Thomas Jefferson High School paid staff to create curricula guidance for China-affiliated groups using school’s likeness

Parents Defending Education previously reported that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) provided China-affiliated entities with student data and building layouts in exchange for millions of dollars. These entities were also allowed to use the school’s name and likeness in China. PDE later discovered that information provided to these foreign entities included curricula guidance and hiring staff with previous experience at TJHSST. PDE has now received additional documents from a public records request showing that staff were paid to create this curricula guidance for a Chinese school.

In an email PDE received dated June 7, 2019, someone who appears to be a school staff member states: “Reminder to please email the Tsinghua guy so I can go visit them, I really want to! I’ll probably be in Beijing early to mid-July and also mid to late August.” Staff members continue to discuss this in an email exchange.

On June 10, 2019, staff discuss creating a document for Chinese entity Shirble. The staff member in this email states: “I have a special request for you. Our current International Partners, Shirble, have specifically asked to know more about the Design & Tech of IBET as they are going to work on building some of their own IBET courses….and the Design & Tech we teach really doesn’t have a ‘course book’ you can buy.” She then explains that “they would like to know more about the curriculum design, equipment needed, lab layout, and possible senior work projects for their own version of the lab.”

She then asks several staff members if one of them could write a document to serve as curricula guidance so that the school’s success can be replicated in China. The teacher who would write this up would receive pay: “If one of you can write up a similar information packet for the Design & Tech 9 course, the TJPF would like to pay you at a rate of Pay Band 11 for up to 15 hours total of work. We would ask that the project be done over the summer, and given back to us by August 15.” The goal of this document was to create a “comprehensive understanding of the course’s design, facility requirements, curriculum, budget, etc.”