The War on Merit Has Infiltrated High Schools

As we sweep into a new year, we count our blessings, but it is also worthwhile to look ahead and consider what our main issues will be in the year ahead. We live in the greatest country on earth, and much of our work as patriots focuses on defending and advocating for our country and families. It is clear there is a war on merit in this country, and that sits at the foundation of all our aspirations. After all, if the left is successful at replacing merit and accomplishment with envy and hopelessness, then the road back for this country will be even more difficult.

We are bombarded every day with a slew of issues that matter to us, and the war on merit is weaved throughout the leftist agenda. But allegations about the scourge of equity being implemented at Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) in Alexandria, Virginia reminds us what’s at stake for our children and why we must be vigilant.

In articles at City-Journal and the New York Post, journalist, author, and parent Asra Nomani reported on shocking allegations that two administrators had withheld for years – notifications of National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s recognition of students at the school. These awards can be important in college applications and open the door to hundreds of other scholarships. Why would a school not tell students and their families about such a prestigious and important merit award? Nomani told Fox News:

“This year, the entire controversy just blew up because the kids got their certificate, weeks after early college application deadlines, just dropped on their desks as if it was just another piece of paper… And this amazing mom named Shawna Yashar started asking questions, just like every parent’s got to do… From issues of the drag queen story hours to indoctrination in the schools, this is another form of this race to the bottom that the schools are going through right now.”

According to the City-Journal report, one of the administrators allegedly involved in the withholding of the awards admitted to Yashar that it was deliberate and done in the pursual of equity. “We want to recognize students for who they are as individuals, not focus on their achievements,” he told her, claiming that he and the principal didn’t want to “hurt” the feelings of students who didn’t get the award.

For their part, Fairfax County Schools says this was a “one time error,” explaining “FCPS understands the hard work and dedication of each and every student who competes for college acceptance and scholarship opportunities. Once the issue regarding the fall 2022 notifications was realized, counselors sent emails and made follow-up calls to each college where these students had applied and informed them of the National Merit Scholarship Commendations. We are continuing to look into this matter and will take any necessary steps to ensure consistency in appropriate and timely notification of National Merit recognitions going forward.”

What we do know about Thomas Jefferson High School is that it touts its woke bone fides and equity commitment to “equal outcomes for every student, without exception.” National Review reports that the principal at TJ “[Ann] Bonitatibus has lobbied extensively to incorporate equity-based policies at Thomas Jefferson high, which was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the nation’s best high school in 2022.” Moreover, “During the summer of protests following the murder of George Floyd, Bonitatibus emailed students and parents urging them to consider ‘the privileges you hold that others may not.’ In February 2022, a federal judge acknowledged that Thomas Jefferson high had altered its admissions processes to restrict the number of Asian Americans in a bid for “racial diversity,” reported NR.

The district insists this is a one-time delay of notification affecting the college early application deadlines, while the Nomani report alleges this manipulation of award notifications has been going on for five years. That’s a big difference. This story is now national and the district investigation must be comprehensive and transparent to determine exactly what happened and how long this has been an issue. Nomani herself writes she had a son at TJ and learned “two years after the fact” that he had been a National Merit commended student.

While this story is about one high school, make no mistake, the war on merit is happening everywhere. We have been alerted to the destructive leftist agenda in our schools mostly by accident during the last two years. As Nomani noted in her Fox News interview, “This is important not just for this group of kids in this school, but for all of America, because this war on merit is happening everywhere.”

People are different, and the results of all of our endeavors will be different. No school can pledge the woke maxim “equal outcomes for every student, without exception” without committing first to the artificial manipulation of outcomes and the leveling-down it requires. Another manifestation of this could be to hide, delay, or dismiss merit awards to give the false impression that no student is doing any better than any other student.

Equal opportunity in this country is key. Equal outcomes is Marxist dreck, based on envy and resentment. It intends to dismantle merit while inhibiting the desire of people to learn, create, and succeed. If the left is successful, the talent, inspiration, and drive that has made this country the best place on earth for freedom and the individual will collapse. The war on merit happens quietly, so in 2023, let’s make sure we know what’s happening school-by-school, student-by-student, and make our rejection of this threat clear.