Chinese Company Cooperated With Virginian School to Obtain Specific Curriculum
Shirble, a Chinese department holdings company, received curriculum from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHS) from 2014 to 2018. The school had received $500,000 from the company.
Defending Education reported in 2024 that TJHS received $3.6 million from various Chinese groups for similar purposes.
According to Defending Education, “Shirble Department Store Holdings, is limited liability company that was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in November 2008. Shirble’s website, which has since been taken down, stated that the ‘[c]ompany and its subsidiaries (collectively, the ‘Group’) are principally engaged in department store operations, property development and provision of property development consulting services in the People’s Republic of China (the ‘PRC’).”
The Daily Wire reports that “Shirble has troubling ties to the Chinese Communist Party.” The company’s former chair attended the United Front’s Chinese People’s Political Consultive Conference. Allegedly, ‘CCP officials stopped by the stores‘ to guide the work and put forward ardent expectations for Shirble.’”
One school official requested a science teacher – who provided screenshots to Defending Education of email correspondence – to provide curriculum for Shirble, who was curious about matters concerning labs. The teacher was paid for the development of the curriculum.
“I have a special request for you. Our current International Partners, Shirble, have specifically asked to know more about ALL our Senior Research Labs as they are going to work on building some of their own,” the official asked the teacher. “They [Shirble] 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… If you can write up a similar information packet for your lab, 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. (2019)”
Defending Education filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service and requested an investigation into the school’s foreign funding sources in May. TJHS has yet to comment on its relationship with Shirble.
