NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Elicia Brand

Phone: (410) 980-6083
Email: elicia.brand@gmail.com
For more information, go to www.savemerit.com

Parents affected by Thomas Jefferson High School officials withholding National

Merit Awards from students react to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s call for an
investigation.

Fairfax County, VA- January 3, 2022: In a letter to Attorney General Jason Miyares, Governor
Glenn Youngkin urged an investigation into the withholding of students’ National Merit Awards
by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Principal Ann Bonitatibus and
Director of Student Services in an effort to ensure equal outcomes without exceptions.
In the letter Governor Glenn Youngkin stated, “We need to get to the bottom of what
appears to be an egregious, deliberate attempt to disadvantage high-performing
students at one of the best schools in the country. Parents and students deserve
answers and Attorney General Miyares will initiate a full investigation. I believe this
failure may have caused material harm to those students and their parents, and that
this failure may have violated the Virginia Human Rights Act.”

Parents directly affected by the school’s choice to withhold the awards until after
important deadlines for college scholarships had passed had a lot to say on the subject,
as well as to Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Governor Winsome Sears, and Attorney
General Jason Miyares.

PARENT RESPONSE- all are available for interviews.  

CURRENT TJ PARENTS
Norma Margulies, an immigrant from Peru and the mother of a junior at TJ:
nmargulies@yahoo.com
“As a TJ mother, an immigrant from Peru, the founding director of Hispanics for STEM, and
now a member of the Save Merit parents movement, I am deeply moved by Governor
Youngkin’s urging of Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate TJ for withholding National
Merit Awards. His courage, commitment to parents’ rights, and basic human decency gives me
hope for students’ futures and a better country.. For the past few days, all of us have been
relentlessly vilified on social media for advocating for our children and for daring to demand an
investigation. It is good to know that our Governor has our backs!”

Srilekha Reddy Palle, an immigrant from India and the mother of a freshman at TJ: 
Srilekha1977@gmail.com
“The action of the Governor once again proves that equality of opportunity and justice for ALL
is a bedrock of American values. We are relieved at the request for an investigation by the
Governor, as investigations are required for fair treatment through the normal judicial system.  It
also clearly indicates to me that when ‘We the people,’ in this case, parents, collectively work
towards a cause and mobilize in the best interest of their children, we can move mountains.”

Harry Jackson, the first Black student from Lancaster, PA  to go to the U.S. Naval
Academy and the father of a junior at TJ: 
harryrjackson@gmail.com
“The actions of Principal Ann Bontitatibus and Director of Student Services Brian Kosatka are
unconscionable. By withholding National Merit awards, they have stolen the students’ current
opportunities and future possibilities. The silence of the Fairfax County School Board is
inexcusable, but it screams volumes about how they and the administrators put ideology and self-
promotion over the best interests of students they have sworn to protect. The Governor’s letter
urging AG Miyares to initiate an investigation marks an important day for not just the Save Merit
parent movement, but for all people who believe in the importance of Civil Rights protections.
Our Governor and his administration will not stand for violations of the Civil Rights of any
group. They are committed to protecting our students and standing up for Parental Rights. Thank
you Lt. Governor Winsome Sears, for calling for an investigation. Thank you Governor Glenn
Youngkin for empowering the Attorney General, and God Bless Jason Miyares as he once again
goes into the fray to defend children and protect parents and families.”

Ying Julia McCaskill, an immigrant from China and the mother of a senior and sophomore
at TJ : 
jmccask@gmail.com
“Today, governor Youngkin asked the attorney general's office to investigate the incident that
Thomas Jefferson high school was withholding the national merit awards from students and their
families. Thank you, Governor!
We need to see our students as individuals, because every one of them is special. They have their
special talents. School needs to provide a platform of equal opportunity for them to thrive and
when they have achievements, school needs to congratulate them and encourage more
achievements. Fair competitions create strong and independent children, and these children will
grow into critical thinkers, and they are our future! All these are the opposite of what equity is
trying to accomplish. Equity is about equal outcome, the only way to get equity is to lower the
standard and bring everyone down. That's why equity should be thrown into the trash. Equal
opportunity instead of equal outcome. 
Thank you, Governor Youngkin, for holding up your promise during your campaign: parents
matter, students matter, achievements matter!”

PARENTS OF TJ ALUMNI

Helen Miller, the mother of a Class of 2021 TJ graduate, recognized as a National Merit
Commended Student: 
cerbycat2000@yahoo.com
“As the parent of an alumnus of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, I
am dismayed that administrators at TJ – a Governor’s School, a magnet for our highest achieving
STEM students and the top high school in the nation for several years – apparently withheld
timely notification of students and parents of the National Merit Commended Student awards, all
in the name of equity and so as not to hurt the feelings of students who did not receive the award.
Schools should celebrate achievement, not undermine it – and most especially at a school like
TJ, which was expressly created for our high achievers. 
 “Unfortunately, advocates of equity don’t seem content with the goal of raising up
underperforming students; they seem intent on the unacceptable approach of dragging down high
achieving, hard-working students. Thank you, Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Governor
Winsome Earle-Sears, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, for recognizing the seriousness of
these allegations and launching an investigation.”

Asra Nomani, the mother of a Class of 2021 student who only learned recently, two years
later, that he is a National Merit Commended Student: 
asra@asranomani.com 
“There is a pattern and practice of systemic injustice at Thomas Jefferson HIgh School for
Science and Technology by the administrators against students and families. We have been
waging a civil rights battle for two years against a school board that is engaging in systemic
injustice against our families, and now we see through the withholding of National Merit

Commended Student awards that this systemic injustice has very real consequences on the in the
wallets of families and the futures of children. Thank goodness we have a Governor, Lieutenant
Governor and Attorney General in the Commonwealth of Virginia who actually see us and our
kids.” 

Suresh Chenoy, an immigrant from India, the father of a TJ alumnus and a business leader
in northern Virginia: 
shenoy0823@gmail.com
“This is refreshing from our state government and the governor. We hope the school board will
take the appropriate actions to see that such injustices are remedied. She did not announce it in a
timely manner. This has gone on for several years. That is unacceptable. By any definition for
someone who is a good educator or administrator, they would have to deliver the information in
a timely manner and honor the hard work that students put in to achieve good grades and achieve
merit status. If the principal doesn’t believe in that, she is neither a good administrator or a good
educator. She is not fit for the role. She has failed to do both. she should resign or be requested to
leave.” 

FAIRFAX COUNTY PARENTS

Saundra Davis, the parent of a Robinson Secondary School senior recognized as a National
Merit Commended Scholar: 
saundrad70@gmail.com

“Some may be tempted to ignore this revelation thinking that it’s just the ‘smart kids’ at Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, so it's not relatable to their daily lives. I
submit to the people of Fairfax County that if we let the administration take down this flagship
school, so goes the fleet of other schools. These shenanigans are meant to trickle down until
many more are affected. School administrators are using public schools to ‘level the playing
field’ and to bring about ‘equal outcomes.’ That impacts everyone. More citizens need to open
their eyes because merit matters.”

Suparna Dutta, an immigrant from India, the parent of a former TJ student, and member,
Virginia Board of Education: 
suparnadutta01@gmail.com
“As an immigrant who holds hard work and merit in the highest esteem, I am very troubled by
this devaluation of achievement and success by education bureaucrats. Children should know
that their hard work is rewarded and their success is celebrated. As the parent of a former TJ
student, I'm aware of a pattern of behavior by TJ Principal Ann Bonitatibus undermining
academic success and dereliction of duty. I applaud the resolve by Governor Glenn Youngkin,
Lt. Governor Winsome Sears, and Attorney General Jason Miyares to bring transparency to this
matter and give hope to parents and students.”

Cameron Ward, parent of a student in Fairfax County Public Schools: 

camward1986@gmail.com
“It is very concerning to me that TJ students were not notified by school staff of their
Commended Student Award from National Merit Corporation. This is a prestigious award that
identifies the student as the top 3% of students in the nation. This recognition also opens doors to
scholarship money outside the National Merit Corporation. We stayed in Fairfax County because
we thought the schools were exemplary and would provide an education to propel our kids into
great universities and great careers. It's disappointing to see the TJ administration suppressing
academic recognitions that open doors. We can't let this continue at TJ and we can't let it happen
at any other school.”

Debra Tisler, the mother of a student in Fairfax County Public Schools:

Debra.Tisler@gmail.com
 “The scandal at TJ is emblematic of a wider war on kids and kids with disabilities in Fairfax
County, Va. In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights
recognized that more than 25,000 students in Fairfax County Public Schools were denied a Free
and Appropriate Public Education. The Office of Civil Rights found Fairfax County Public
Schools intentionally reduced and placed limits on services and used deceptive practices that
inaccurately informed staff that the school division was not required to provide compensatory
education to students with disabilities. WIthout these needed and lawfully required services,
thousands of students were denied their right to access merit. Material damages from the
profound denial of services is, in many cases, irreversible at this point. Merit is defined as, ‘the
quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward.’ Most
of the students receiving special education are average to gifted in their cognitive abilities.” 

Tisler added: “The purpose of laws protecting Free and Appropriate Public Education is to
ensure they too can access meritorious accomplishments. Just like the commended students, they
were denied access to the variety of opportunities and services available to them. The material
harm to our students is memorialized in Fairfax County Public Schools own post-secondary
outcomes data. During the 2020-2021 school year, only 11 students out of over 25,000 students
receiving special education services demonstrated workplace readiness skills, whereas 16,885
were able to do so statewide. Nearly 2,000 FCPS students receiving special education services
dropped out of high school and never made it to graduation. There is no number that can be
placed on the denial of merit which comes from achieving your high school diploma and
becoming an independent and productive contributing member of society. FCPS has denied that
to thousands of our students. It's obvious merit is canceled by Fairfax County Public Schools
because the bureaucracy thrives on a bloated system of failure.”
###END###