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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 445
Commending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Langley High School, and Oakton High School.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 22, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, February 28, 2008

 

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Langley High School, and Oakton High School, all in Fairfax County, were ranked in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report Gold Medal List of America's Best High Schools, which features the top 100 high schools throughout the nation; and

WHEREAS, the methodology used to rank the schools is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes that show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators; and

WHEREAS, in a three-step process, the evaluation first measured how each school's students performed on state tests, adjusting for student circumstances; next it looked at how well each school's disadvantaged students performed; and finally it looked at whether the school was successful in providing college-level coursework; and

WHEREAS, based on this rigorous analysis, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria was ranked No. 1 on the list, Langley High School in McLean was ranked No. 37, and Oakton High School in Vienna was ranked No. 88; and

WHEREAS, the outstanding achievement of these three public schools is a tribute to the dedication, perseverance, and commitment of the schools’ teachers, students, and administrators as well as of the parents and the citizens of Fairfax County; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Langley High School, and Oakton High School for being ranked in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report Gold Medal List of America's Best High Schools; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the principal of each of the award-winning schools as an expression of the General Assembly's appreciation of each school’s commitment to academic excellence and to the young people of Fairfax County.