Jefferson was repeatedly in the news at the end of the last school year for the larger-than-usual number of students in academic jeopardy. Although most of these students managed to bring their grades up, others were not as fortunate.

“Ultimately, we don’t want to set them up for even more declining grades and difficulty with college admissions,” Glazer said. “A new school environment would give students a better academic standing within their class and courses with manageable expectations to turn their academic performance around.”

At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, 10 students were asked to leave because their GPA was lower than 3.0. This is an increase from five students the year before.

“It’s the largest number so far, but not significantly different from previous years. We’re talking about less than one percent of the student population,” Principal Evan Glazer said.

In addition, 24 students left Jefferson on their own accord. Junior Patricia Gallegos left during her sophomore year to study abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland.

“I believe the distance and the independence make the transition between high school and college much easier,” she said. “Also, I am hoping that two years at a foreign boarding school on top of two years at TJ will help me greatly when I apply for colleges soon.”

Glazer pointed out that this year’s enrollment is the highest ever, with 1974 students enrolled as of Aug. 14.

This article was originally published in the print version of tjTODAY.

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