SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS INTERVIEWS TOMORROW...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

A child with an "A" average doesn't have academic challenges. And you should read the ADA. This interviewer said an A student was rejected because because of the interviewer's ungrounded view that a student who spends a lot of time on homework wouldn't "fit in" or "handle" SWW.

A child with academic challenges CAN have an A average, FYI
If it's not a 'challenge', why would the ADA be invoked? Back in my university teaching career, I had students who required someone to read the exam to them, or required additional time to complete the exam. I'd call those 'challenges'
Additionally, if you looked at the report card for some special ed students, it might be full of A's, based on the classes to which they were assigned...

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what all the above discussion means in terms of SWW? Are kids with IEPs just never admitted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what all the above discussion means in terms of SWW? Are kids with IEPs just never admitted?

not sure they would even know if the child had one...all they asked for were transcripts, then you test and interview...I guess only if you asked for accommodation on the test?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps they considered it an interview for you, not them. After all, they don't really need to sell the school to you at this point.

Yeah, pretty much this. As interviewers, while we took questions, it was mostly to look at the students and parents to see whether we thought they would fit in. For example: the school didn't want to base it completely off exam scores, but also look at the personality of the student and whether they would fit in. There were definitely some students with amazing exam scores and grades that me (and the rest in my room) gave lower scores to then those who didn't do so well, simply because they came off as being too full of themselves, or like they wouldn't fit well with the school.

I remember on who had all As, but was telling us how he was a good student and to get all those As he often worked 3-4 hours of studying and would stay up extremely late. We didn't think he would be able to handle the work load at walls (which is condsiderably greater then most schools in the city, especially middle schools) if he was working for 3-4 hours a night to succeed at middle school, how much would he be working to succeed at high school?

Is anyone else troubled by the idea that students are empowered to at least influence such decisions? Especially if this is the kind of discretion and professionalism candidates can expect...

Having high school students make judgements about whether another child will "fit in" sounds like such a nightmare!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps they considered it an interview for you, not them. After all, they don't really need to sell the school to you at this point.

Yeah, pretty much this. As interviewers, while we took questions, it was mostly to look at the students and parents to see whether we thought they would fit in. For example: the school didn't want to base it completely off exam scores, but also look at the personality of the student and whether they would fit in. There were definitely some students with amazing exam scores and grades that me (and the rest in my room) gave lower scores to then those who didn't do so well, simply because they came off as being too full of themselves, or like they wouldn't fit well with the school.

I remember on who had all As, but was telling us how he was a good student and to get all those As he often worked 3-4 hours of studying and would stay up extremely late. We didn't think he would be able to handle the work load at walls (which is condsiderably greater then most schools in the city, especially middle schools) if he was working for 3-4 hours a night to succeed at middle school, how much would he be working to succeed at high school?

Is anyone else troubled by the idea that students are empowered to at least influence such decisions? Especially if this is the kind of discretion and professionalism candidates can expect...

Having high school students make judgements about whether another child will "fit in" sounds like such a nightmare!

I know the high school transition was extremely hard for me- the last thing I would want is to set up a kid who would not be able to succeed at this school to fail. The middle school involved was one a sibling of mine went to, so I knew that the work load wasn't as hard or extensive at SWW. Both of the teachers who were in the room with me were also worried about the ability of the student to succeed here, it wasn't just me.

Discretion and professionalism: I didn't say any names, or any describing details, nor did I say anything else that could be used to describe the person in question... I was trying to give you an idea that the point of this interview was to look at the student's personality and ability to achieve success at our school, and look beyond the grades the student might be getting. Maybe to you me even giving an example is wrong, if so, I can see your point, but also see mine: I gave an anonymous example of one student.

And as for allowing students to interview: her is something that will probably scare you out of your mind: there were 3-4 students per room, with 2 teachers. All of us had equal weight in the decision. The reason they did this was because as students we know the school, and we know how to succeed at the school. I would like to point out that only issue with my example was not that he spent so much time with homework.

As for the 'ungrounded' view that he wouldn't be able to succeed, its a fact that high school, especially at an academically challenging high school such as walls, is harder then most middle schools. If he has to spend that long with homework at middle school, it likely will just increase during his high school career... And he might get swamped. If you are arguing that everyone who can get all As should just be automatically accepted, then I would like to see your reasoning. zI've seen kids who got all As in middle school come to walls and then end up failing, often because they thought they could scrape by with the same effort as they did in middle school and still get the same good grades. Is seeing a kid spending 3+ hours working on homework during middle school send up a big red flag? At least to this panel it certainly does. Maybe to you it seems like nothing, go ahead... Start interviewing students yourself. At this point I am going off to college, I'm almost done with school, I don't need to argue about this shit with you.

[Anonymous]

Do you know if rejection and acceptance letters were mailed simultaneously. My kid interviewed last Saturday but we have not received anything. Many of his friends did receive acceptance letters. I know that he reported studying 2 hours per night so this may have earned him a rejection. However he does take 10th grade honors geometry at a high school (if that helps).

Thanks for any information that you may have.

[Anonymous]

Wow. The "rebuttal" from the student interviewer really confirms how unprofessional this school seems to be. If this is what they are graduating, lord have mercy...

[Anonymous]

I think the rebuttal is fine, with good spelling and relatively few grammatical errors.

[Anonymous]

It's not the grammar, it's the arrogance. The PP who said that having a panel of high school kids decide who would "fit in" is a nightmare got it right.
You can be sure many parents will be writing to KH about this travesty of a selection process at a school that claims to strive for excellence...Combined with the poorly handled drugs scandal this school clearly needs some adult supervision.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who feels it is inappropriate to give children (even intelligent, generally responsible ones) decision-making power when it concerns a matter that can conceivably have such far-reaching consequences for another child's future and family finances. For the record, I don't necessarily disagree with rejecting an applicant because of work habits concerns. Also, my child is not yet old enough to apply, so I don't, at present, have a horse in the race.

Of course, we'll want to go easy on our student correspondent, since we're the adults, here. That's important, ladies.

I might be interested in Walls for my child in a few years, but I'm frankly put off by the idea that students are permitted to determine admission. I think teens respond far too strongly to social impressions and peer pressure and just aren't (yet) equipped to make nuanced evaluations of other people.

[Anonymous]

My child interviewed last Saturday and I was not impressed with the process, to say the least. We were called to the interview room 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. The whole tone of the interview was unnecessarily adversarial -- from the firing squad panel set up (seven interviewers in a row, behind desks, interviewee in a chair, exposed, facing them), to the deadpan expressions on all seven interviewers (no smiles, at all), to the questions that presumed a deficit on the part of the candidate ("How will your child respond when she comes here and gets her first F?"). These are children, for goodness' sake! What can you possibly learn by employing these ridiculous high-pressure interview techniques?

The whole admissions process appears to be riddled with basic administrative errors. To name just a few: the admissions letter refers to a parent contract that is supposed to be enclosed with the letter, but is not; the registration lines at the test were mislabled, so some students, including my daughter, had to wait in line for over an hour to get in; the first page of the packet handed out at the open house had 2-3 glaring grammatical errors. Combined with the school's the complete lack of concern about marketing itself to students (just ONE open house, off campus, the Tuesday before winter break starts? Really?? And you have to ask for a shadow day after you get in, you are not offered one as a matter of course), and I am hard pressed to come up with a reason to send my child to this school.

I'm guessing that parents are eager to send their children to Walls because the education is good and the students are bright and motivated -- but my daughter and I have had very little opportunity to learn anything about that education first hand. What we have be able to learn about first hand is the arrogance, ineptitude, and lack of professionalism displayed by Walls staff and students during the admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Did SWW use the same type of interview process in past years, or is this something new they're trying? I have some of the same sentiments as 15:01, though my son really would like to visit the school before declining or accepting. After all, at this point we, like pp, have absolutely no clue about what goes on in the classrooms. It would seem reasonable to allow a buddy visit prior to this decision and would also benefit the school to know who is really in or out.

[Anonymous]

Have all of your children received acceptance letters since the interview? We have yet to hear anything since interviewing last week? I found the interview questions to be quite ridiculous and the whole process to be somewhat intimidating to say the least. I am still struggling to see how the questions asked during the interview process would help to determine if my child was an appropriate fit for SWW.

[Anonymous]

If you haven't received a letter yet, I would absolutely call the school and ask. My child got an acceptance letter on Wednesday, I think. There's no reason why both sets of letters wouldn't go out at the same time, or within a day or two. I would not be surprised if your child's letter fell through the cracks somehow. The daughter of a friend of mine applied to SWW last year, but decided to blow off the interview (she could not make her assigned time, was having difficulty rescheduling, and decided she wasn't that interested in the school anyway). Imagine my friend's surprise when she got a call last summer from a parent at the school, welcoming her family to Walls! They had received no communication from the school since the aborted interview.

I believe that accepted students can go on a buddy day -- but you have to write to the school and ask for one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does your child like Wilson? It seems rare that we hear of kids who don't really like Wilson, but there are kids who struggle at Walls or complain and transfer. I wonder if Wilson will offer an IB track for all of the IB Deal kids flooding in.

The IB program explicitly disallows tracking. It has to be available to everyone. Also, Wilson is already invested in AP courses, it would be a radical re-tooling of the entire curriculum to go IB. Finally, it takes 3 or 4 years to get IB certification, so even if they had the political will, the money, and the knowledge, it still wouldn't happen in time for current Deal students. In short, I just don't see this happening.