January 10, 2026

Weekly Information for January 9, 2026

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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff,


We had the rare treat of a two-week winter break this year. It was great to welcome our well-rested students back to school on Monday. We have a busy three weeks remaining of the first semester. Students are completing assessments and many are preparing for Midyear Gateways. 68 students will Gateway, in every division and domain, on January 22-23. We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with our students and their families, teachers and peers. Second semester brings new electives for Division 3 students, new Community Blocks for all students, and the anticipation of end-of-year activities.


We have officially kicked off student recruiting for next year. We have five information sessions scheduled in January and February, we are about to send postcards to prospective students, and we have a terrific group of student and adult Ambassadors. Thank you to everyone who helps to spread the word about Parker and welcome new students and families. Word of mouth has always been the most effective way that we introduce Parker to new families. If you have a neighbor or friend who may be interested in Parker, please share your experiences. We’d love your help boosting our school’s visibility. When you see our posts on Facebook or Instagram, please take a moment to like and share them with your networks. Your support helps us reach more families and celebrate the great things happening in our community.

 

Additionally, remember, younger siblings need to apply to be eligible for admission. There is a sibling preference in the lottery, but you still need to apply. For additional details and a link to the application visit parker.school/enroll.


We appreciate everyone who contacted their legislator and advocated for charter schools this fall. As you may know, there are multiple pieces of legislation under consideration that would lower the cap of charter-eligible students and limit funding for charter public schools. Many families are surprised to learn that students attending charter public schools receive less state funding than their peers in district schools. As lawmakers begin shaping next year’s state budget, we have a critical opportunity to make our voices heard and push for the equitable funding that our students deserve.


We are about to launch Fair Funding Week 2026 led by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. We hope that you will join us for this virtual week of celebration, advocacy, and collective action from February 2-6, 2026. Fair Funding Week kicks off with an inspiring virtual rally on Monday, February 2nd from 6:00–6:30 PM.


Register now and stand with us


Have a great weekend.

Brian

This week’s topics: 
  • Boys and Girls State
  • 2026-27 Calendar
  • Yearbook
  • Parker Fund
  • Weather Related Text Alerts
  • Lost & Found Pickup
  • Please Don’t Idle
Boys and Girls State

Attention Juniors: Are you interested in civics and democracy? Would you like to participate in a week-long immersive program where you will create and manage your own community and government? If you are interested, please attend the Boys and Girls State information session during lunch on Thursday, January 15th in Jinnee's office. You will get to hear from last year's participants and learn more about the program. See Jinnee with questions or for more information!

https://www.maboysstate.org/   https://www.massgirlsstate.org/


2026-2027 Calendar

The calendar for next school year has been approved by the Board of Trustees and a printable version is available on the Current Families webpage under the online calendar.


Yearbooks – Discounted Price

Order your 2025-2026 yearbook by January 31st for $5 off regular prices. Hard cover and soft cover books all have the same content while the Division 1 books contain the same whole school and Division 1 sections but not the sections for Division 2, Juniors, Seniors, and senior parent ad pages. Currently, hard cover books are $55, soft cover books are $35, and Division 1 books are $15.


Parker Annual Fund

Happy New Year!! Did you know that you can support The Parker Fund with a monthly gift? Start off 2026 by investing in Parker's faculty and program by making a recurring monthly gift to The Parker Fund. Recurring giving is an easy, convenient, and sustainable way to show your care and support for the teachers who nurture your students every day! Click here to make a one-time or recurring gift to Parker. Thank you for your support!


Weather Related Text Alerts

If you did not receive a text message Wednesday morning informing you of the delayed opening and would like to receive future text messages, text YES to 79041. You may have received an initial text message in September, but you must opt-in by replying YES to receive any future messages from us through BrightArrow.


Lost & Found Pickup

The Lost & Found Closet will be cleared on Friday, January 16, 2026. You are welcome to stop by anytime between January 2 – 16 to check for and claim any items belonging to your loved ones.


Please Don’t Idle

Please be reminded that state law restricts unnecessary idling time and governs the time during which a motor vehicle can idle on school grounds in order to improve and protect school campus air quality. If not in a moving queue, a vehicle should not idle to heat or cool for more than one in fifteen minutes. Thank you for being a caring community member.

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:
Mon - Jan 19 MLK Jr., Day - NO SCHOOL
Thu-Fri; Jan 22-23 GATEWAYS
Mon - Jan 26 Faculty Planning - No Classes
Tue - Jan 27 Second Semester Begins
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

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By Cindy Johnson • March 14, 2026
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Weekly Information for March 6, 2026

By Cindy Johnson • March 7, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I hope you all are safe and warm on this wintry day. As Brian shared in his last letter: this week, Parker hosted visitors from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) as part of our accreditation process. The group of 7 educators and leaders from around New England included people who have visited Parker before and others who were visiting for the first time. Their work was to get to know our school and to review and evaluate our work on the goals and priorities we as a school identified. They visited classes, they met with different groups of teachers and students, and then they told us what they saw and made recommendations for next steps in our work. It’s a bit like finishing a big assessment, turning it in, and then getting it back with feedback before you revise. They will write a full report on their visit, and when we have it, we will share it with all of you, but they did give us a preview. In a relatively short visit, the team was able to “get” us, and they praised many improvements we have made and celebrated much of what we do well. They were impressed with a lot of what they observed and learned—and the thing they highlighted most in their reflection with the faculty was what they heard from our students, which seems perfectly right. After all, Parker was founded by families who wanted a school that would put their students at the center of their learning. Our visitors heard our students talk about what matters to us as a community (they even passed a pop quiz to name all 10 of the Common Principles!), the hard work they are asked to do, and how they have grown. What the students conveyed was a sense of community and care that supports them to take risks in their learning and grow—and that is just what we hope each and every student will experience. With spring PLPs coming up next week, we hope you too will get a glimpse into what our visitors saw on the individual level with your student/s. We hope the spring PLP conferences will give your students an opportunity to reflect on the hard work they have been doing, what they have learned, how they have grown, and what’s next. Both as individuals and as a school, it’s important to both celebrate progress and set our sights on new challenges. Wishing us all warmer days ahead! Bex

Weekly Information for February 27, 2026

By Cindy Johnson • February 28, 2026
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Weekly Information for February 13, 2026

By Cindy Johnson • February 13, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Wishing you and your family wonderful break! We hope the week off is restful and rejuvenating. We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday, February 23.  Stay safe and warm! Bex

Weekly Information for February 6, 2026

By Cindy Johnson • February 7, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, We are a week away from February break, an opportunity to beat our winter colds and dream about warmer days ahead. For a few in our community, it is an opportunity to experience something new as they travel abroad with their Parker classmates. We are sending groups to the Bahamas and the Netherlands again this year. We hope they have a terrific trip. We appreciate the trust of our families and hard work of our staff to make experiences like this possible. We are less than a month away from our March 1st application deadline for new students and families. Thank you to everyone who helps to spread the word and create a positive buzz around the school. If you have a neighbor or friend who may be interested in Parker, please share your experiences. And remember, younger siblings need to apply to be eligible for admission. There is a sibling preference in the lottery, but you still need to apply. We have three information sessions remaining just before and after break. For additional details and a link to the application visit parker.school/enroll . Thank you to everyone who joined us for Fair Funding Week this week. Of the 68 charter schools in Massachusetts, Parker had the most participants! To kick off the week, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association shared the following video. It is worth a two-minute watch. You will see and hear Parker families and staff throughout the video. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1371197804687927 And our efforts are working! Governor Healy’s budget for next year includes a modest increase in facility funding for charter public schools. While we continue to receive significantly less facility aid than traditional public schools, we appreciate and celebrate steps towards closing that gap. Congratulations to our students on their accomplishments this week. Four Division 1 students recently represented Parker at the Chapter Competition for Mathcounts, a national math competition for middle school students. We are proud to congratulate Nathan Warren, Julia Crighton, Stephen Tatro, and Adam Rhodin for a strong performance—their team came in 3rd place! Our high school Mock Trial Team finished their preliminary trial round this week with an impressive 3-0 win record. They will be advancing to the state tournament, which will be held at Clark University on March 1. We wish them good luck! Thank you for showing up in all sorts of ways to support Parker. We appreciate our community! Have a great weekend. Brian

Weekly Information for January 30, 2026

By Cindy Johnson • January 30, 2026
Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, We have officially started the second semester of the 2025-26 school year! This is both a measure of progress and a time of new beginnings. Here at (or really a little past) the midway point of the year, there are exciting things happening—some as small as a new unit of study in a class and maybe as big as starting new classes in a new division after a mid-year gateway. I had my first chance to join an information session for prospective students and families this week and it was a powerful reminder to me about many of the most important and unique aspects of our school. Whether it was hearing some of our older student ambassadors talk about which of the 10 Common Principles is meaningful to them, or hearing parents share stories of their student’s learning experience at Parker, or seeing our teachers introduce new students to the kinds of learning activities and thinking we ask them to do in school, each of these highlighted an element of our school’s very intentional design. We get to know our students well, we build a caring and inclusive community, and we build on those connections and relationships to challenge and support our students to take on intellectual challenges, push themselves in their thinking and work, and to become independent thinkers and learners. If you or your student have appreciated these (or other things) about Parker, and you would like state lawmakers to prioritize fair funding for all students in every type of public school, you have an opportunity to raise your voice and advocate for us. Next week, February 2-6, is Fair Funding Week, sponsored by the Massachusetts Public Charter School Association. See below for more information about how to register for events and advocate for fair and equitable funding for our students and school. Wishing you all extra warmth over this cold stretch of days. Best, Bex