Weekly Information for October 18, 2024

Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, It was great to see everyone at PLP conferences today. We are proud of our students for setting meaningful and challenging goals and helping to lead today’s discussion. This is one of the many ways that students drive their learning at Parker and an essential way that we partner with families. Thank you. I want to recognize Ben Benoit, our Athletic Director and Coach, as he prepares to tackle the Appalachian Trail . As you know, Ben will be taking a sabbatical this spring and summer to hike the full length of the AT. This is a lifelong dream and personal challenge for Ben. He starts tomorrow in Georgia and plans to be home in time for the start of the school year in August. That’s 2190 miles over five months, averaging about 15 miles a day! We are excited for Ben and draw inspiration from his passion and determination. And this comes after a year in which the Boys Cross Country team and the Boys Winter Track team both won State Championship and Ben was named Coach of the Year for both seasons. That’s quite a year for our teams and our coach! We look forward to a few reports and photos from the trail. Henry Schrader will serve as the Interim Athletic Director from now until the start of the next school year . Henry will continue as a teacher, Domain leader and Divisional Co-Coordinator in addition to this new role. We appreciate Henry’s strong leadership and the continuity that he provides. Thank you, Henry. We look forward to kicking off the Spring sports season on Tuesday, March 17th. If you haven’t yet registered and you want to play one of the many sports offered, see the details below. Enjoy the long weekend! See you Tuesday, March 17th. Brian

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

Dear Parker Students, Families and Staff, Thank you to everyone who helped to spread the word about Parker. Enrollment applications for next year continue to be strong and the response from families has been very positive. We have two days left! The application deadline is this Sunday, March 1 and the student lottery is Thursday, March 5 . 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. For additional details and a link to the application visit parker.school/enroll . We welcome NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) for their Decennial Accreditation visit next week. Every ten years, we invite NEASC into our school to evaluate teaching and learning, academic achievement, school culture, facilities and more. As a result, Parker will continue to be a NEASC accredited school. They will be on campus Tuesday and Wednesday, March 3 and 4, visiting classes, meeting with students and teachers, and reviewing our self-study. We will share the results of their visit and their final report later this Spring. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this two-year process, particularly Marena and Kris who have done excellent work leading the effort! We are thrilled to launch Parker Giving Week from March 16-20 , a new tradition celebrating the anniversary of our charter application — the milestone that opened the doors to the school our students and families know and love today. This year, your impact will be tripled! Thanks to a few incredibly generous donors who have pledged $20,000, every dollar you contribute during Parker Giving Week will be matched 2:1! That means your gift has triple the power to strengthen our programs and enrich our students’ experience. Every penny raised during Parker Giving Week goes directly to our students, supporting: Small class sizes that allow teachers to truly know each learner More direct attention and academic support to help students thrive Greater access to clubs, sports, and activities that build confidence, community, and joy Thank you for your support. Brian

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

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