We are concerned parents of Loudoun County students and do not agree with the proposed new admissions and recruitment process to the Academies Of Loudoun, especially considering geographical, socio/economic equity factors and the use of a subjective panel that would be “profiling” students while making final recommendations. The proposed changes are ill conceived, not evidence-based and are fundamentally flawed. The data presented is not detailed and the summarization has been skewed to meet a certain geography socio/economic equity objective. LCPS has been introducing random changes to the admissions process every year without due diligence. Introducing one more change in the admissions criteria especially in the middle of a pandemic goes against every principle of change management and is in violation of due process principles. It takes away faith from LCPS representation and harms students and families that have relied on LCPS guidelines for admissions.

While this effort is being portrayed as favoring socio-economically disadvantaged families, it is primarily based on ethnicity. It is reverse discrimination that is specifically intented to prevent kids from a particular ethnicity who are eligible and deserving. LCPS has not presented any data or analysis to evaluate whether the proposed changes would lead to the intended results of racial diversity. 

The objectives laid out by the proposed changes to the Academies admissions process require radical changes and such initiatives are complex, require meticulous planning and execution. These efforts need transformational leadership and not knee jerk reactions to political pressures. The goal is not to be reactive and try something new at the very first opportunity but to be proactive and effect a long lasting change that is in line with the objective at hand. The goal of diversity and inclusion is better achieved by planned changes at grass roots level than the band aid being proposed here. 

There is a lot at stake for the students and we need to devote more effort than the brainstorming of a small group cohort behind closed doors. Efforts like these need participation of multiple stakeholders. The current situation is extremely challenging with Covid-19 related complications and we recommend that LCPS make NO changes to the admissions process this year. We also recommend that a collaboration of committees be formed in conjunction with the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) committee for a thorough review to study the impact and consequence of these changes prior to implementing them.