The Prefect Process Examining One Of Choate’s Most Selective (and Mysterious) Systems
By Synne Chapman ‘07
News Staff Reporter
To the eager applicant, the prefect selection process seems excruciatingly long. However, decisions are usually made within only two weeks of the application deadline. This year, 117 members of junior class applied for the 64 available prefecting slots (an equal 32 slots were available for both boys and girls.) The four faculty members deciding the 2006 -2007 prefects were Amy Salot (who is currently on sabbatical), Jim Yanelli, Joel Backon, and Emily Brenner. This was Mr. Backon’s final year as co – coordinator of the program. During the process, Backon was shadowed by Ms. Brenner who will take over his duties next year.
The entire prefect process takes about five weeks - from the information sessions in early January to the final decisions made in early March, just in time for Spring Break. The information sessions were meant to demystify the application process for the students, as well as make sure the prospective students were aware of the commitment and responsibility needed to be a prefect. This year’s online application contained seven short answer questions, most of which were designed to give the applicant a chance to explain why he or she would make an able leader. For example, Question #2 stated, “Provide a very specific incident or situation that helped to convince you that you might be a good prefect.” The application also required a faculty recommendation from the student’s adviser.
Once all the applications were in, it was up to the four faculty advisers to come to a decision. In making their assessment, the faculty looked very closely at the student’s own application, as well as his or her faculty recommendation. The group met with the Dean of Students, John Ford, the two fifth form deans, Tommie Oppegaard and David Webb, and the student’s house advisor to further inquire about a specific applicant. The committee then convened about three times (in the meantime, they exchanged emails and phone calls) to make the final decisions. This year, Mr. Yanelli devised a new system of using “baseball cards” to help place the students in different dorms. The cards had the students’ IQ web photo, along with his or her dorm rankings, and how advisers ranked him or her. Mr. Yanelli was quick to say, “The photos had no role whatsoever in the decision! They were just there for reference.”
One thing that does not influence a student’s chances of becoming a prefect is previous rule violations. Mr. Backon says, “We do not take a student’s previous disciplinary action into account when making a decision.” However, if a student does get into trouble between the information sessions and when the final decisions are made, they would no longer be eligible for prefectship. In addition, once chosen, a prefect must abide by all major school rules. However, Mr. Backon said that the group looks down upon students who did not take the application process seriously, were late to the informational meeting, or who had negative adviser comments.
Mr. Yanelli later added, “We see our job primarily as matching adviser rankings with student rankings.” Each student in his or her application provides a list of his or her top five dorm choices. Similarly, dorm advisers are asked to rank students, usually on a 1 to 5 scale (5 being, “I really do not want this person in my dorm”, and 1 being, “I would love to work with this student.”) Mr. Backon added, “This year was a very good one. We were able to put almost all of the students in their top 1 or 2 dorms, and advisers only received prefects whom they had ranked a 1 or a 2.” Another item taken into consideration for prefect placement is diversity. For example, Ms. Brenner said, “We don’t want to see six girls from California all perfecting in the same dorm.”
Once chosen, prefects must attend two meetings: one in which they sign an oath/contract, and another where they meet with their head of house. They also shadow current prefects, and will start dorm duty this spring. In the fall, prefects come back to Choate early for the “Choate Leadership Institute”, where they are further prepared to take on the responsibilities of a prefect. Once elected, the two Head Prefects will travel to Colorado this summer for a Leadership Institute as well. In the fall, Prefects’ training will continue, and from that point on, the prefects will have meetings a couple of times per month.
Mr. Yanelli, Mr. Backon, and Ms. Brenner all agreed that prefectship is one of the largest leadership roles at Choate. Ms. Brenner said, “Prefects need to have good judgment, and the ability to influence others, in a positive way, of course.”
Prefect Program 2006 - 2007
Archbold (4): Anne Cheng, Kathryne Kirk, Laura Reid, Xenia Zayas
Edsall (2): Patricia Ball, Kelsey Craig
Hall (3): Rachel Cohen, Ana Derby, Charlotte Wuisan
Library (3): Miki Ito, Sabrina Lazarus, Mathilde Williams
Nichols (7): Alice Bearn, Rachel Berger, Brit’nee Haskins, Chelsea Laverack, Zoe Osterman, Michelle Panzica, Hyeon-Ju Ryoo
Pitman (2): Janelle Fouche, Elizabeth Shuman
Squire Stanley (2): Melissa Goh, Vanessa Mange
West Wing (3): Kenia Arzu, Valerie Atwood, Kelsey Vanderlip
Atwater (2): Benjamin Gettinger, Bradley Welch
Clinton-Knight (4): Chris Diaz, Steve Kwizera, Aleks Oumarbaez, Zachery Remsen
East Cottage (2): Maxwell Gray, Frank Persico
Hill (4): Kamsen Lau, Dae Ro Lee, Daryl Wells, Robert Wilechansky
Logan (4): Ker Wei Kwee, Brendan Munzar, Jay Num, Channing Tookes
Memorial (11): Brian Bottini, Tyren Bynum, Daniel Cohen, Ben Josephs, Jack Lo, Michael Mackie, Daniel Marquardt, Mark Nemec, Corey Sherman, Joshua Torian, Gregory Van
Quantrell (2): Nicholas Grava, Koichi Masuda
Spencer (3): Daniel Montana, Daniel Moon, Jeffrey Rosen
