Reply to hard to get into Duke Ellington?

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[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.

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I studied art at an Ivy League university at the graduate level.  Evaluation of work was absolutely subjective.  Since I was the only AA, I could chalk up any negative experiences to my classmates' not being able to compete on a level playing field.  But honestly, I never did.  What would be the point?

All of what happened was observed/reported by your daughter, a single individual.  Let's say that it's accurate to every detail.  Maybe the Ellington faculty figured that, given your DC's substantial professional experience, it would make sense to see what she could do without having prepared/extensively a piece.  Maybe they wanted to test her, stretch her.  Maybe they wanted to...level the playing field.  If your DC was focused on what other students were asked to do, rather than on her own improvisation, maybe she wasn't "in the moment" and didn't seem fully engaged in the challenge.

Not fair, but based on my experience in the arts -- and that of my DD in ballet -- art teachers tend to operate in "surprising" ways.  It's not necessarily racial, though who knows.  If your DD is focused on what's "fair" -- as I tend to be -- she's going to have a hard slog in the arts.  I know I did. :)

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Admissions to a free and public high school in a city in which you reside should be as fair as possible. If she was given a different monologue it should be investigated and the rationale for doing so explained. [/quote]

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