In June 1999, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted Parker a five-year renewal of its charter as a public school reporting directly to the state Department of Education. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges elected Parker in 1999 as a “candidate member school” for accreditation. 

The school was named after Francis W. Parker, the 19th-century New England educator who is known as the father of American progressive education. Theodore R. Sizer and Nancy Sizer are trustees of the school and participate actively in its ongoing development and work; they served as co-principals in 1998–99.

The Parker Student Body                       

In 2009-2010 the school enrolls 395 students from 40 towns in north central Massachusetts; the socioeconomic, ethnic, and educational characteristics of the student body closely reflect the general population of the region. The class of 2000, which entered in fall 1995, was the first to graduate.

Parker students make their talents visible in regional academic, artistic, and athletic competitions. At both the middle and high school levels they have won highest honors with teams including Odyssey of the Mind, American Bar Association Mock Trial, Math Counts and Math League, and chess. Junior varsity and varsity teams compete with area schools in soccer, basketball, track, cross-country, and baseball and softball. Student musicians perform in state and regional orchestras and have won national notice for their talent.

Parker students present and explain their school to the hundreds of visitors who come to see it each year. As well, they travel around the country to represent Parker at the Coalition’s Fall Forum and at colleges and universities studying various aspects of school reform. In the last few years, for example, Parker students have served as part of a jury for presentations on school design by graduate students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and have addressed an audience of educators at the Antioch University graduate program in Keene, New Hampshire.

On outside measures of achievement, Parker students also demonstrate high achievement, including scores on the required Massachusetts state assessments (MCAS), which they must take at grades 8 and 10.

The Faculty

The Parker School has a distinguished and dedicated faculty. Of the school’s 62 teachers and professional staff, approximately two-thirds hold advanced degrees. Parker teachers work together for three weeks every summer to develop the school’s curriculum and its unique program. All teachers serve as advisers to students, nurturing their intellectual, emotional, social, and ethical development. Parker gives top priority to keeping teaching loads at a level where every student can be known very well. As faculty members at Parker commit to the development and achievement of their students, they also commit to one another's professional growth, believing what current educational researchers are proving: sustained collaboration and critical conversations among teachers benefits and boosts student learning.

To see brief bios of this year's faculty and staff, please click here.

The Trustees

Parker School trustees include distinguished educators from Brown University, Harvard University, and the University of Massachusetts; members of the business community; teachers, parents, and students.

What is a Charter School?

Under the Massachusetts Education Reform Act, the state may grant groups of citizens the right (or "charter") to start new public schools, which report to the state Office of Education and to their independent Boards of Trustees. By freeing these charter schools from the constraints of district supervision, it aims to nurture bold ideas and innovation in existing schools state-wide. Charter schools follow all federal and state regulations about non-discrimination; their admission is open to all.

What is an Essential School?

Established in 1984 by Theodore R. Sizer at Brown University, the Coalition of Essential Schools is a national network of over 1,200 schools and Centers engaged in restructuring and redesigning schools to promote better student learning and achievement.

Essential schools share a common set of ideas known as the Ten Common Principles, which call for schools to set clear and simple goals about the intellectual skills and knowledge to be mastered by all the school’s students; to lower teacher-student loads, personalize teaching and curriculum, and make student work the center of classroom activity; to award diplomas based on students’ "exhibition" of their mastery of the school’s program; to create an atmosphere of trust and respect for the school, faculty, students and parents; and to model democratic practices and honor diversity.
 

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