Reply to hard to get into Duke Ellington?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I recall reading once that Ellington wasn't chartered for the students in DC.  It was formed to provide an arts education principally to students of color.  That's its mission and culture.  So that would mean that kids from PG might have a stronger moral right to an Ellington education than snowflakes from Ward 3.[/quote]

My Ward 3 snowflake applied to the drama program at Ellington in recent years.  DC had a few stage and film credits, great letters of recommendation, a well-prepared monologue, and a stellar academic record.  DC was called back after the first audition.

During the first callback audition, DC and a few other applicants were handed new monologues and given a couple of minutes to prepare before performing them before the committee.  DC noticed that none of the AA applicants in the group were were given new monologues.  Instead, they performed prepared monologues.  DC did not receive a second callback audition.

It's certainly possible that all of the applicants in DC's group who received second callbacks were much more talented than DC.  However, the lack of transparency and consistency in the audition process for Ellington creates opportunities to skew it in favor of AA students, who are presumably disadvantaged.

Based on our experience, I believe that you are correct, PP.  The staff at Ellington sees its mission as providing an arts education primarily to students of color.  Is that a legitimate mission for a school funded by taxpayers?  There are probably arguments for and against.

However, I fear that DC's takeaway was that students of color are incapable of competing on a level playing field.

[/quote]

Np. It's discriminatory to your child, as well as to the other children who should attend a school with true diversity which include white kids from ward 3. If this 'mission' is embedded in some old paperwork/Mayoral fiat it needs to be changed, and the audition process needs to be scrutinized. You should report this discrepancy. There is going to be a LOT of interest in Ellington now that the city has poured 200 million dollars into (rightful interest) and your words could be part of the process of making it a school for all talented DC youngsters, not ideologically chosen ones.[/quote]

You are probably barking up the wrong tree here. It's far more likely that she wasn't accepted because she's a girl. It's quite likely that the vast majority of applicants were female, and that despite her talents, your daughter didn't quite make the cut. If she had been male, she'd have faced much less competition. BTW, her academic record is not relevant, since it's not considered in the Duke Ellington application process except for class placement.

Between Ellington, Walls, and Banneker, the denial of qualified girls in order to admit less qualified boys is a class action suit waiting to happen. Not saying that this is done with bad intentions, but it's been an open secret for years.

For the record, my daughter (white) was admitted to Ellington but chose a different school. The competition that year in her field was about 80% female, based on what she saw.

[/quote]

Admission to an arts magnet school involves subjectivity. Not news.

There's a new Head of School and principal at Ellington this year. They've had interim leadership for the last 3 years.

Hopefully admissions will be more transparent and the graduates will be more successful academically going forward. [/quote]

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