August 28, 2026

Weekly Information for August 28, 2026

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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff,


Welcome back to school. We are off to a terrific start! Huge welcome to the 81 new students and eight new staff members who joined us this year. As I said the everyone yesterday morning at the Big Beginning – we all made a choice to come to Parker. We chose a school that challenges students to use their mind well, sets high expectations for all students, and supports one another with a tone of decency and trust. Thank you for choosing Parker. We are all better for it.


We want to recognize all the ways that students provide leadership at Parker. Our students serve as elected leaders of the JC and CC, sports captains and theatre leaders, Teaching Assistants and Student Ambassadors. These students and more make up the Parker Peer Leaders program. They played an essential role in welcoming our new students and setting the tone for a positive year ahead. It was great to see 84 students proudly wearing their Peer Leaders shirts at the Big Beginning. We appreciate all our student leaders!


Please join us next Wednesday for the third annual Potluck Dinner hosted by the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC). The dinner is next Wednesday, September 2 from 6:00-8:00 pm in the Parker auditorium. New and returning students and families are welcome. Please bring a dish and join us. It is a terrific way to kick off the school year, share a meal, and make a new friend. Thank you to the PPCC and the Parker Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) for their voice and leadership.


We are looking forward to a great year. We hope to see you next Wednesday.


Brian

This week’s topics: 
  • Pot Luck Social
  • Nature’s Classroom
  • Seeking Soccer Coach
  • Instructional Aid Position Available
  • Attention Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
  • Fall Blood Drive
  • Hello from the PPCC
  • ParkerPAC Upcoming Meetings
  • Phone Free Reminders
  • Asbestos Notice
  • Parker Life Reminders
  • Drop-off and Pick-up
  • MART Shuttle
  • Meal Information
  • Thermos Recall
  • Carpool List
  • Health Office Wish List
  • Thank You!
Pot Luck Social

The Back to School Pot Luck will be held next Wednesday, September 2, from 6pm-8pm at the school. This event is open to all students and their families. Please bring a dish to share, along with a serving utensil. Plates, napkins, utensils will be provided. This is a great opportunity to connect with new and old friends and welcome a new school year!


Nature's Classroom for Division 1

Division 1 Families: Nature’s Classroom paperwork and fee are due on Monday, September 21st. If you need another set of forms, please contact your student’s advisor. Please do not allow money to be a barrier for participation; there is scholarship money available confidentially by contacting Michelle McKenna at mmckenna@theparkerschool.org.


Seeking Soccer Coach

Dear Parker community: Middle school JV Boys soccer program is looking for some extra assistance for this current season. Practices are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 4:00-5:30. If you have any interest and availability, please reach out to interim AD Henry Schrader Hschrader@theparkerschool.org for more information. 


Instructional Aide Position Available

We are currently hiring for at least one part-time instructional aide for the current school year. The position includes 15-25 hours of general instructional support tasks throughout the school. More information about this position is available here. If you or someone you know is interested, please submit an application on school spring.


Attention Sophomores and Juniors

The PSAT will be on Wednesday, October 7. If you want to sign up for PSATs, sign up with Jinnee by Friday, September 11th. Check your email for details!


Attention Seniors

SATs will be on Wednesday, October 7. ACTs will be Tuesday, October 13. If you want to sign up for SATs or ACTs, sign up with Jinnee by Friday, September 11th. Check your email for details!


Fall Blood Drive

Are you interested in helping to plan and run our fall blood drive? Message Jinnee (jstrus@theparkerschool.org) to find out more details


Hello from the PPCC

The Parker Parent/Caregiver Community (PPCC) is a parent/caregiver led group with a mission to create a space where parents/caregivers from different towns can get to know one another, both online and in person, to support one another and our families, as well as the teachers and school. We are a resource for new-to-Parker families and returning families alike. We foster community by organizing events related to teacher appreciation and parent/caregiver socializing, by maintaining our own Facebook page, and by communicating with the administration, parents and caregivers about their needs and volunteer opportunities, as they arise. If you have questions for or about PPCC send us an email at parkercaregivers@gmail.com. Stay connected with PPCC by joining our Facebook page.

Not on social media? No problem! Events and updates are communicated in the Friday newsletter throughout the year. Wishing everyone a great school year!


ParkerPAC Upcoming Meetings

Hello all! ParkerPac is looking forward to engaging with families of students with special education needs and concerns, including of course IEPs and 504plans. We have started a dedicated Facebook group, the invite to which will be posted on the PCCC group, and have a couple of meetings coming up. We’d love to see you there!

Monday 8/31, at 8pm we will host a zoom meeting. Please join us to share your hopes for the upcoming school year. The meeting invite is available here. Meeting ID: 858 0822 1507 Passcode: 367577

We are also hosting an in person coffee meet up on Wednesday, 9/9, at 8:30am (or whenever you are finished dropping your child off) at Marty’s, 176 Jackson Road, Devens. This is an informal meet up, providing us all a chance to get to know one another and check in on how each of us is doing.


Phone Free Reminders

The following documents were shared in mid-August providing information about Parker’s phone free school day and are provided here as reminders:

 Personal Electronics at Parker: Expectations and Procedures

 FAQs about Personal Devices at Parker

 Phone-Free Technology Resources


Asbestos Notice

Please see the required annual notification regarding our Asbestos Management Plan.


Parker Life Reminders

School Begins at 8:30 AM. Please plan to get your children to school by 8:15 AM so they may be present in their advisories by 8:30 AM. Breakfast can be picked up in the cafeteria and taken to advisory. Students arriving between 7:30-8:00 AM should go to the library.

Parents/Guardians must notify the school office daily of any Late Arrivals, Absences, or Early Dismissals. Please let the office know of an absence before school starts using the Attendance Line, which is available 24 hours a day at 978-772-3293 x1. In the case of a prolonged absence, the student’s parents/guardians should notify the principal or designee in a timely manner. It is not acceptable for students to call themselves in late, absent, or dismiss themselves. Parents are notified when their child is not in attendance without any prior notification regarding the absence. Teachers take attendance in every class and notify the school office if any student is missing.

Students should be in a supervised space with an adult after school. Students who are not working with a teacher, participating in an adult-supervised after-school activity, or with a coach should go to the library. Students should be picked up no later than 4:30 PM on M, Tu, Th, F and 3:00 on Wed. There is no after-school supervision on noon dismissal days although some sports may have practice or games.


Drop-Off and Pick-Up Norms

Please refrain from waiting for or picking up students along the far end of the sidewalk in our circle (after the crosswalk) in the afternoons as this space is reserved for the MART shuttle.

The following practices will help reduce congestion and make drop-off and pick-up times flow more smoothly:

  1. Only TURN RIGHT out of the parking lot during peak traffic times
  2. Consider an off-peak pickup time with your student: 3:45 instead of 3:30, for example
  3. Drop-off and Pick-up students on Antietam Street and have students use stairs to access school
  4. Use the lot at P-5 across Jackson Road as a “cell phone lot” to standby until your student is ready or have them walk to you there

Please refer to this page for our Traffic Flow Plan.


MART Shuttle

MART offers shuttle service from select towns (currently Bolton, Lancaster, and Leominster) for $5 per ride or $150 per month. Students must be registered and prepaid with MART to ride, as cash payments are no longer permitted. Non-registered riders may be given a seat on the shuttle as space permits, but priority will be given to students who have called to register. Rides can be scheduled in advance for the entire month or for the following day by 4pm. To register, call 978-345-7711 and select Option 3. For questions, contact maria.maldonado@mrta.us.


Meal Information

Reminder one free breakfast and one free lunch per day are available to all students this year. Children enrolled at Parker are eligible for these free meals regardless of free and reduced status. Additional information and the current menu are available on the cafeteria page of our website. 


Meal Information

SATs will be on Wednesday, October 7. ACTs will be Tuesday, October 13. If you want to sign up for SATs or ACTs, sign up with Jinnee by Friday, September 11th. Check your email for details!


Thermos Recall

Please be aware that Thermos LLC has recalled several models of their Food Jars and Models due to safety concerns. Products included in this recall were sold from March 2008 to July 2024 at Target, Walmart, and other stores, as well as online. For more information, including the model numbers which have been recalled and how to submit a claim for a replacement, visit Thermos’s webpage


Updated Carpool List

An updated carpool list will be available towards the beginning of October.


Health Office Wish List

Throughout the year, the Health Office appreciates donations of tissues, fabric bandages (all sizes but not antibacterial, please), cough drops, and healthy snacks (such as granola bars, pretzels, or popcorn) as these particular supplies are distributed throughout the school on a regular basis. Thank you in advance for your donations that help care for our Parker students and staff!


THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who donated various supplies at the start of this school year. We appreciate our generous community!

Parents of Athletes

Do you know how to find your way to Parker’s playing locations? We have a GREAT feature on our website with interactive Google maps - just enter your address to receive directions to any of our game and meet locations. Find this feature by clicking HERE.

Upcoming Dates of Note:
Wed - Sep 2 Potluck Social
Fri - Sep 4 Noon Dismissal
Mon - Sep 7 Labor Day - No School
Thu - Sep 17 Back to School Night
Tue - Sep 29 Community Connections Night
Wed - Oct 7 SAT/PSAT
Fri - Oct 9 Fall PLPs (No Classes)
Looking for help with or concerning: Please contact:
a specific class or assignment the teacher of that class (see Parker email list)
technical support email: helpdesk@theparkerschool.org
your family's or student's health email: lzick@theparkerschool.org
mental health/emotional support needs email: skelly@theparkerschool.org
food insecurity/free and reduced school lunch needs email: mmckenna@theparkerschool.org

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 race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, homelessness, or disability, in the operation of the educational programs, activities, or employment policies

Recent Posts

Information for September 11, 2026

By Xalli Gordon-Chavez • September 11, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, As you may know, Parker was started 32 years ago by local parents who wanted to play an active role in a new kind of school. Our partnership with families is essential to the success of our students. There are many ways to get involved. First and most importantly, we appreciate that 100% of our families actively participate in Registration Day on August 26 th and PLP days on October 9 th and March 12 th . Helping students develop personalized goals and learning plans, and building a strong relationship with their advisors, provides a strong foundation for the year. We also welcome you to attend Back to School night next Thursday, September 17 th . Families will experience Parker as their child does, following an abbreviated schedule to meet their teachers and get a feel for a typical day. Back to School night begins with Divisional orientations at 6:15 pm and classes start at 7:00 pm. This is a great night to learn about your child’s classes, but not their individual performance. If you have specific questions about your child, please reach out to their Advisors. We invite families to join the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC) and the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). To get involved in the PPCC please send them an email at parkercaregivers@gmail.com and join their Facebook page . To get involved in SEPAC email them at parkerpac7@gmail.com . We thank the PPCC and SEPAC for their voice, support, and leadership. Families are also welcome to join one of the many committees, boards, working groups, or advocacy efforts of the school. If you are intrigued and want to learn more, see Brian or one of our staff members at Back to School Night. We are also looking for substitute teachers and some assistance in the library if you have time in your schedule. If you have questions or are interested, please reach out to Gabby ( gbrummer@theparkerschool.org or Bex ( bwilusz@theparkerschool.org . We always need families to help with key elements of the curriculum. For example, Math, Science and Technology (MST) is hoping to schedule up to six field trips for small groups of high-school aged students in the Spring to STEM-related businesses or non-profits in our region. One of our parents hosted students at Bristol Myers Squibb two years ago. Our students had an incredible experience exploring biotechnology research and development. If you may be interested in hosting a small group of Parker students and teachers, please let Brian or Diane ( dkruse@theparkerschool.org ) know. Finally, our Seniors need your help with their year-long Senior projects. On Tuesday, September 29 th at 7:00 pm we are hosting Community Connections Night, an opportunity for students to share their essential questions and ask for feedback, research ideas, and connections from Parker families. That same night, we host Parker 101 at 6:30 pm for new families to learn more about our program. Many families attend both events that evening.  I hope this is received as it was intended – an open invitation to get involved in ways that work for you and your family. We appreciate and value your partnership! We look forward to seeing you at Parker. Brian

Weekly Information for September 4, 2026

By Xalli Gordon-Chavez • September 8, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Essential questions are rich, complex questions that don’t have single or simple answers. They invite us to wonder about big ideas, to be curious, to seek to understand our own experience in the context of the broader human experience over time and across similarities and differences with others. Good essential questions (which we often call EQs) have a way of calling us to seek out answers and every “answer” raises new questions or illuminates different perspectives, propelling deeper inquiry. Every year, our students help us choose the essential question we will focus on as a school. In the spring, the junior class works in their advisories and as a class to develop themes and rough drafts of questions before debating and discussing and narrowing the many compelling possibilities down to two. On the last day of school, our students vote and at the Big End we share the EQ for the next year. This year’s question is: How can we grow by taking accountability? When I first heard our EQ, my attention went almost exclusively to the end—to the idea of accountability. How do we foster a sense of accountability? Is accountability internally generated or externally enforced—or always both? How does being accountable help foster growth and development? But as I sat with this question and talked about it with colleagues, the richness of the question unfolded and the complexity of what our students have asked us to think about this year came into fuller view. This question focuses on community—on we, not I. This prompts us to think about what holds us together when we aren’t all the same, if we don’t agree or share a common perspective, if we feel pulled by different priorities. It compels us to look around us and generate agreements, foster collaboration, develop alliances, and even to trust. This question asks us to grow—to stretch ourselves, to change, to develop, to move from where we are to a different, hopefully improved, perhaps more complex version of ourselves as a school community. And, finally, this question asks us to consider what we are responsible for, what we might have some ownership of, how we identify and take pride in the quality of our choices, actions, and work. At the start of this year, I am appreciating the way that our students have chosen a question for us that will cause us to dig deep into the way that we both take accountability for and hold each other accountable to our values which the 10 Common Principles outline. I am confident that this EQ will push us to grow and develop together this year and I look forward to all our work together supporting the growth of our students and our school community. Best wishes for a restful holiday weekend.  Bex

Weekly Information for June 18, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 18, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Today we hosted the Big End for the 2025-2026 school year. We gathered in the gym for the final time, and we put a punctuation mark on who we have been and what we have done this school year. It’s important that we mark the ending of each year and that we pause to celebrate what we have accomplished, to notice how we have grown, and to reflect on what we have learned. Congratulations to the 214 Parker students who completed 329 gateways this year! Completing a gateway takes a tremendous amount of dedication, commitment and time and these students deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments. Soon enough, we will find ourselves at the next Big Beginning—and we will focus on a new essential question and set new goals and take on new challenges as a community. In the meantime, it feels important that we take the time to celebrate and appreciate this year’s accomplishments for just a little longer. We will be here over the summer if you need anything, but please note that the main office has different hours than during the school year. Those are listed below for your reference and will be on the school website as well. I wish each of you a restful, restorative summer filled with what you hope for. We look forward to seeing you in August for Registration.  Best, Bex

Weekly Information for June 12, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 12, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It has been a joyful and celebratory week at Parker. 187 students successfully Gatewayed in every division and every domain. The students showcased their learning, reflected on their growth, and celebrated the demonstration of learning that defines Gateways – and as the Common Principle concludes, “the emphasis is on the students’ demonstration that they can do important things.” Congratulations to our students for doing important things at Parker, all year and this week. We are heading towards the Big End next Thursday, June 18th. That is a long tradition of saying goodbye for the summer, signing yearbooks, and having a little fun as a community. Reminder that we have Noon dismissals on both Wednesday and Thursday next week. Junior retreat starts on Monday. Div 1 and Div 2 field trips are on Tuesday. We are pleased to announce that Parker will be helping with the summer camp at the Boys and Girls Club of Leominster and Fitchburg. The camp runs for six weeks for students entering grades 1-8. Parker will be running a series of science exploration sessions. See the attached flyer below for details. We value our terrific partnership with the BGCFL. We will send the final newsletter of the school year next Thursday. Thank you for helping to make Parker a very special place.  Brian

Weekly Information for June 5, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • June 5, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I don’t always think about the origin of that word “milestones”, but likely because I have been using that word frequently lately, I have been thinking about its history. The word originally (and sometimes still) referred to large stones that were placed on roads to help travelers find their way and mark their progress in ancient times. Of course, transportation was different then. People traveled in slower ways and without the many devices we have which tell us how fast or how far we have gone, how to get where we are going, and if there are any dangers ahead. When we are on familiar journeys, in addition to the mile markers and signs customary on our roads, we also have all the familiar sights to help us understand our progress. Given Parker’s educational philosophy and unique academic program, many of our milestones are similarly distinctive. We spend a lot of time helping students understand and prepare for their milestone moments. It starts as early as 7th grade when students go to see Senior Project Exhibitions and the gateways of friends moving into division 2—or even earlier when they complete oral presentation assignments (OPs) is class. It happens when we include the Juniors in the graduation ceremony, not only to acknowledge the transition from one class to another, but also so that they know what to expect at a Parker graduation. They hear different examples of student speeches, and we hope they can start to think about if they want to speak and what they might say at their own graduation. Milestones, whether literal or metaphoric, help us to understand and recognize where we are on our path and to think about the next bit of progress we want to make. That is as true of the Division 1 and 2 gateways that will start next week as it is for the Graduation of the Class of 2026 which we celebrated on Wednesday evening. I hope you have had and will have an opportunity to celebrate and witness some of these important milestones with us in these last few weeks of the school year. I would also invite you to join us in celebrating the last Parker milestone for our most recent graduates. Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2026! We are excited for you and so proud of what you have already accomplished. Wishing you a restful weekend, Bex

Weekly Information for May 29, 2026

By Gabby Brummer • May 29, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, The last month of the school year brings a mix of emotions for all of us. We are excited, tired, and hopeful. We are busy preparing for Senior Exhibitions and Gateways, authentic demonstrations of learning that are both celebratory and stressful. We are so proud of all our students for whom this is a major milestone and capstone experience. We just set up the tent and staging for graduation, the final milestone on their Parker career. Congratulations to our Seniors and their friends, family and teachers who supported them. Graduation is a celebration for our whole community and an important moment to say thank you. This will be our 27 th Commencement exercises on Wednesday, June 3 rd . We will miss our Seniors as they head off to life after Parker. Thank you for making us proud. Many times across the school year, we have asked our students to represent Parker to the outside world. Whether welcoming prospective students and families, competing in athletics, robotics, math team or other co-curriculum competitions, speaking at conferences, or welcoming visitors – our students show the value of a Parker education. We are sad to say goodbye, but honored to share our graduates with the rest of the world! Later next week, we welcome everyone to join us for an end-of-year celebration. There will be live music, fundraiser raffle baskets, and good cheer for families and friends of Parker. Join us on Friday, June 5 th at 4:30 pm at Sterling Street on Devens. Please RSVP here so we know you’re coming. Thank you for celebrating our students!  Brian