Reply to SWW - Letters of Recommendation

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Reply to "SWW - Letters of Recommendation"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think SWW forgot that they are a public school. These are at least arguably part of a child's academic record. I can't see a valid reason why they are not considered academic records. I will move forward with filing a FERPA complaint with the Dept. of Ed if they refuse to give me these records. Although it should not be necessary to get the United States government involved, this did work when a different DCPS refused to give me records I was clearly entitled to review.

It's less clear to me how to remedy the issue that it appears SWW did not follow their own published admissions criteria, or seemingly contacted a select number of students to alter them that a recommendation letter was missing but chose not to contact all affected students. Curious about what criteria they used to choose the students who were granted an extension and those who were not.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Where is the rubric? I've asked for it, but so far they haven't given it to me. [/quote]

One thing we learned is don't depend on this blog for real info.

https://www.myschooldc.org/how-apply/applying-high-school[/quote]

This link specifically says recommendation letters can be required. What am I missing?[/quote]

Attention to detail is critical and it's pretty evident why their is so much incorrect info here. The pp gave the general site but of course no one reads things anymore----

https://www.myschooldc.org/sites/default/files/dc/sites/myschooldc/page/attachments/SY24-25%20SWW_Admission%20Process%20Rubric_Final.pdf

"School Without Walls uses recommendations to better understand a student’s experience at school and to
provide context to their academic outcomes. Recommendations are a critical element to getting to know a
student and their experiences. School Without Walls requests two (2) recommendations, each worth a
maximum of 15points. We strongly encourage students and families to follow up with the individuals
submitting recommendations on their behalf and to check the accuracy of recommender emails to ensure we
have the most complete picture of the student as possible. [b]However, students will not be penalized for
incomplete or missing recommendations and can be evaluated to move on to the interview stage based on
the recommendations that have been submitted[/b]."
[/quote]

Thanks. This directly contradicts what Walls told me. They also actively refused to provide information about what they were looking for in the letters of recommendation, even if they would be providing a form or were requesting a narrative. They also refused to share the due date. All of that makes it pretty hard to follow up.

When I asked for my child’s records to see exactly how they were scored I was stonewalled. I have filed a FERPA request but that can take a while, especially if they don’t comply. It seems like something is fishy or they would just hand over my child’s very small file without a fight. [/quote]

If they didn't follow those rules about missing recommendations, that really stinks, and I'm sorry your family went through it.

I also contacted SWW to see if I could find out about my kid's scores. (When my older kid applied and interviewed and was waitlisted, I was able to find out DC's interview score.) It took multiple emails and one phone call but I finally found out that they will not divulge a kids' recommendation letter scores because they were written by teachers. At least, that's what I was told![/quote][/quote]

They clearly know they are a public school but most of you don't realize it. The site gives the status of everything submitted as well as due dates. Sounds like you weren't prepared as well as you should have been for the process. SWW tries to get thru everything with its present staff but they miss things. Teachers still have to teach and grade.

This is more on the teacher than anything. Maybe SWW can help since it does state in the guidelines the lack of recs won't penalize a kid. But what if a rec received already disqualified your kid? That's something  you don't know yet. File your request but it won't help right now. Just be prepared either way. [/quote]

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