Forty years ago, in the late summer of 1985, local teenager Michael Mukai walked through the doors of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the inaugural class of the new Governor’s School, created to help America compete in the global technology war with adversaries like the former Soviet Union.

According to sources, after a decades-long tenure as a well-respected principal, teacher, and coach, Mukai will soon be walking through the front doors of his alma mater, known as “TJ,” this time to take a corner office near door No. 1, off Braddock Road in Alexandria, leading the embattled school as its new principal.

After a long history as the crown jewel of America’s education system, with visits by former U.S. presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, the school has lost its luster, dropping in ranking from No. 1 to No. 14, according to rankings by U.S. News and World Report, after controversial changes that removed the merit-based admissions tests to the school.

The Fairfax County Times has learned that Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid has tapped Mukai, currently the principal at nearby West Springfield High School, to take the reins of the school, inheriting declines in TJ’s reputation and staff morale after a series of highly visible controversies during the previous principal’s tenure.

According to sources, Reid plans to announce Mukai's new job, known as “Mike,” any day now. At West Springfield, Mukai’s collaborative leadership with teachers and "champion philosophy" earned widespread respect.

After publication, a Fairfax County Public Schools spokeswoman responded to a request for comment sent hours earlier and confirmed the news of Mukai’s new assignment. The Fairfax County Times obtained an email that Mukai sent to West Springfield parents at 7:40 p.m., with the subject line, “ West Springfield High School Announcement.”

“ Today, I am writing to share that I have accepted the principal position at my alma mater, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and will begin this new chapter later this month,” Mukai wrote.

“While I am excited to serve my alma mater, I will always cherish my time here and the indelible mark West Springfield High School has left on my heart,” he noted, closing with “Dream Big, Work Hard, Be Proud.”

Local Navy veteran Hung Cao, a classmate of Mukai’s in TJ’s inaugural class, responded positively to the news of Mukai’s expected job change. “Mike, a fellow classmate of ‘The First Class,’ will be a great principal for TJHSST,” Cao told the Fairfax County Times. “He knows what our original charter was and how it created leaders in government, academia, industry, and business. Mike was a tough guy in school, and he’ll be the tough principal TJ needs.'"

Mukai steps into a role last held by Ann Bonitatibus, whose seven-year tenure, starting in the summer of 2017, included a gutting of the school’s admissions process in 2020 with the controversial removal of merit-based tests. After the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, Bonitatibus led an effort with FCPS school board members and former Virginia Education Secretary Atif Qarni to transform the admissions process so that the racial demographics at the school would more closely match the racial demographics in Fairfax County.

In a June 7, 2020, email laying out her racial vision for the school, Bonitatibus said she sought to “close the equity gap” so the school would “reflect the racial composition in FCPS.” That year, the school had about 70% Asian students, about 20% white students and about 10% Black and Hispanic students. During the 2023-2024 school year, FCPS had different racial demographics, mirroring the distribution in the years earlier: 36% white, 29% Hispanic, 19% Asian, 10% Black, 6% multiple races, 0.3% Native American or Alaskan Native, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

She challenged TJ’s racially and ethnically diverse families, some of whom had survived the Cultural Revolution in China and economic poverty in India, to “think of privileges you hold that others may not.” With the new admissions changes, the percentage of Asian students dropped dramatically, with small increases in the number of Black and Hispanic students and larger increases in the number of white students.

Under her leadership, TJ recently fell from its long-held position as the nation’s No. 1 high school to No. 14. Bonitatibus’ tenure was also marked by the controversial withholding of student National Merit awards. This issue drew sharp global criticism. In addition, during her watch, the TJ community was struck by the first suicides of TJ students in the school’s history, with two students tragically passing away in 2018 and 2020.

In September, the number of students recognized as National Merit semifinalists decreased to 81 in the Class of 2025, the first class enrolled in the school after the new admissions changes, from 165 the year before.

The following month, Bonitatibus sent an email to TJ's parents announcing she had “pursued and accepted” a “promotion” to a role in the Fairfax County Public Schools Department of Human Resources as “Executive Director of Talent Acquisition and Management,” a move that was met with widespread skepticism considering a slew of staff and teacher departures from TJ that had marked her stewardship of the school.

Education watchers nationwide have questioned the school's decline, describing it as a leading indicator of wider declines in the U.S. educational system and a national war on merit. Reid has rejected those claims while advocating in promotional videos and speeches for “equal outcomes” for students.

A longtime FCPS administrator, Dale Eaton, described Mukai as an ideal choice for the role. “He’s a good guy,” Eaton said. “He’s a great guy. He’s been very successful in his career. Everybody I know who has worked with him has had a good experience. He’s got the background of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a strong foundation in science and math, and an athletic background, which is great for student activities. As far as checking boxes, he checks as many as anyone could.”

In 1985, as a teenager, Mukai was accepted into the first freshman class of TJ, where he was an academically strong student and an athlete on the wrestling team before graduating from the school in 1989 as a National Merit finalist. He went on to attend Virginia Tech, studying chemistry and physics while wrestling for Virginia Tech.

After deciding to switch careers, Mukai earned a master’s in curriculum and instruction in 1994.

Mukai began his teaching career at West Springfield High School in 1995, teaching summer school chemistry. In 2003, he became the assistant director of student activities, managing athletic programs and extracurricular activities. In 2005, he became the assistant principal, overseeing special education, science, and technology programs.

In 2010, Mukai was promoted to associate principal at Robinson Secondary School, where he took on broader administrative responsibilities. In 2014, he was named principal of West Springfield.

In 2024, he earned a certificate in educational family engagement from Harvard University.

This past fall, Mukai, a former football, wrestling, lacrosse, and volleyball coach, demonstrated his willingness to engage with controversy. Mukai walked into the superintendent’s offices at the FCPS headquarters on Gatehouse Road in Falls Church as one of the few administrators joining district football coaches to address concerns over a football recruiting scandal at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria.

The controversy has sparked frustration across the district, with Mukai’s West Springfield football team being the first to face a lopsided defeat at the hands of the Hayfield Hawks. The meeting underscored a collective demand from area head football coaches for clarity and fairness in the district's sports programs. A week later, Hayfield’s football team withdrew from the post-season playoffs amid new revelations about the recruiting violations, marking a significant development in the district’s handling of the issue.

To observers, Mukai’s involvement in the meeting highlighted his readiness to stand with his school community and advocate for fair competition and transparency. Local parents say this quality would be a welcome change in navigating the challenges at TJ.