They do. We went through it last year and they have a bunch of staff conducting interviews (each teacher paired with a student). I don’t remember the exact amount but I would say there were about 20 kids during my kid’s time slot. |
Banneker had at least 16 panels at a time going today. That is the highest number I heard called while my kid was doing his writing sample. |
We got three of the emails… |
Has anyone been notified that they will not receive an interview? |
Walls must have had tech issues today - we received 3 of the same email for something re our current Walls student |
No. But we haven't heard that we will. |
not yet |
Same, and we have heard nothing. No interview invite. No ding. I thought this was a magnet school where they considered a student's application, but this feels like pure lottery. |
It’s essentially both. There is a lot of demand and not a lot of supply, so essentially it’s a lottery to whittle down. Im sorry for those qualified kids who didn’t get an interview. |
The system is just horrid. DC needs more schools like Walls. If they had more schools city-wide of Walls' size it would benefit so many kids. We're also hoping for an interview for our kid, but on paper he's like a so many kids... high GPA, in advanced math, excellent teacher recommendations (according to our Banneker interviewers), skilled musician. Not giving up hope yet ![]() |
Congratulations to your kid (who sounds a lot like mine) getting the Banneker interview. We still haven't heard from them either. |
As an FYI, last year we received notice about the Banneker interview 2-3 weeks after finding out about the Walls interview. |
Banneker sends out interview invites in waves. My older kid sweated through waiting and was interviewed in the last wave of Banneker interviews. She got in. So, don't give up hope. |
Since the teacher recommendations involve grading kids (range of 1-5, I believe) on multiple fronts, and only a little free writing, I suspect they choose kids for interviewing based only on the numerical results. That's just a guess, of course. Would be nice if they were more transparent about the whole process! |
Can any teachers chime in here with insights? |