made headlines on Friday when Governor Ron DeSantis appointed six new members to its Board of Trustees. Many feel that DeSantis is seeking to “overhaul” the college, which has a reputation for being one of the most progressive schools in the state, with conservative leadership. This move comes after DeSantis recently asked all state colleges and universities to document the resources they use related to diversity, inclusion, and critical race theory initiatives.
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Racial justice has been at the forefront of university initiatives over the past three years. In response to the killings of George Floyd, several colleges established new programs, buildings and research opportunities to promote racial justice. Penn State is one of those schools–or so it planned to be. However, plans for the formation of a Center for Racial Justice were halted after a change in school leadership. New president Neeli Bendapudi expressed concerns over budget and instead wants to direct funds to already-existing campus programs and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion. Many are upset by the decision and feel that the “broken promise” undermines the transformative work so many within the Penn State community are trying to accomplish.
Employers may no longer care where you went to college, according to analyst firm Gartner. The firm recently released a report predicting that the most successful companies in 2023 will be those that look at “nontraditional” employee candidates. As part of a growing trend, many organizations are dropping education requirements to attract new talent in a “tight labor market.” Companies are encouraged to focus instead on soft skills and training opportunities for new employees.
What’s in store for higher education in 2023? Last week, Higher Ed Dive released their list of trends to look out for this year, noting that for the first time in three years, we don’t have to examine everything through a pandemic lens. Very exciting! Instead, experts predict greater focus on financial aid and student loans, as well as efforts to address enrollment declines. Many are also watching the U.S. News & World Report rankings, which have long been a well-respected source of data for undergraduates and graduate students. This fall, Yale and Harvard law schools made headlines when they announced they would no longer cooperate with the rankings. Will other law schools follow in their footsteps? And what could this mean for undergraduate rankings moving forward? Time will tell!
Ding, dong: the traditional participation grade is dead! For decades, college students have been awarded participation points for being physically present in the classroom and speaking up. However, the pandemic changed the very nature of participation. In online formats, teachers were forced to figure out a new way to define engagement. Many noticed that students who didn’t participate in a traditional classroom setting were thriving in Zoom thanks to chat boxes and breakout rooms. And for other undergrads, they successfully mastered the course content asynchronously. So what does that mean for the value of traditional participation? If and how should it be weighted? Well, educators aren’t quite sure yet. For now, many professors are experimenting with incentives and alternative ways for students to show their engagement with and understanding of course content.
OFFICE HAPPENINGS
Last week I had the chance to speak with Aimee Cho of NBC4 about the National Merit controversy at TJ. I am at the 1:44-ish mark, but watch the whole video - it’s interesting! Especially the part from the TJ parent.
Having worked alongside TJ students for years, and having worked in multiple high school counseling offices, I truly do not think this was intentional in any way. That doesn’t make it okay - at all. But when I hear people saying that the administration purposely hid the awards to result in “equal outcomes for every student,” or even worse, to promote anti-Asian discrimination, I’m just floored.
Having been on the other side of this, I know how much paperwork these counselors and administrators get flooded with and how many similar delays happen at high schools all the time, everywhere. I also know how hard the TJ staff works to maximize opportunities for their students. They really do a lot behind the scenes, so much more than parents probably realize. Remember, the staff at the school are not responsible for the admissions changes at TJ or the greater equity issues happening in Fairfax County Public Schools right now. No matter where you fall on those issues, the hardworking staff isn’t responsible. They are just trying to do their jobs, and too few people are responsible for too many tasks. In those situations, things fall through the cracks. Again: not okay. At all. They need to do better. But I just don’t believe this was intentional.
(Side note: I think it’s incredibly important that we don’t throw baseless accusations of discrimination around. These kinds of allegations are very serious. When people start saying that everything is discriminatory, that dilutes the very real issues of discrimination that do exist. And there’s SO much anti-Asian bias in the college admissions process - I have written about it so many times.)
In my opinion, mistakes like this will continue to happen until we can ensure that the counselor: student ratios are lower in public schools. The counselors could have then taken this on (as many private school counselors do) to notify the students and take it off the principal’s plate.
And as I said on the segment - no TJ student will have their chances of college admissions success in jeopardy because their commended student status was not shared in a timely manner. This is the runner-up to a larger award - it pales in comparison to the typical awards that TJ students have. These are the best and brightest students out there.
I am actually much more concerned about the Langley and Westfield students who were also impacted, which we just learned about in the last day or two. If a student with generally average academic qualifications had failed to report this, that could have been more of a difference-maker.