Dear Parker Students, Families, and Staff,
I hope that you had a great week. Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead, with an extra hour on Sunday as we set the clocks back.
In the next few days, Parker families, friends and alums will receive a card in the mail announcing our Annual Fund. I wanted to provide additional context as we celebrate and thank our teachers…
Whether your child has been at Parker for two months or six years, they have built strong relationships with their teachers. Who is the teacher who spent countless hours coaching and encouraging your student to gateway? Who is the teacher who looked after your student at Nature’s Classroom, calming their jittery nerves and helping them thrive in a new setting? Who is the teacher who taught your student how to learn? Who is the advisor who knew and loved your student, welcoming them to school every day and serving as a trusted mentor? Who is the teacher who changed your student’s life?
We thank Parker teachers for their selfless commitment to our students. Parker teachers are unlike any other - creative, collaborative and passionate in their support of Parker students. While many schools would say the same, our unique model, team approach and reliance on teacher leadership makes our staff truly invaluable. Parker teachers are more talented, more central to our success and harder to replace than teachers at a traditional school.
Yet our faculty and staff earn far less than they would elsewhere. Why?
1) When the state authorized the creation of charter schools in 1993, they created a funding stream that included the per pupil expenditure from the sending towns, but provided no funding for building maintenance, construction and repair. Unlike traditional public schools, Parker must spend per pupil money on our facility.
2) Parker prioritizes small class sizes, low teacher loads and team teaching. We think it is essential to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, consistent feedback and authentic adult relationships. As we all know, our students are known deeply and learn to use their mind well. To do that, we hire more teachers than traditional public schools. This is central to who we are.
We are approaching the institutional problem of staff compensation from many angles, over many years. We are maximizing enrollment and state aid, pursuing grants from foundations and corporations, generating revenue through the Sizer Center and New Teachers Collaborative, expanding our pool of donors and managing our budget tightly. But these efforts don't go far enough.
Therefore, we turn to the Parker community for additional help. We are dedicating the Annual Fund to staff compensation. We seek to raise $250,000 in donations to…
- close the compensation gap for all teachers and staff
- attract and retain exceptional teachers
- expand racial and ethnic diversity on staff
This is an essential investment in our students. Please contribute to the extent that you are able. Thank you!
Brian
This week’s topics:
- Supporting Students in Distress Workshop Materials
- Café Wednesday
- Winter Sports
- Yearbook
- Parker Fund
- Information Sessions
- Division 1 Dance
- Division 1 Parent Social
- Senior Projects
- Parker SEPAC (Special Education Parent’s Advisory Council)
- Dental Care at Parker
- Health Office Wish List
- COVID-19 Information
Supporting Students in Distress
Thanks to the almost 100 parents/guardians who joined (in person or remotely) for our presentation on Supporting Students in Distress by Alex Hirschberg this week. Here is a posting of our video of Alex’s presentation from Tuesday night if you would like you watch it when you have time. You can access his PowerPoint slides by clicking here. Resources mentioned in the presentation that you may want to follow up with are below:
- Chris Kearney, Ph.D. (School Refusal)
- David Burns, M.D. (positive psychology, with focus on anxiety/depression)
- Eli Leibowitz, Ph.D. (how adults can change their own behavior to support struggling kids)
Other Related Resources: Lynn Lyons, LICSW (stop the worry cycle)
Café Wednesday
Come and enjoy the first Café Wednesday of the school year! Students and faculty will perform a variety of talents from 6:30 to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, November 9th, in the Auditorium! Email [email protected] and/or [email protected] with questions!
Winter Sports
All practices will begin on Monday, November 28th, and will be held Mon-Fri that week. Sports offered are Winter Track, Basketball (middle school, JV, and Varsity), and Co-op Ice Hockey through Littleton. If you have not registered yet, please do so as soon as possible using this form: Athlete Registration. Parents must provide proof of a current physical exam at the beginning of every season of participation. A Sports User Fee of $300 is due prior to the first game. Click here for more information.
Yearbook
Yearbooks are now available for order at the following link: Parker Yearbook Orders. Prices are discounted by $5 until January 31st, 2023:
· Hard Cover books are $55 · Soft Cover books are $35 · Div 1 books are $15
Div 1 books contain everything but sections for Division 2, Juniors, Seniors, and senior parent ad pages. Make sure to look for the price of the book you’d like to order to add the correct version to your cart. Yearbook ($55) is the hard cover book, while the soft cover and Division 1 books are listed lower on the page as Exclusive Offer. Yearbooks for seniors can also be purchased after ordering your parent ad at this link: Parker Parent Ad Sales.
The Parker Fund has Launched!
See Brian’s Friday letter above for what this essential fund will be supporting this year. To help us close the compensation gap for Parker faculty, click here.
Information Sessions
Enrollment Information sessions for families interested in applying for the lottery for next school year begin next week. Please share this link with others you know who might like to attend and learn more about Parker: https://www.theparkerschool.org/enrollment/information-sessions-dates-rsvp
Division 1 Dance
Division 1 will be having their first Parker Dance on Friday, November 18, 2022, from 6:00-8:00 PM. The cost is $5 cash or on UNIPAY before the dance, $10 at the door. Pizza, drinks & snacks will be provided. The theme is a Masquerade Party Dance. Students will receive more information in advisory.
Coming to the Division 1 Parent Social?
We are gauging interest and collecting information to help us plan a Parent Social during the Div 1 dance on November 18th from 6-8 PM. If you are interested in attending a social gathering with other parents that evening, please fill out this short form.
Senior Projects - Share Your Ideas!
Spend a few minutes listening to the Senior Project topics that Parker's Class of 2023 plans to pursue this year! The link below will give you access to each senior’s “elevator speech” and provide a space for you to offer ideas, resources, contacts or other helpful information that can push their projects forward!
Parker Class of 2023 Senior Projects: CLICK HERE to share ideas, resources and contacts! Respond with ideas for a few seniors or all! Remember to click submit when you are done!
Parker SEPAC (Special Education Parent's Advisory Council)
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, November 30, 2022, at 6:30 PM (REMOTE). Please email [email protected] if you would like to be a member of the SY2022-2023 SEPAC Board or would like to learn more about SEPAC.
Dental Care for Students Coming to Parker
Reminder, students have an opportunity to receive dental care here at Parker School through the Caring for Kids program on Tuesday, November 22nd. All dental personnel will be vaccinated and screened prior to working on students. Please read about Caring for Kids and complete the documents by clicking HERE and return to Nurse Lisa as soon as possible. The dental program provides a dental examination, x-rays, fluoride treatment, sealants, dental education, teeth cleaning, silver diamine fluoride (as needed), and SMART restorations. There is no direct cost to the patient. However, if the child has insurance, the insurance will be billed. If you have any questions, please email Lisa Zick at [email protected]
Health Office Wish List
The Health Office Wish List has been updated with items currently needed. All donations are very appreciated and allow the nurse to better care for students and staff at Parker. Thank you!
COVID-19 Information
The following are positive cases in the Parker community from 10/28/22-11/4/22:
- Staff – 2
- Students – 3
Please click here for Current Health Office COVID-19 Protocols and Information.
Sports Schedule
Upcoming Dates of Note:
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Tue |
Nov 8 |
Board of Trustees |
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Wed |
Nov 9 |
Café Wednesday |
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Fri |
Nov 11 |
Veterans Day – No School |
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Fri |
Nov 18 |
Division 1 Dance |
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Wed |
Nov 23 |
Noon Dismissal |
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Thu-Fri |
Nov 24-25 |
Thanksgiving Break |
Click here for the online calendar.
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Looking for help with or information concerning: |
Please contact: |
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a specific class or assignment |
the teacher of that class (see Parker email list) |
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technical support |
email: [email protected] |
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your family’s or student’s health |
email: [email protected] |
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mental health/emotional support needs |
email: [email protected] |
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food insecurity/free and reduced school lunch needs |
email: [email protected] |
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The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is committed to equal employment and educational opportunity for all members of the school community and prohibits discrimination on the basis of the basis of race, color, gender, pregnancy or pregnancy status, religion, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability, in the operation of the educational programs, activities, or employment policies.
