The Academies of Loudoun program, Monroe Advanced Technical Academy (MATA), has faced significant criticism over its new lottery-based application process for the 2025-26 school year. 15 MATA students, including Stone Bridge student Vashist Surampalli, spoke against this change at the Nov. 26 School Board meeting.
Students must fit into the academic requirement for admissions and then will be admitted lottery style into MATA until all spots are filled. This differs from the previous application process because there is now an elimination of the requirement for a career goal statement and resume. The process still includes previous requirements such as being on track for graduation, enrollment in Algebra 1 or higher, and a minimum GPA of 2.0-3.0 or submission of a PSAT score. However, personal statements and future goals will no longer be considered, taking away an important factor in evaluating students.
“The new credentials are pretty generic, and I don’t think it is fair for it to be left up to fate when it has so many competitive and intelligent students applying,” MATA student Arden Kurila said. “In this case, I feel like a lot of people will just apply because it looks good on their job resumes or college applications and not because they have a real passion or interest for that field of work”
Dissatisfaction increased over the new application process when the school board voted unanimously to approve the lottery selection at the Oct. 22 meeting. In response, MATA students from various schools and grade levels throughout Loudoun County have begun to attend school board meetings and speak out against these changes during public commentary time.
“I spoke about how the resources they spend money on would be wasted on students who would possibly get into the lottery and wouldn’t really have any interest or any desire to excel or truly utilize those resources” MATA student Vashist Surampalli said. “I feel like it’s important for me to talk about it because I went through those programs, too, and they really helped excel in what I want to do. I can’t just leave it and go on with my day and see others suffer having to try to get in and get access to those resources and connections.”
These changes were proposed to combat the decreasing inclusion of “students with disabilities” enrolled in MATA. The number of disabled students dropped from 17% in 2018 to 9% in 2024. The idea, though having good intentions, will ultimately affect all students in MATA and all that apply by lowering the rigor of program curricula.
A petition has been made with over 700 signatures to raise attention to the School Board about concern over losing the integrity of the program through this new application process.
“By admitting students randomly, MATA may be forced to stretch these resources to accommodate students with varying levels of readiness,” petition creator Abhinav Nagula wrote. “Critics worry this will strain the program’s ability to deliver an advanced learning experience, impacting the depth and quality of technical education that MATA is known for.”
Students’ efforts to revert the change and return to a selection committee review on applications have been in motion since the lottery admissions process was approved. Protests against application modifications have not diminished; instead, protestors plan to persist in their efforts until change is made.
“We are trying to get students from every class to come back every two weeks to speak at the school board meetings so that the school board realizes that this is a vast problem.” Surampalli said. “It doesn’t just affect a few students, it affects them all, and there is also a petition online and more than [hundreds] of signatures against it.”
