May 23, 2025
Weekly Information for May 23, 2025
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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff,
The next few weeks will be very busy and meaningful for our school. Students, work hard, ask for help and finish strong. As we approach Graduation, Gateways, Junior Retreat and much more, take a moment to thank all your teachers, family and friends who have supported you and contributed to your success. We don’t do it alone.
We are looking forward to tonight’s prom at Wachusett. We appreciate the Parker teachers and families who help to make prom a safe and fun evening for our students. It is one of the many ways that we come together to celebrate and build memories as a community.
Next Wednesday, May 28th, we welcome Rabbi Josh Breindel as our guest speaker for a community conversation on antisemitism and hate speech. The community conversation will focus on the history and impact of the Nazi swastika, its unique impact on the Jewish community with its association to antisemitism, and its use in the normalization of hate speech more broadly towards other groups. We explore what steps young people can take to stand up and bring hope. Thank you to the Multicultural Connections student group for hosting this important discussion. We end the day with Advisory reflections and an activity.
Thank you to the Parker Parent and Caregiver Community (PPCC) for hosting yesterday’s Ice Cream Social for new students and families. We had over 100 attendees. We will be hosting a series of events over the spring and summer to welcome new students and families, including a potluck dinner the night before registration day on Tuesday, August 26th. Details to come.
I hope that you enjoy the long weekend with your family and friends. On Monday, May 26th we observe Memorial Day, a solemn remembrance of the 1.3 million Americans in the military who died serving our country. We appreciate the men and women in uniform for their service and ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms. We pause on this day in remembrance and gratitude.
Brian
This week’s topics:
- Launching Our Seniors
- D3 Spanish Field Trip
- Lost & Found – FINAL CHECK!
- Event Parking Reminder
- SEPAC Meeting
- 30 Gifts Participation Drive
- 5K Volunteers Needed
- MCAS Testing
Launching Our Seniors
Members of the Class of 2025 are looking forward to their last day of classes on Friday, May 30th, and to their Graduation ceremonies the following week! Seniors are also planning to continue the tradition of a “Senior Prank” on Friday morning, May 30th. Every year, Seniors welcome students and staff with a unique theme on the morning of their last day. Previous themes have included “Beach Party” and “Pirates v. Ninjas.” This year’s theme is still a secret! But the theme is likely to involve performance/engagement during morning drop-off. That could involve costumes, squirt guns, and music. We’ve asked the seniors to be safe, respectful and fun-loving during morning drop-off. We will be outside to ensure everyone’s safety.
In the past, some parents have voiced concerns about squirt guns hitting their vehicles during drop-off. If you and your child want to avoid the scene, please consider alternatives to on-campus drop-off for your student next Friday morning. Antietam Street or P5 are the best options. Students may enter the building through the back doors if they wish.
Spanish Field Trip
Division 3 Spanish students went on a field trip to the El Punto Urban Art Museum in Salem, MA. The Punto Urban Art Museum features about 50 murals across four city blocks, many created by world-famous street artists. During this field trip we explored cultural connections through the murals and learned about the neighborhood traditionally home to numerous immigrant groups in Salem. This museum is recognized as a National Historic District located in a predominantly Latino-influenced barrio known as El Punto.
Lost & Found – FINAL Check!
You are welcome to check the LOST & FOUND at any time during these final weeks of school to see if there are any items belonging to you or your loved ones! ALL unclaimed items will be donated after the school year ends.
Event Parking Reminder
During school events (e.g., Graduation, Gateways), our on-campus parking is insufficient for our whole school community. Please remember and join in our community norms by parking in the Museum Lot (P-5), located across Jackson Road, allowing guests with limited mobility to use the available spaces on campus. Thank you!
SEPAC Meeting
ParkerPac will be holding an online meeting from 7-8:30 PM Thursday, 5/29, via zoom. Part of our time will be dedicated to hearing from families about what SEPAC presentations they would like to have next year. Here is the zoom link:
- Topic: PARKERPAC Zoom Meeting
- Time: May 29, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84097696327?pwd=MDOMDdApzqmvGWDW5eshxZCN4gAk34.1 - Meeting ID: 840 9769 6327
- Passcode: 156030
Contact Jesse Lowe with questions at jesselowe7@mac.com.
30 Gifts in the Month of May!
Donor participation matters, so we’ve set a goal of 30 gifts in the month of May to show we have many donors who stand up for Parker students and teachers with their donation! We still need your help! Current and new donors are encouraged to participate! EVERY donor is APPRECIATED and ESSENTIAL to Parker!
This month, it’s all about participation. Whether you give $30, $130, $300 or $3,000, your gift brings us one step closer to our goal and helps keep Parker thriving.
Click here to make your gift today! THANK YOU!
Parker 5K Fun Run Volunteers Needed
Are you looking for ways to get more involved at Parker? We need to form a committee to start planning our 2nd Parker 5K Fun Run! The event date has been set for Sunday, October 12, 2025! Please reach out to Katrina at ktedstone@theparkerschool.org to learn more.
MCAS Spring Testing
MCAS testing wraps up with 8th grade Civics MCAS on May 27. A small number of 10th graders will take the Bio test in early June.
Cafeteria Menus
Sports Schedule
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 - May 26 | Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL |
| Tue - May 27 | 8th Grade Civics MCAS |
| Fri - May 30 | Last Day for SENIORS |
| Wed - Jun 4 | NOON Dismissal |
| Wed - Jun 4 | GRADUATION |
| Fri - Jun 6 | Gateways Begin |
| Wed - Jun 11 | Divisional Trips |
| Thu - Jun 12 | Board of Trustees |
| Mon - Jun 16 | THE BIG END - Last Day of School |
| Mon - Jun 16 | NOON Dismissal |
| 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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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
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Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, I often find this time of year provides a reminder to me to have hope amidst the short, dark, cold winter days we endure. By mid-January, I can start to see signs of more light, and sometimes we experience an unseasonably warm day or two—and these changes, though small or temporary, remind me that little by little, every day, tangible things are changing. The Winter Solstice had 6 hours and 12 minutes less daylight than the Summer Solstice. That’s a pretty dramatic difference—but it happened a little bit at a time. Going the other direction works the same way; first we gain only a few seconds of light each day, but by early January, we are gaining a minute of light each day, and by early February, several minutes a day. Change is funny like that—sometimes it happens so gradually we don’t see or feel its impact right away and sometimes it barrels in so we are acutely aware of it. The physical shock of greeting students at the front door this morning in much colder temperatures than yesterday morning is a fine example of the latter. This was a change not to be ignored, and even though I knew to expect it, that didn’t mitigate the jarring effects. Still, that brief respite of days edging toward 50 degrees can fuel my hope that warmer days are coming. Learning is rarely a predictable increase like the amount of light we gain daily moving from winter to summer, but it is often an incremental shift. Sometimes the slow building of skills starts to become evident only with what feels like a lot of effort and time. If you have a student about to complete a mid-year Gateway, you will soon see this sort of change and growth in their work right before your eyes. If your student is working toward a June gateway, or even a gateway next January or June, I would encourage you to look for those small, incremental changes between here and there. Those sometimes-tiny changes are like the extra moments of light in a winter day; they are adding up to something bigger that will be well worth the wait, and I hope that can give us all a little hope this time of year. Best wishes for a restful weekend and a meaningful celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Monday, January 19. Bex
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
