The kids should stay in the classroom and apart from the interview process. Based on our experience,even though our child felt fine about it all, we are not going to select Walls over the private school he is invited for 9th grade. Even a week ago we were still trying to let this by our son's decision, but it's too much of a crap shoot, a viable and open-to-scrutiny private or a moody, opaque and strangely less revealing public where teenagers are staring us down. I know others who are choosing Wilson rather than Walls based on the interview experience. Hopefully things will improve, how they represent the school to the world in the future. We may give it another try for 10th grade, after we see how many new freshmen flee, surely they'll need replacements.

I found the kids to be very candid and helpful in response to our questions. Sorry some people had a bad experience, but with 150 interviews is one day there were bound to be personality conflicts, misinterpreted expressions and probably a couple bad decisions. All in all, though, we were greeted by friendly, helpful staff and parents. We have not made a final decision yet, but left the school with a strong positive impression and a belief that academics and community are strongly valued.

I am a parent who holds multiple degrees. I operate in senior management for my organization. I would consider myself to be highly professional, personable, and excellent interviewer. However as one of those parents that interviewed two weeks ago, I found the panel that my son and I met with to be void of any personality, intimidating and unpleasant. I am an articulate and supportive parent who was more than personable and appropriate. However the 15:29 post seem to imply that if your child was not selected it was perhaps because you failed to present well. That is far from the truth. I am not sure what characteristics the panel was looking for. Perhaps I should not have spoken about my child's accomplishments. Perhaps I was too friendly. I have no idea. However what I do know is that the interview was by far the most unprofessional experience that I had ever endured and it has placed enough questions in my mind about SWW that even if they offered my child admission at this point, I would decline. We have since decided to go to an incredible private school where the staff is personable, friendly and attempting to sell their institution to you.

As a side note, I just read that Benjamin Banneker HS actually ranked higher than SWW last year. Interesting...... This is a DCPS school and the admission process needs to be addressed immediately! Tax payers' dollars are supporting this school and DC residents should not have to endure this type of treatment.

BS pp. That is not the real world. I've interviewed dozens of candidates for jobs and there is no reason to be intimidating and unprofessional. Even interviews at private school aren't nasty and unprofessional. The experiences that have been relayed on this thread are a total turnoff and will undermine the entire reputation of the school. I would have considered Walls for my child for high school, but will scratch it off the list for now. This is an interview for admission to a school, not an interview for a sorority or fraternity.

Can someone attribute that you get as good as you give. To the seasoned interviewers, we are not trying to find the right people we are trying to eliminate the wrong people. Clearly, just on merit and being a people person that would almost garner a foot-in-the-door.

As for being unpleasant and intimidating, isn't that the real world in a sense. If the test was to see if the child could rise above it all and still hold their composure then it's see you in August 2012 at orientation.

It is called School Without Walls it is not called School with Wonderment.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the poster at 17:14. Here are some rules for people who interview children for schools, since SWW apparently isn't teaching them:
1) You are also there to represent your school and "sell" it.
2) The person you are interviewing is a human being just like you. This is not American Idol, OK kids? Give them a chance to talk about themselves, their qualifications, and why they want to go to your school.
3) Don't post about applicants on the internet. (In the real world this should get you fired.)
A competitive school will still have to make choices, but do you really want 8th graders to walk away feeling humiliated and inadequate? Does that make you feel powerful and do you write it on your college applications?

I appreciate the SWW parent's contribution to this thread, but must respectfully disagree with some of his/her explanations/excuses. "It was a full day of interviews on a day the students normally have off" and "The school administration can't possibly monitor the way every room is set up" just don't explain or justify the unprofessional, arrogant, and often intentionally humiliating way these interviews were conducted.

The poster above has it exactly right. If the school leadership cannot train students and teachers to maintain a basic level of professionalism and empathy during interviews, why should I believe that they are capable of calling for or supporting excellent instruction in the classroom? My guess is they can't.

My experience was exactly the same as the poster's who said that the two teachers she interviewed with attempted to be as intimidating and unpleasant as possible. We probably had the same panel. Those teachers, in my opinion, should not be conducting interviews. If the school leadership can't recognize that, then I have real doubts about their ability to manage personnel.

I must agree completely! the student's explanation of the interview process was EXACTLY my experience when my son and I interviewed at this school last week. Not for one minute do I believe that the previous post was from a real SWW parent who was a part of the interview process. And even if it was then I do not feel that she provided an accurate portrayal of the interview and selection process. I am livid with this school and its' unprofessionalism.

On good authority from someone who is affiliated with DCPS the central office is not fond of SWW. They respect the tradition and admire the student population but find the current administration/leadership demanding to say the least.

Therefore, you complaints to Kaya will probably be acknowledged but there's bigger fish to fry. There's a running joke that SWW is called the School With Whiners and that was developed long before Kaya became Chancellor.

Inside informaton, Trogich was recommended to be Outstanding Principal of the Year and central office held on to his paper work. Moreso, they refused to sign-off on the paper work. If it is gossip, then it was those from central office who spread-it.

How can we be sure that this is a real SWW parent, and not just someone trying to refute the previous posts to make it seem more fair, if they don't sign their name? I think it would carry more weight if the principal would come on this forum and post their policy and refute in person the story that the student wrote. I don't think the student post is from a troll, however much SWW would wish it wasn't. I am sure many people followed up with Kaya Henderson regarding their experience with the SWW admission process and I am sure they didn't like the scrutiny.

Thanks to the SWW parent that responded. My final question is in regards to the "wait list". Is there really a "wait list" or were these students actually rejected and they are simply telling us this to pacify us????

Thanks, Mom! You've improved my own outlook on my child's acceptance to Walls immensely. Considering the heavy competition from some very good publics and private, your words may have turned one of us around. Thanks.

As a SWW parent, and someone who has volunteered a lot of my time throughout the interview process, I just wanted to give some clarification:

-No child was not accepted because they did too much homework, or worked too hard. Where the "student" (if it is not just some online troll) got this is a mystery to me, and I have brought it up with the administration. For every score under passing, the panel had to explain its reasoning, and I have been assured that this was not the reason given to any student.

-Students on the panel had an equal voice in theory, but the teachers could nullify any student's answers if the teacher felt that the decision was biased or not based on fact. When a student was on the line between passing the process/failing it, the teacher's response was weighted better.

-We tried to create a good environment for the interviews, but due to the large number of applicants and interviewees we had to give the individual panels some choice in how to set up/conduct the interviews. The administration were not going to go around judging the way the teachers decided to set up the interview room. Most of the students placed on the panels had some experience in interviewing/ public speaking, and the administration (I didn't help with this as I do not know the kids) tried to make sure that the students were prepared to conduct the interviews. Obviously, it was a full day of interviews on a day they normally have off, and some might not have been as good as they should have been- I am sorry if your experience was bad and I am sure the administration shares my apology.

-While part of this interview was to learn more about the personality of the students, their extracurricular activities, experience, etc... It was more just to look at them as people, and see what they would gain by going to SWW, both socially and academically. Questions asked related to extra-curricular activities, academic integrity, and more general questions to get to know about them.


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As for the "student", if you are a student, and you are reading this, please talk to the administration. They would (and to be honest I would) like to know where you got your information, as it definitely isn't true.

Though, as you seem more like some troll, maybe a parent who was disinterested in the interview process, I would like you to know that this has been discussed with the administration, and they are looking into it.

Also: the administration has looked at this thread and will condenser your input for next year (They wanted to make sure I wrote this )

Smart guy, IMO.

People have complained about the process at SWW every year that I can remember. What is really crazy is the number of kids who fail the test the first time, then the parents march down to Trogisch's office (in person is critical when dealing with Trogisch-he leaves no paper trail) and demand a retest and then lo and behold, they're in. It's a totally subjective process that absolutely should be looked into.

Yes, it should be brought to her attention, perhaps best by a parent whose child was not accepted. It's just sad because I know many families feel it's an exceptional program, and I was very impressed by my interactions with the principal and the lengthy, thoughtful presentation they made at their open house (including a student-made video/film about student life at Walls), For so much good in a school system with so many unattractive options the Kaya and team should get around this small magenta HS in a winning location with some of the brightest students from all wards and help them smooth the process. The frustration expressed by parents about the interview process reflects poorly on the current student body and school leadership and that is just a shame. On the other hand, I don't get the sense that Kaya or her predecessor have a lot of love for the highest achieving students in general.