SWW - when do notices go out about interviews?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has there ever been a FOIA unified effort on SWW process? The children who were selected (or not) from our charter school for interview make no sense when it comes to academic apples to apples.

It's the "favorites" of the teachers. Putting so much emphasis on teacher recommendations makes no sense at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The children who were selected (or not) from our charter school for interview make no sense when it comes to academic apples to apples.

First, not every kid is a superhero in every subject. You might have a student who’s a math whiz but struggles a bit with English, or vice versa. Even a small difference, like a couple of points here or there, can mean the difference between getting an interview or not. Sometimes, a kid who could easily ace science or social studies might miss out on a great recommendation just because the system tends to favor the voices of the Math and English teachers.

Second, it’s not all about academic apples to apples. The interview process also considers how kids connect with teachers and classmates. In other words, they’re looking at who will be a good fit for the community. This means that a student who’s academically brilliant might not get the same boost if they’re not seen as a natural “community player.” Teachers may have boosted kids who they thought would fit better into the community. I wouldn’t say it’s who they like better. They may have genuinely been answering the questions asked of them on the form. It’s not all academic.

These are just my thoughts, based on conversations with current parents, students and teachers. It seems like comparing students on academic criteria alone might miss a few important details about what each child really brings to the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some schools have no representation while others are overrepresented, which suggests that there aren’t school-specific quotas. It seems that teachers have the final say in the process, likely grouping students into tiers so that their top candidates are selected for interviews.

What's your source for this? Are you actually comparing number invited to middle school size, or you just guessing?

Not the PP you’re responding to but the Edscape school enrollment pathways data show this information. You can see which middle schools Walls students come from, and how many students specific middle schools send. PP is correct. Deal and Hardy consistently send a greater proportion of students than other middle schools. https://edscape.dc.gov/node/1640846

But my guess is they send a smaller proportion of kids who are even plausible candidates.

Circular argument. If Walls was admitting a quota from each middle school, as the PP suggested, the strongest applicants from each middle school would be plausible candidates by definition.

There’s just no direct or statistical evidence that Walls uses middle school quotas.

I don't know of any kids from my kid's school who have gotten an interview, my kid included. I know several applied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This means that a student who’s academically brilliant might not get the same boost if they’re not seen as a natural “community player.” Teachers may have boosted kids who they thought would fit better into the community. I wouldn’t say it’s who they like better. They may have genuinely been answering the questions asked of them on the form. It’s not all academic.

A question for you - what public high school in DC is equipped to effectively educate the kids who are academically brilliant, but not natural "community players"?

As a taxpayer and parent, I want Walls to be that school. I want it to take the academically brilliant kids and build a community in which they can excel academically and in community with one another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This means that a student who’s academically brilliant might not get the same boost if they’re not seen as a natural “community player.” Teachers may have boosted kids who they thought would fit better into the community. I wouldn’t say it’s who they like better. They may have genuinely been answering the questions asked of them on the form. It’s not all academic.

(Re-posting to fix the quotes.)

A question for you - what public high school in DC is equipped to effectively educate the kids who are academically brilliant, but not natural "community players"?

As a taxpayer and parent, I want Walls to be that school. I want it to take the academically brilliant kids and build a community in which they can excel academically and in community with one another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This means that a student who’s academically brilliant might not get the same boost if they’re not seen as a natural “community player.” Teachers may have boosted kids who they thought would fit better into the community. I wouldn’t say it’s who they like better. They may have genuinely been answering the questions asked of them on the form. It’s not all academic.

A question for you - what public high school in DC is equipped to effectively educate the kids who are academically brilliant, but not natural "community players"?

As a taxpayer and parent, I want Walls to be that school. I want it to take the academically brilliant kids and build a community in which they can excel academically and in community with one another.

Basis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This means that a student who’s academically brilliant might not get the same boost if they’re not seen as a natural “community player.” Teachers may have boosted kids who they thought would fit better into the community. I wouldn’t say it’s who they like better. They may have genuinely been answering the questions asked of them on the form. It’s not all academic.

(Re-posting to fix the quotes.)

A question for you - what public high school in DC is equipped to effectively educate the kids who are academically brilliant, but not natural "community players"?

As a taxpayer and parent, I want Walls to be that school. I want it to take the academically brilliant kids and build a community in which they can excel academically and in community with one another.

Basis

[Anonymous]

Walls is a humanities high school and Basis is an academic.

[Anonymous]

My kid is off the charts in test scores, has good grades, and has found a good fit in McKinley Tech. Is every single person brilliant and high achieving? No. But the classes are challenging enough to move him to the next level. Also, lots of APs and extra-curriculars.

[Anonymous]

Basis is a lottery admission school that starts at 5th grade and does not admit 9th graders. It's not a high school accessible to academic all stars from across the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walls is a humanities high school and Basis is an academic.

You do know that humanities are part of academia and thus also academic, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some schools have no representation while others are overrepresented, which suggests that there aren’t school-specific quotas. It seems that teachers have the final say in the process, likely grouping students into tiers so that their top candidates are selected for interviews.

What's your source for this? Are you actually comparing number invited to middle school size, or you just guessing?

Not the PP you’re responding to but the Edscape school enrollment pathways data show this information. You can see which middle schools Walls students come from, and how many students specific middle schools send. PP is correct. Deal and Hardy consistently send a greater proportion of students than other middle schools. https://edscape.dc.gov/node/1640846

But my guess is they send a smaller proportion of kids who are even plausible candidates.

Circular argument. If Walls was admitting a quota from each middle school, as the PP suggested, the strongest applicants from each middle school would be plausible candidates by definition.

There’s just no direct or statistical evidence that Walls uses middle school quotas.

I don't know of any kids from my kid's school who have gotten an interview, my kid included. I know several applied.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Basis is a lottery admission school that starts at 5th grade and does not admit 9th graders. It's not a high school accessible to academic all stars from across the city.

Based on what we just experienced with Walls I’d say it’s the same. The words arbitrary and farcical come to mind

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis is a lottery admission school that starts at 5th grade and does not admit 9th graders. It's not a high school accessible to academic all stars from across the city.

Based on what we just experienced with Walls I’d say it’s the same. The words arbitrary and farcical come to mind

Same last year. But, there are so many great kids out there that I'm sure that it'll continue to be a good school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is a humanities high school and Basis is an academic.

You do know that humanities are part of academia and thus also academic, right?

The PP wants to "compare academic apples to apples" during the interview process with no consideration to how the child fits into the community. Walls cares about how students interact with each other and teachers. Both academics and community are important. Not one over the other.