TJ Plans for Long Needed Improvements

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, rated the top high school in the United States three consecutive years by U.S. News and World Report, is slated to increase in size by some 45 percent, according to Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).

Funding for the expansion is included in the November 8 bond referendum.

Kevin Sneed, director of design and construction services for FCPS, said construction is expected to begin in 2013 and end in the fall of 2015, at the earliest.  “The school will increase in size from 265,400 square feet up to 385,000 square feet,” he said.

The building in which TJ currently resides was built in 1964-65.  In 1985 it became a state-chartered magnet high school, with only minor renovations.  

“Its design is based on education systems from 1964 [with] long narrow hallways as corridors to classrooms, but not designed to support our school's missions,” Principal Evan Glazer said. “Students often have to make use of space outside or in hallways in order to find space for projects, and that is about to change in the new design.”

According to the Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund, FCPS funds will not equip the specialized research labs at the school.  For that, the Partnership Fund initiated a capital campaign called TJ 2.0.  Lockheed Martin signed on as the first TJ 2.0 Founding Partner, contributing $250,000 over five years. TJ estimates the total cost of expansion and equipment to exceed $100 million.

Corporate representatives and individuals interested in supporting the capital campaign are asked to contact the Partnership Fund Office for details.

The renovation will start with the new addition, and students and staff will then move into the addition while construction occurs in other parts of the building.

Glazer said the redesign supports the school’s research curriculum and the interdisciplinary nature of learning at Thomas Jefferson.  “We're looking forward to a facility that holds our entire student population,” he said. “We have been using 24 trailers for several years now, so we are happy for everyone to be part of the same environment.”

Attendance at TJ is open to students in six local jurisdictions based on an admissions test and academic achievement.  TJ is one of 18 Virginia Governor's Schools, and a founding member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology.