Dear Parker Families,

When my two daughters first came to Parker, the school was located in the old military building - with no windows, flotsam and jetsam for furniture, and fears of being locked in a large vault. But at least there was enough space.

My kids are long gone from Parker and those wild startup days seem like ages ago. But, receiving the Parker Way in the mail inspired me to dust off my old PEF fundraising hat and dive in again. I’ve been working with a group of alumni parents so that we too can help contribute to this new classroom addition. And one of the reasons I’ve been working so hard is that I know that space matters.

I've seen it from both sides. I've watched my kids, other students and the Parker staff struggle with the space limitations at 49 Antietam and I've spent nearly 30 years working in public schools. Sometimes, as a specialist, I've worked in closets and hallways. Now I'm lucky enough to be in a space where everything fits and is accessible (courtesy of state funding for a new public school—a privilege for which Parker is unfortunately not entitled).

There is no question that space makes a difference - a huge difference. No matter how dedicated and stalwart educators are, it makes a difference in the quality of what they can do for their students. You can only imagine what good teachers and staff can accomplish when allowed to be creative in their own spaces.

We started the Parker Essential Fund years ago to address the enormous chasm between the money Parker received from the charter school funding formula versus what it needed. And just as today, everyone—parents, students, and staff—was considered part of the Parker Essential Fund, and we all worked together to help Parker. We soon discovered how incredibly generous the Parker community is. This generosity has been shown over and over again.

Raising one million dollars is daunting, but an opportunity to buy classroom space at a fraction of what it normally costs doesn't often come along. It needs to be done now. I'm hoping that all of us--alumni parents, alumni, current parents, current students, staff, and all other members of the Parker community--dig deep to support the addition at Parker. It is one of the best investments we can ever make.

Sincerely,

Maureen Wojcik

I am grateful my daughter is at Parker and is receiving a quality-individualized education, full of respect and inspiration.   Her experience at Parker is comparable to that of a private school, and I feel very fortunate since I could not afford those prices. 

Now, Parker needs my help to buy the classrooms. I have given a gift that is ten times more than I have ever given.  This gift is a fraction of what it would have cost if she had attended a private school and it is a way I can show my gratitude for what the school has given to my child.  

Kim Draper

Dear Parker Families:

In Division Three, new classes are underway.  There is a new energy present as new students are beginning to engage in new classes.  In MST this year, we have more course offerings than ever before.  Since I have been at Parker, we in MST have longingly looked at the various AH course titles and have made it our mission to strive towards offering more options.  “Why should those guys in AH have all the neat course titles?”, we wondered.  We wanted more than Trigonometry, Chemistry, Physics and Biology.  This semester, I think we may actually have as many different titles as those folks in AH!  It is exciting to see new courses on the menu like Marine Biology and Computer Programming joining the list of established courses like Plant Biology, Engineering Design and PreCalculus, to name just a few.

Last spring I developed and taught a new course called Engineering Design.  My goal was simple:  Teams and Projects 100% of the time.  I planned and I planned.  I visited other schools to “see what they were doing.”  Everywhere I went, I visited with teachers in classrooms that had workbenches, shelves, cabinets, cupboards, tables, tools, the list was endless.  Undaunted I pressed forward.  This was Parker after all, I could be creative.  My big class project was for the students to design and build ergonomically correct full size cardboard chairs.  It would be great, I mused.  I knew my husband had a connection to “free cardboard” and I love free things.  I decided that fancy classrooms were great, but my 18 students and I would huddle in Room 20 and make full scale cardboard chairs!

One month into the Chair Project, I found myself wondering on a daily basis, “What was I thinking?”  There was cardboard everywhere.  There were sheets of cardboard flopped against the closets, there were pieces of half completed projects in front of the whiteboard, and oh yes, poor Ruth trying to get her Spanish cart into the room so she could teach.  “What was I thinking?”  As the project neared its completion, we had 4 full size chairs (all fabulous by the way) but no room to put them.  The students would carry them half way around the building to Room 28 where we stored them and then retrieved them the following day for class.

As I look towards my new students this semester, I am aware that while free cardboard is great, I need to be conscious of space, not just for constructing work, but for keeping work from one day to the next.  I need to start making choices about what I can and cannot do, what my students can and cannot do.  Space, or the lack of it, dictates much of how teachers at Parker make curriculum decisions.  It’s not right, but it’s reality.

This week, as we eased into our new classes, my colleagues and I sat and discussed our room needs.  We had to determine which class should be taught where.  “But if Plant Biology goes into Room 18, then there is no room for the plant growing cart!”  “And Marine Biology in Room 20 means 18 kids sitting at tables designed for 16 kids.”  It would have been easy for each teacher at the table to say what would be easier for them—we probably would have all arm-wrestled for Room 23—but thankfully our decision making process didn’t lead us there.  Instead, we thought about which room would allow for the greatest learning opportunities for our students, given the space constraints that we live in at Parker.  In the end, we are all changing rooms tomorrow in the hope that we have given thought to what makes the most sense for our kids.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Heidi Kulik

Division 3 MST