Glenn Youngkin Outraged After VA Schools Withhold National Merit Awards: Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia and a Republican, criticized state education officials after seven schools refused to notify pupils that they had won national merit awards, claiming the decision was made in the interest of “equity.”
Only 50,000 of the top 1.5 million PSAT scorers receive national merit awards, one of the most distinguished accolades a high school student can receive. In addition to calling for an examination into how the schools are using public monies, Youngkin’s administration this week started an investigation into the public schools.
“[The schools] have a maniacal focus on equal outcomes for all students at all costs. And at the heart of the American dream is excelling, advancing, stretching, and recognizing that we have students with different capabilities,” Youngkin told ABC 7.
“Some students have the ability to perform at one level, others need more help, and we have to allow students to run as fast as they can to dream the biggest dreams they can dream and then go get them,” he added.
According to the Daily Mail, Annandale, West Potomac, John R. Lewis, Edison, Thomas Jefferson for Science and Technology, Westfield, and Langley High were among the schools that withheld rewards from top performers. Thomas Jefferson was one of the schools that eventually contacted students, but they did not do so until after crucial deadlines for college scholarships had gone.
Youngkin said last week, “we need to get to the bottom of what looks to be an atrocious, deliberate attempt to disfavor high-performing kids at one of the greatest institutions in the country.” “Attorney General Miyares will launch a thorough investigation because parents and schoolchildren demand an explanation. The Virginia Human Rights Act may have been broken, and I think this failing may have caused significant harm to those youngsters and their parents.”
The wrongdoing follows the recent adoption of a new Fairfax County Public Schools policy that seeks to deliver “Equal outcomes for every kid, without exceptions.”
According to the FCPS’s preliminary inquiry, human error was to blame for the delay in merit award notifications.
“As a reminder, once this error was brought to light, school staff reached out to colleges to update records where commended scholars had applied,” FCPS said in a statement. Keep yourself updated with all the latest news from our website Newswatchlist.com and get all the recent updates.
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