{"id":2368281,"date":"2024-11-13T07:40:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T12:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-leftist-superintendent-destroyed-americas-no-1-high-school\/"},"modified":"2024-11-13T07:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T12:41:13","slug":"one-leftist-superintendent-destroyed-americas-no-1-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-leftist-superintendent-destroyed-americas-no-1-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"One Leftist Superintendent Destroyed America&#8217;s No. 1 High School"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fone-leftist-superintendent-destroyed-americas-no-1-high-school%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2368281&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Last month, Ann Bonitatibus announced \u200dher resignation as \u200bprincipal of Thomas\u2064 Jefferson High \u2063School\u2063 for Science and Technology (TJHSST), a prestigious magnet school in Fairfax County, Virginia.\u2062 Under her leadership, the \u2064school&#8217;s \u200drankings plummeted from the nation&#8217;s top spot to 14th, following a controversial shift in the \u200dadmissions process\u200c from a merit-based system to one \u2064emphasizing equity. This change aimed to\u200c diversify the student population but resulted \u200din a\u200d significant decrease in academic rigor and a drop in\u2064 National Merit semifinalists.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bnew admissions criteria, implemented in\u2064 2020,\u200b included middle school quotas and\u200c admissions essays, diminishing the importance of traditional academic achievements. \u2064Moreover, Bonitatibus faced criticism for allegedly facilitating\u2062 the\u200d transfer of valuable \u200dacademic\u200d resources \u2064to the Chinese Communist Party, which subsequently \u200breplicated TJ&#8217;s \u200ceducational model in\u200b China. <\/p>\n<p>Despite these controversies, instead of facing repercussions, Bonitatibus\u2063 was promoted within the school district by Michelle Reid, the district&#8217;s superintendent, \u200bwhich has sparked claims of &#8220;failing \u2063upwards.&#8221; Critics have noted Reid&#8217;s history of hiring leaders with questionable track records, indicating a broader \u2062pattern of poor judgment \u2062within the district&#8217;s leadership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Last month, Ann Bonitatibus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fairfaxtimes.com\/articles\/fairfax_county\/controversial-tjhsst-principal-set-to-resign\/article_e65653cc-924c-11ef-b92c-7b0de32075f0.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that she was resigning from her position as principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ), a magnet school located in Fairfax County, Virginia, the state&rsquo;s largest school district.<\/p>\n<p>Before her leadership, TJ was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fairfax-county-school-officials-broke-law-reducing-asian-american-enrollment-judge-rules\/\" title=\"Fairfax County School Officials Broke Law Reducing Asian American Enrollment, Judge Rules\">top-ranked high school<\/a> in the nation for about a decade. Bonitatibus aided in the overhaul of TJ&rsquo;s selection process in 2020 from merit to equity, thereby compromising the once highly prestigious school&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/2901327\/thomas-jefferson-principal-celebrates-remedial-math-achievements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rigor<\/a>, and sinking its ranking from first to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/education\/best-high-schools\/national-rankings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">14th<\/a> in the nation on its undoubted freefall journey.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the admissions changes in 2020, which were <a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/incidents\/tjpapers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explicitly<\/a> implemented to reduce the number of Asian Americans and racially balance the student population, TJ leadership selected students across the region based on an admissions exam, grades, test scores, and aptitude for mathematics. Following the policy change, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/2864585\/my-son-rejected-from-thomas-jefferson-high-school-supreme-court-should-have-heard-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admissions<\/a> are now based on middle school quotas, admissions essays that have little to nothing to do with STEM and can be subject to viewpoint discrimination, and a low-level cut-off grade point average of 3.5.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, this year, following the graduation of the final class of merit-selected students, the school notably had fewer than <a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/incidents\/thomas-jefferson-high-schools-number-of-students-named-national-merit-semifinalists-decreases-by-over-half-year-to-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half<\/a> the number of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">national merit semi-finalists<\/a> that it had under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/destroyed-in-the-name-of-wokeness-sf-forces-top-high-school-to-eliminate-merit-based-admissions\/\" title=\"\u2018Destroyed In The Name Of Wokeness\u2019: SF Forces Top High School To Eliminate Merit-Based Admissions\">merit-based admissions system<\/a>, and its lowest number in over a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Not only did Bonitatibus facilitate the destruction of the once flagship institution by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/2893697\/what-if-dei-corrupts-youth-sports-as-it-did-thomas-jefferson-high-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lowering<\/a> its standards for admission, TJ administrators also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/the-ccp-cloned-americas-leading-stem-high-school-and-u-s-educators-helped\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">handed over<\/a> blueprints and student research projects to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has since <a href=\"http:\/\/m.thomasschools.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cloned<\/a> the school by the dozens in China.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/the-ccp-cloned-americas-leading-stem-high-school-and-u-s-educators-helped\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">timing<\/a> of her resignation suggests that Bonitatibus likely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/controversial-principal-departs-the-thomas-jefferson-high-school-in-northern-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resigned<\/a> from her position in the middle of the school year as a result of these controversies with the CCP, which some have even <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-matt-walsh-show\/id1367210511?i=1000672744231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">considered<\/a> to be traitorous. Bonitatibus and others destroyed America&rsquo;s premiere public school, while helping China to replicate what it once was.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Failing Upwards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Instead of sending Bonitatibus packing for her obvious failures, Michelle Reid, the district&rsquo;s far-left superintendent, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/controversial-principal-departs-the-thomas-jefferson-high-school-in-northern-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">promoted<\/a> Bonitatibus to the district&rsquo;s headquarters, referred to as &ldquo;Gatehouse,&rdquo; leading many to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/asranomani\/status\/1848866063951532475?s=52&amp;t=4N6tNfrwY6m4-Zmpo2wAig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suggest<\/a> that Reid is ushering the way for the former principal to &ldquo;fail up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bill Ackman, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-trolls-the-onion-by-promoting-the-babylon-bee\/\" title=\"Elon Musk Trolls The Onion By Promoting The Babylon Bee\">billionaire hedge fund manager<\/a>, rightly <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BillAckman\/status\/1841300645992886340\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> on X, &ldquo;Strong leaders hire team members that are smarter than they are. Weak leaders hire weak direct reports.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Reid&rsquo;s promotion of Bonitatibus is a clear case of weak leadership. Ironically, after Bonitatibus&rsquo; central role in helping the elected school board members destroy TJ in the name of equity, and then passing its information to the CCP, Reid announced that Bonitatibus would be the district&rsquo;s executive director of talent acquisition and management. Given the performance of TJ after the admissions changes, this decision says a lot about Reid and her poor judgment.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A History of Hiring Lemons<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>But Bonitatibus is not the first person to fail up under Reid. Reid has selected many people with questionable records and judgement. For example, she hired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/equality-not-elitism\/3006783\/fcps-codified-secret-discriminatory-hierarchy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nardos King<\/a>, also a failed principal, to be the district&rsquo;s chief equity officer. When King was the principal of Mt. Vernon High School in Alexandria, Virginia, she placed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.potomaclocal.com\/2010\/07\/28\/controversial-ad-lands-principal-in-hot-water\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ad<\/a> for Body Magic, a product she sold, in the school&rsquo;s yearbook. It claimed that the product would give users a slimmer waistline and enhance their sex lives.<\/p>\n<p>Parents were justifiably outraged that a principal would endorse such a product for their children to use. In a community forum following the incident, a resident&nbsp;foreshadowed&nbsp;what was to come, &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t fire her. They&rsquo;ll promote her to a position at Gatehouse.&rdquo; And eventually, Reid did exactly that.<\/p>\n<p>Reid also hired administrators from a failed district for leadership roles in Fairfax County Public Schools. In March 2023, the Texas Education Agency&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/static.texastribune.org\/media\/files\/61390831607c8ccbced50a38ca38cf12\/Houston%20ISD%20Commissioner%20Correspondence.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>&nbsp;that the state was removing Houston Independent School District&rsquo;s leadership and taking charge of the state&rsquo;s largest school district due to its poor performance over multiple years.&nbsp;Following that change, Reid imported several former administrators from Houston&rsquo;s failing school district to Fairfax County. These include, but are by no means limited to, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcps.edu\/staff\/geovanny-ponce\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Geovanny Ponce<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcps.edu\/staff\/william-solomon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">William Solomon<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcps.edu\/staff\/pablo-resendiz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pablo Resendiz<\/a>. They helped sink Houston&rsquo;s district, and now they&rsquo;re ushering in an era where several of Fairfax County&rsquo;s schools are likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/community-family\/3110860\/fairfax-county-high-schools-likely-lose-accreditation-under-virginias-standards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lose accreditation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Being the superintendent of a school district with about 181,000 students and a $3.7 billion budget is a demanding job, as evidenced by Northern Virginia Magazine&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/culture\/culture-features\/2024\/09\/19\/the-50-most-influential-people-in-northern-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rating<\/a> of Reid as the second most influential person in Virginia, following Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Surrounding herself with competent staff is paramount. And yet, she has not.<\/p>\n<p>Fairfax County&rsquo;s school board&nbsp;is set to <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/education\/2024\/11\/fairfax-co-schools-consider-contract-extension-for-superintendent-michelle-reid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consider<\/a> extending Reid&rsquo;s contract until 2028 at this Thursday&rsquo;s school board meeting. The new contract would give Reid a $424,146 annual salary and a $12,000 annual car allowance.<\/p>\n<p>Ackman is right. You can tell a lot about a person by their recruits. Reid reveals her incompetence by selecting district administrators with a litany of failures. Bonitatibus is top among them.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Stephanie Lundquist-Arora is a contributor to The Federalist and the Washington Examiner, a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, an author, and the Fairfax chapter leader of the Independent Women&rsquo;s Network.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ann Bonitatibus resigned as principal of Thomas Jefferson High School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1371,"featured_media":2368282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screen-Shot-2024-11-12-at-1.29.34-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5152,4717,44915,8199],"class_list":["post-2368281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-education","tag-leftist","tag-school-reform","tag-superintendent"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screen-Shot-2024-11-12-at-1.29.34-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368281"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2368285,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368281\/revisions\/2368285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2368282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}