Black, Hispanic students dwindle at elite Va. public school

Kevin Sieff

When the Black Students Association at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology threw a pizza party in September for new members, every African American freshman on campus showed up.

All four of them.

They amount to less than 1 percent of the Class of 2014 at the selective public school in Fairfax County, regarded as among the nation's best. "It's disappointing," said Andrea Smith, the club's faculty sponsor. "But you work with what you got."

The count of Hispanic freshmen is not much higher: 13.

Years of efforts to raise black and Hispanic enrollment at the regional school have failed, officials acknowledge. The number of such students admitted has fallen since 2005.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 1, 2010 4:13 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas