A meeting room filled with twelve Parker students and an Upper School Math Teacher candidate is tense for a few seconds, until Student Interview Review Board (SIRB) head and junior, Zuri Mabrey-Wakefield, breaks the silence. Her kindness lightens the room as they prepare to move into their interview, and the prospective teacher’s stern face turns to a smile.

 SIRB is a student committee that assists the administration in the hiring of new faculty each year, by interviewing the top applicants. Their job presents an opportunity for students to affect their and their peers’ future education.

SIRB Head is a Student Government-elected position voted on during the elections each spring. The head’s job is to select members to the board based on applications submitted in the fall. Mabrey-Wakefield, this year’s head, works with two freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors, and two seniors.

This time of year SIRB is in the thick of things. Junior SIRB member Felicia Miller said, “We have interviews at lunch almost everyday with potential new faculty.” In the past few weeks, they have interviewed candidates for the following positions: Upper School Math Teacher to replace the retiring Michelle Hirsh, and IS/MS Dean of Student Life to replace Siobhan Allen. Freshman SIRB member Camille Friedman said, “During these meetings we want to both make a good impression and get to know the applicant,”

“Parker is such a steady community, that above all, we have to determine that the applicant would fit in well at the school,” sophomore and SIRB member Lily Koltun said. “We break the ice with them during the first few minutes, make them feel comfortable with us so that we can get to know them for who they are and how they would interact with students on a daily basis.”

“SIRB gives us as students the ability to influence our education in a unique way,” Mabrey Wakefield said. “The work we do, truly influences most of the student body, this responsibility is an honor to carry.” No one knows Parker as well as the students, and because SIRB only sees the top applicants, they are all qualified. SIRB’s main job is to determine which candidate would transition most seamlessly into the halls.

Senior and SIRB member Danny Sickle said, “It is very important that we make a good impression on the applicant because they may have other job offers or whatnot it’s our job to make them love us and the student body,”  

Unlike other student government committees, SIRB members are appointed. Each member is hand selected by the elected SIRB head so that all potential faculty are meeting with students that are interested in a variety of activities and groups around the school in addition to being super passionate about Parker as a whole.

For each open position in the school, SIRB sees 3-5 candidates that have been picked as the best by the administration and board out dozens of applications. SIRB will have a meeting with each of the candidates and then share their opinion with the administration as to who is best fit for the job and why.

The most recent position SIRB worked on was the new Upper School Math Teacher. They saw three applicants in four days. In each meeting they asked similar questions, “We ask similar questions for each position,” Koltun said. “For example, the math position we ask about how many tests and quizzes they give and for the music teacher position we asked about if they would be interested in helping with the drama program.” At the end of the week, had a meeting with the rest of the math department and administration who had held their own meetings with the candidate.

“When I first heard about SIRB, I truthfully was skeptical of how much of an impact we could have, but I have been pleasantly surprised,” Mabrey-Wakefield said. “The administration seems to genuinely value our opinion during this process.”

Student members of SIRB are not the only ones who enjoy the interview process. Upper School Dean, Christian Belizna came to Parker two years ago and faced SIRB before being hired. “I have done other interviews at schools where I talk to a few students but I had never seen anything like SIRB,” Belizna said. “I think it is one of the coolest things about Parker, because it not only gives students power in dictating their education but it also makes applicants want to work here even more, because the students are so great.”