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Parker WayNews from Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School and the Theodore R. Sizer Teachers Center spring 2016
More than three decades after
Theodore Sizer founded the
Coalition of Essential Schools
(CES), its Ten Common Principles
inspire the work of progressive
schools around the world. Parker,
the school that Ted and Nancy
Sizer helped to found, grounds
all its practices in those beliefs.
In 2016, the national office
of CES began closing down its
former administrative functions.
Instead, it declared its purpose
to be the collective demonstra-
tion of the effectiveness of those
Common Principles.
Its website now brings together
schools where participatory,
progressive education is showing
results. A national portrait is
building there, enriched by the
voices of those (including Parker
alum Kayla Reeves) who describe
the impact of Essential schooling.
Practitioners find each other
in this growing national network,
sharing their work and carrying
it forward in new settings. In this
issue, Parker shows how its teach-
ers learn to “pass it forward.” P
Demonstratingwhat’s Essential,CES lives on
Teachers as LearnersThe New Teachers Collaborative is one of many ways in which Parker makes teacher collaboration
and reflective practice fundamental to its program. Above, James Young, who is earning his
credential at NTC as he co-teaches in Division 2, meets with his colleague and mentor, Sara Bailey.
TH
E
2 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
Dear Friends of Parker,
Parker’s third decade is off to a good
start! Three developing stories—
national, state, and local—are on
my mind this spring: “A Year of
Demonstration” at the Coalition of
Essential Schools (CES); efforts to
expand charter schools in Massachu-
setts through legislation or a ballot
initiative; and Parker’s plans for key
investments in our current facility.
The Coalition of Essential Schools
(CES) is in transition as a national
organization. For over 30 years, its
Common Principles of personalized,
equitable, and intellectually challeng-
ing schools have guided the design
of schools and the work of educators
in all kinds of communities around
the world. In 2016, CES launched its
Year of Demonstration to manifest
the range and vitality of progressive,
democratic education among its
affiliates and like-minded schools.
The December 2016 Fall Forum will
cap that year, and an online site will
keep the conversation alive.
As a widely known CES school,
Parker is also working to build its
own capacity to “carry the torch” of
advocacy, dissemination, and influ-
ence on behalf of progressive educa-
tion in general and the Ten Common
Principles in particular.
Closer to home, the generative
potential of Massachusetts charter
public schools as centers of innovation
is largely being sidelined in the
debate on lifting the existing cap that
limits the number of charter schools.
The legislature, the governor, and
advocacy organizations on both sides
could be wrestling with that issue
well into the coming school year. As
an exemplar of the mission-driven
promise of the charter public school
sector, Parker makes an argument
for supporting demonstration models
to inspire the work of district schools
and others.
Investing in Parker facilities
Here on campus, members of the
school’s Facilities Committee hosted
an informational community meeting
in February to share the committee’s
work of the past two years. Some
highlights from the presentation:
• A summary of findings from a cap-
ital needs assessment (CNA) of our
current facility. The CNA identifies
key features, systems, and building
elements as well as timelines and cost
estimates for their renovation or
replacement in the next twenty years.
• A summary of community conver-
sations facilitated last year among
staff, students, parents, trustees,
and other stakeholders as we visual-
ized an ideal facility. The scenarios
that get us close to an ideal facility
through addition, renovation, or
new construction all would cost
in the range of $40 million—which
is cost-prohibitive at this time.
• Immediate next steps entail identi-
fying key investments Parker must
make in order to continue using its
current facility for the next decade.
The Facilities Committee will continue
to take the lead on this planning
throughout the spring.
In March, trustees voted to
accept the Facilities Committee rec-
ommendation that we invest about
$1.2 million in our current facility in
the next eighteen months (roughly).
A new roof for the entire facility is the
single largest item on the list, which
also includes some window replace-
ments and other high-need projects.
This spring, Parker trustees will be
considering options and choosing a
funding plan for these projects.
Options for that plan will probably
include a mix of fundraising, borrow-
ing, and reserve funds.
Thank you for believing so
strongly in the work we do here at
Parker and have been doing for the
past twenty years! This issue of the
Parker Way will help make some of
that work more visible by “connecting
the dots” among student learning,
adult learning, school leadership,
and democratic values in progressive
public schools.
Todd Sumner, principal
Letter from the Principal
by Todd Sumner
Building student-centered, mission-
driven schools takes thoughtful lead-
ership and a commitment to adult
learning in school, supporting the
teachers and staff who help students
accomplish their goals and reach
their potential. In addition to teacher
induction and training—launching
teachers into their careers as educa-
tors—Parker has a strong record of
building school leadership skills in
the teacher corps.
Carrie Duff and Courtney Harter
now serve as principals in nearby
Leominster and Fitchburg. Matt
and Tricia Underwood have been
leading and teaching in Atlanta
schools for over a decade. Peter
Garbus, Jed Lippard, Michael Mann,
Laura Kretschmar, and the late Steve
Sexton number among the many
other Parker faculty members who
have gone on to found or lead
schools known for innovation and
excellence.
A teacher’s path to principal
Carrie Duff came to Parker from the
independent school sector, attracted
by CES principles and the school’s
place in public education’s landscape
of choice. During her seven years
in the Spanish domain (led by Ruth
Whalen Crockett), Carrie served in
formal and informal leadership roles
at several levels. She joined a group
of faculty and staff tasked with
redesigning Parker’s website and
enhancing its functionality. She
chaired Parker’s decennial NEASC
visiting committee process. She
served as a Parker trustee. She help-
ed implement the Organic World
Language (OWL) program at Parker.
Along the way, she earned her princi-
pal’s license.
“At Parker, the expectation was
that teachers are learners, students
of their own practice,” she said.
“Teachers have their own version of
a Personal Learning Plan.”
A defined mission and a common
purpose, she noted, laid the founda-
tion for that adult learning. “It felt
great to be in a place where all the
adults were rowing to move the boat
in the same direction,” she reflected.
Carrie sees her experience at
Parker as transformative. After train-
ing to coach a Critical Friends Group
(CFG) there, she began to see herself
as “a facilitator of adult learning in
schools,” she said. “Helping teachers
take charge of their own develop-
ment, meeting them where they’re
at, without judgment—that helped
me develop a stance of ‘leader as
coach.’”
Now principal of the Leominster
Center for Excellence, Carrie holds her
second school leadership position
s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 t h e pa rk e r way | 3
special section: Teachers as Learners
How Parker teachers grow into leaders, here and elsewhere
“My seven years at Parker molded
my leadership trajectory. I not only
participated in a student-centered,
mission-driven school, but I also
learned how to make it that way.”
Carrie Duff, Principal
Leominster Center for Excellence
Division 2 Arts and Humanities teachers Jim Desmond and Laura Smith discuss a
student’s assessment.
continued on page 4
4 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
special section: Teachers as Learners
Parker teachers grow into leaders, on the job . . .
after leaving Parker. The school
enrolls 38 students in a highlyindivid-
ualized program of studies and work-
based internships. An “innovation
school” in Leominster’s district, it
partners with Big Picture Learning,
a longtime Coalition of Essential
Schools ally.
“It’s exciting to be creating a
viable, student-centered option for
kids and families in our city,” said
Carrie. And in her new role, she
considers the skills built at Parker
essential.
“I now think less about ‘how can
I succeed with these kids?’” she said,
“and more about ‘how can I help
teachers and staff succeed with these
kids?’”
The power of adult learning
Tricia and Matt Underwood were
drawn to Parker and the Coalition of
Essential Schools (CES) early in their
careers as educators.
“I was at a traditional high school
in Atlanta when I read Horace’s Com-
promise,” Matt said, “and it really
spoke to me. Coming north to study
with Ted Sizer at Harvard’s Graduate
School of Education, he immersed
himself in CES ideas, then joined
the Arts and Humanities (AH) faculty
at Parker, “where Tricia and I met,”
he noted.
Tricia also followed a compelling
idea to Parker, after she met former
Parker principal Teri Schrader during
a Critical Friends Group (CFG) train-
ing. Having spent three years teach-
ing in and trying to reform a large
system, she recognized that “the kind
of collaboration about student work
that happens at Parker is pretty rare,”
she said. “I wanted to be part of it.”
Years later, “putting actual
student work at the center of teach-
ers’ reflective practice still excites
me,” Tricia said. Parker taught her,
she explained, “to let go of my own
expectations and be curious about
next steps—where this student work
leads us as teachers.”
As the high school learning
specialist at the Paideia School, an
independent K–12 school in Atlanta,
Tricia now works “for and with stu-
dents with learning differences,”
she said. Part of the job is to facilitate
teachers’ developing understanding
of “the wonderful and challenging
variability with learning and the
brain,” she notes.
And she regards CES principles
as ageless and universal. “In my
work, I still draw on my Parker expe-
rience every single day in my work,”
she declared.
How ideas spread from Parker
Matt Underwood agrees about the
importance of adult learning in
schools. “At Parker I experienced
what it feels like for all the adults in
the building to be working on
improvement, bringing real work
to CFG and supporting each other
in asking the right next question.”
In starting the Atlanta Neighbor-
hood Charter School (ANCS), Matt
said, “We knew we valued the habits
and dispositions that shape adult
learning at Parker: the questions,
the curiosity, the regular reflection.”
He is executive director of the K–8
school, which in 2011 merged an
elementary charter and a middle
school charter.
Like Parker, ANCS is a member
of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
“We borrowed a lot of structures
and practices directly from Parker,
initially,” Matt said. Now in its four-
teenth year, the K–8 Atlanta Neigh-
borhood Charter School serves 650
students. Like Parker, it has both
a teacher training program and a
collaborative learning center for
educators associated with the school.
Courtney Harter, who formerly
taught Arts and Humanities (AH)
at Parker, now serves as the new
executive director at the Sizer School.
Known earlier as North Central
Charter Essential School, Sizer School
was founded on CES principles by
“Parker taught me to let go of my
own expectations and be curious
about next steps—where this
student work leads us as teachers.”
Tricia Underwood, Learning Specialist
The Paideia School, Atlanta, Georgia
continued from page 3
s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 t h e pa rk e r way | 5
special section: Teachers as Learners
. . . and take promising practices to new schools, over time
Preparing new teachers in a ‘learn by doing’ program
The New Teachers Collaborative
(NTC) is an intensive, site-based
teacher preparation program based
at Parker and partnering with several
area progressive schools. It guides,
supports, and coaches up to ten new
teachers each year. An approved
Massachusetts teacher preparation
program, the NTC program culmi-
nates in licensure and has thus far
graduated more than 100 teachers.
Grounded in teacher collaboration
and reflective practice, NTC follows a
“learn by doing” model. Participants
teach side by side with seasoned
mentors and cooperating teachers.
Coming together in biweekly day-
long seminars as well as a summer
institute, they ground their classroom
experiences in the research on teach-
ing and learning.
Ruth Whalen Crockett, a veteran
Parker teacher and Spanish domain
leader, recently became the program
director for NTC. Its intern teachers,
she said, are “keen observers and
brave experimenters” who embody
Parker’s value of “teacher as learner.”
As they develop their craft, partici-
pants learn both from each other and
from their colleagues in the profession.
“They work hard,” Ruth noted, “to
internalize and personalize the best
practices they witness, as part of their
own developing skill sets.” P
New Teacher Collaborative’s director, Ruth Whalen Crockett (center), meets with teacher
Nancy Graziani (at right) and her mentor, Judy Gibson (left).
another Parker AH teacher, Peter
Garbus, and occupies a new facility
in nearby Fitchburg, Mass.
Courtney came to Parker from
Fenway High School, a CES school
in Boston. “Nine people came to
my Parker interview,” she recalled.
“That gave me an inkling of how
much collaboration was in store.”
During her five years at Parker,
“we created some of the best curricu-
lum I’ve ever designed,” she said.
“Because we kept ‘tuning’ each unit
collaboratively—using actual student
work—those experiences remain
some of the most powerful profes-
sional development I’ve ever had.”
As a leader at the Sizer School,
Courtney is interested in connecting
vision, school structures, and team-
work. “I’m excited to be exploring the
intersection between vision—where
we want the school to go—and the
structures needed to execute that
vision,” she said. “Plus helping peo-
ple feel part of building this together,
as a team. I try to see the whole
chessboard at once, and understand
how all the pieces can pull together.”
Courtney attributes her “out-of-
the-box” thinking in part to her time
at Parker. “Charter schools like Parker
and Sizer enjoy a lot of autonomies,”
she said. “But the basic calculus of
staffing and program and budgets a
re common in all public schools.
Parker taught me a lot about what it
means to lead complex organizational
learning.” P
“Sara Bailey has taught Arts and
Humanities (AH) in Divisions 1 and
2 during her six years at Parker.
“We are never supposed to settle
for what we already know and can
do. This place asks students and
teachers alike to identify growing
edges and pursue them actively.
I am always struck by the excellent
questions people ask. It is rare in
my experience that someone just
says, ‘do this’, and it will be better.
My planning team is really
focused on student work: what the
students will do, or what they have
done. Having time to ‘be struck,’ to
wonder, to change in a non-threat-
ening atmosphere lets cool things
happen. The brilliant thing is that
(usually) no one gets defensive.
You are all working together, and
so many people have had eyes on it
that you can release the ownership.
We just ask, ‘What does the work
need to look like so that kids can
do their best with it?’”
special section: Teachers as Learners
6 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
“ “Kalista Kintzing initially came to
Parker through the New Teachers
Collaborative. (See page 5). She is in
her fourth year teaching Division 1
Math, Science, and Technology
(MST).
“Every day there’s at least one
collaborative meeting with folks
from my domain, my division, or a
cross-section of both. I’m thinking
about how to be a better teacher all
the time, because I’m always seeing
the examples of other teachers.
The tone of decency and trust is
teacher to teacher and teacher to
leader [as well as with students].
Our school leaders are so thought-
ful about what they ask us to work
on, and it’s transparent to students
as well. In my advisory, I might say,
‘In my meeting today we talked
about an idea that is new to us and
I am excited about it.’ We model
this growth mindset and integrity
in our learning, which is really
important for students to see.”
In his first full-time teaching posi-
tion, Phil Seidel co-teaches Division
2 MST at Parker.
“Every day I know there will be
some common time when some-
one is available to confer with me
[about a lesson, a project, or a
student]. The deliberate structure
of the school schedule lets me
access these folks regularly, whether
in formal meetings or just walking
across the hall to compare notes
on how a lesson went.
Working with a co-teacher has
been awesome. In my old school,
it felt like my job was at stake when
someone observed me. Now I have
someone who naturally observes
every lesson that I do and gives me
high-quality feedback to improve
that specific lesson or my teaching
in general. It allows us to practice
what we preach with students:
everyone has areas that they are
strong in, and everyone has areas
to improve in.”
Key structures that support teachers as learners:Common planning time, co-teaching, and critical friends groupsParker’s commitment to continuous improvement,
reflection, and collaboration has central importance for
adults as well as students. After examining 25 years of
data from millions of students across the globe, educa-
tional researcher John Hattie found that one of the most
influential factors in student learning is when “teachers
work together as evaluators of their impact.” (Watch his
TedTalk to learn more.)
Parker makes deliberate structural choices that value,
support, and make time for this kind of collaborative
teacher work. Most notably, its school schedule maximizes
common planning time as a regular part of the school
day. This reflects the conviction that the rich, deep, and
reflective practice of teaching itself constitutes embedded
professional development.
– Deb Merriam
““special section: Teachers as Learners
s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 t h e pa rk e r way | 7
Parker’s weekly schedule reflects the value the school places on preserving time for meaningful teacher collaboration so that teachershave the time, space, and support to be learners as well. The areas marked in green above—which total more than ten hours— represent the common planning time and embedded professional development meetings that every Parker teacher has each week.
Lunch
3.2
1:50
-2:4
0
Academic Block
12:2
5-12
:55 Lunch
3.1
12:5
5-1:
45
AB
2:45
-3:2
03:
20-
3:30 Advisory
CB2:
45-3
:20
Community Block
3:20
- 3:
30 Advisory
1.2
9:45
-10:
352.
211
:351
2:25
2.2
9:45
-10:
35
2.1
10:4
0-11
:30
3.2
9:45
-10:
351.
110
:40-
11:3
01.
211
:351
2:25
12:2
5-12
:55
2.1
12:5
5-1:
452.
21:
50-2
:40
3:20
- 3:
30 Advisory
1.1
12:5
5-1:
451.
21:
50-2
:40
12:1
5-12
:45
12:4
5-1:
30
3.1
10:4
0-11
:30
3.2
11:3
512:
25
1.2
10:1
5-10
:45
3.1
10:5
0-11
:20
3.2
11:2
5-11
:55
12:0
0-12
:15
2:45
-3:2
0
Advisory
8:30
-8:4
51.
29:
45-1
0:35
2.1
10:4
0-11
:30
2.2
11:3
512:
253.
112
:55-
1:45
2:45
-3:2
0
Academic Block
3.2
1:50
-2:4
012
:25-
12:5
5
Lunch
Extended Advisory
Gathering
2.1
8:30
-9:0
0
2.2
9:05
-9:3
5
1.1
9:40
-10:
10
3:20
- 3:
30
8:30
-8:4
5 Advisory
2.1
8:50
-9:4
012
:25-
12:5
5 Lunch
Academic Block
Advisory
Lunch
1.1
8:50
-9:4
0
8:30
-8:4
5 AdvisoryMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8:30
-8:4
5 Advisory
1.1
8:50
-9:4
0
3.1
8:50
-9:4
0
After teaching at many levels in
several Massachusetts schools, Karin
Valencia-Bedard is now in her second
year teaching Spanish at Parker.
“I learn by reflecting with students.
This is the first school where I have
felt that I can [and should] pause to
ask the class, ‘What worked? What
didn’t? What should we keep? What
can we try to do better?’
As adults in the school, we are
always communicating. I never feel
alone. We talk about what we are
doing in class. When we make the
same mistakes, we make modifica-
tions together. We share ideas and
experiences: ‘This is what I tried.
I have this question with a student.’
It builds relationships and lets us
work closely together and learn.”
Laura Warner has taught Wellness at
Parker since 2003.
“Our Critical Friends Group this
year focused on peer observations,
to inform our instructional practice
and to give and get feedback about
our individual instructional goals for
students. My CFG triad has done
weekly or biweekly observations all
year. We discuss our goals, talk about
what form the observation should
take, and discuss what kind of feed-
back we want from each other.
The work feels “low-stakes,” but it
is a highly collegial way to continually
improve. Everybody benefits from
looking at any one person’s dilemma
together. We are all in it together to
consider the questions. We need the
different perspectives of each person
in the group to help us think a little
more expansively about our questions,
our students, our projects. And, we
are all working on learning to give
and receive effective feedback at the
same time. Being able to say, ‘I am
not sure about this,’ and have a col-
league give a suggestion, and then
try it, and do it again, and try it again
is a way to learn.” P
8 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
What students notice about the learning that teachers do
Direct from Students
Students from Divisions 1 and 3
joined Principal Todd Sumner to
reflect on how teachers show that
they are also learners.
They talk to each other like they are
best friends. It’s like a community
where they all talk together. They are
there for each other. They speak in
respectful tones to each other. They
give effective feedback to each
other. – Trevor Bush, Div. 1
What stands out to me in a classroom
environment is how they add to each
other’s ideas—to make them easier
to understand, and to add depth to
them. – Sophie Odell, Div. 1
I was waiting for my ride as the
teachers were getting out of their
meeting. I noticed them walking out-
side, just talking about the meeting,
running scenarios and ideas past
each other. – Aaron Podgorni, Div. 1
The teacher surveys we fill out at
the semester’s end always ask what
activities or teaching style worked well
and what didn’t. The teachers then
revise their own practice from that.
They are doing what the students
do every day, but on a larger scale.
– McKenzie Solo, Div. 3
In one class, the students that came
before us had learned a lot of content
through reading, along with some
hands-on. But our class definitely
had more visual learners, and the
teacher had to shift the approach
to make the learning best for us.
– Elise Wankel, Div. 3
Even after every project, the teachers
ask for feedback, which I think is
great—to improve on what sort of
projects worked for you. – Savannah
DuBois, Div. 3
In your senior project, everyone
follows a different path. Teachers are
instrumental in guiding us, but they
can’t guide us in whatever direction
until we teach them what we’ve
already learned. – McKenzie Solo, Div. 3
Even in the independent research proj-
ects for Division 1, you are teaching
your teachers about topics that they
might not know. – Trevor Bush, Div. 1
Here it’s always welcome for kids to
contribute to teachers as much as
teachers contribute to the kids. For
example, the things I share with new
teachers, about something we do
differently here, are valued even
though a teacher is in a more author-
itative position. This is the sense of
community we have. It’s refreshing,
and it makes me feel better about my
education. – McKenzie Solo, Div. 3
Sometimes visitors have very strong
opinions when they come to Parker.
They are surprised by how open every-
one is to revisions—to the continuums
we use rather than traditional grading
systems. – Sarah Howard, Div. 3
It really opens up a new way to
perceive school. It’s not a threatening
environment anymore. It’s a place
to grow. – Sophie Odell, Div. 1 P
Students meet with Todd Sumner to think and talk about how and why their teachers learn.
s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 t h e pa rk e r way | 9
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Jim and Michele McIntyre * The McKeon Family * The McNulty and Walunas Family * Lucy McQuilken * Deborah Meier * Deb Merriam
Susan Metcalf * Microsoft * Dalton Middleton * Marina Middleton * Daniel and Ladawan Monsen * Timothy and Janice Moore
Marcy and Robert Mula * Brian and Julie Muldoon * Steve and Susan Munyon * Elaine Niedermeier * John and Lynn Nixon * Novartis
Peter and Judie Ochsner * Katharine Odell * J.M. and K.D. O’Hara * The Olson-Browns * Greg Orpen * Marc and Debbie Osofsky
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Matching Grant Program * Richard, Catherine and Julia Parmelee * James Pascoe and
Geraldine Zang * Cathy and Walter Pearlman * Timothy Pearlman * Roger Peduzzi and Sara Martin * The Pember Family
The Penna Family * Julia G. Perlman * Ken and Lisa Perry * Kathleen Phelps * Anthony Piltzecker * Sergio and Ashlyn Pineiro
Plymouth Rock Foundation * Louis and Kathleen Poirier * Joseph and Jane Presti * The Ratta Family * Raytheon * Brian and Pam Reeves
Chris Reeves * Kayla A. Reeves * Kyle G. Reeves * Christine Regan Davi * Jeffrey Remillard and Stephanie Gant * Jeff and Leslie Rice
Paul Richards and Sophie Carlhian * Mr. William Rigero Jr. * Stephen Roach and Amy Hilbert * Mary Roche * Karen Roduta *Rollstone Charitable Foundation * The Rouleau Family * Timothy Roy * William and Pauline Sager * Barbara Salzman * George and
Pam Sanderson * Paul and Deborah Schottler * Teri and March Schrader * Jacob Schrader * Susan and Stuart Schulman
The Schultze Family * The Scullane Family * Barbara Seeber-Wagner * Susan Seghir * Ed and Joan Shankle * Silicon Valley Community
Foundation * Peter Silvia and Karen Kazanjian-Silvia * Kathy and Ajeet Singh * Hal and Susan Sizer * Nancy Sizer * William and
Christine Skirkey * Matt and Laura Smith * Becky Solomon * The Stack Family Fund * Meg and Duke Stafford * Dan and Debby Steigman
Aaron Stockwell * Jessica Stokes * Karen Stratton * Todd Sumner and Mark Melchior * Virginia Tang Fahey * Jonathan Tang and
Madeline Wu * Carl Tappan * Linda Taylor * Paula Terrasi * Michael and Leah Terrasi * The Thomas Family * Thomson Reuters
TIBCO Software Inc. * Joel Tickner * Mary Timmons * John M. Toomey * Julie Trudeau * Martin and Paula Turnbull * Patricia Tuzzolo
W. Chase and Barbara Underwood * The Christine L. Vanasse Trust * The VanderWilden Family * Ann and Bill Wachur * Mit and
Marcy Wanzer * Laura Warner * Eric and Carol Watson * Pamela Weir * Susan Whalen * Mark and Colleen White * Stephen and
Clare White * Scott and Suzanne Wilson * Emily G. Wilson * Amanda Winders * Jeanine Wood * Janet Woodward * Brian Yellen and
Marcelia Muehlke * James and Cynthia Yennaco * Wenkai Zhu * and a number of anonymous givers
The Parker School expresses its profound thanks for the generosity of those listed below,
whose contributions have made Parker’s eighth Annual Fund a success.
t h e a n n ua l f u n d d o n o r s
2003Trisha Ferguson Morris is married
and has two children. She works for the
Massachusetts Department of Children
and Families, as a social worker in an
adolescent unit.
2004Adam Goddard, who works as a
goldsmith in Maynard, Mass., has
often designed engagement rings for
Parker friends. In summer 2015, he
was the one to wed, with Parker friends
Matthew Geraghty (2004), Tom
Sneizek (2004), and Ken Brook (2007)
as his groomsmen. The couple honey-
mooned in Norway.
After working for many years as a
business manager, Ashley Goddard
went back to school. She was accepted
to the Doctorate of Nursing program
at UMass School of Medicine, where
she will prepare to be a Family Nurse
Practitioner. Ashley is also an avid
scuba diver, and has dived throughout
the Caribbean as well as in Central and
South America. She hopes to become
a master diver, traveling to teach others.
2006Josie (Urban) McCormack moved
back to Southern Massachusetts from
California. She and her husband
Andrew are househunting in the Black-
stone River Valley area, hoping to find
“the perfect fixer-upper, with a garden!”
Josie now works in Providence, as the
Day Counselor at a group shelter for
adolescent boys, run by Communities
for People. She is excited to put her art
therapy degree to use and says that
she looks forward to the potential this
company may hold for her.
2007Anthony Irwin is living in Brooklyn,
NY. He works for Shutterstock in the
Empire State Building, just three floors
away from his sister Lauren (2009).
This spring, Anthony will finish up his
tests to become a Certified Public
Accountant (CPA).
2009Lauren Irwin is a copywriter for an
advertising agency in New York City.
A Bernie Sanders fan, she helped
organize a Sanders fundraiser with her
grassroots North Brooklyn organization,
the Bushwick Berners. The New Yorker
magazine’s website wrote her up on
their “culture desk” page, and she was
also recognized by CNN.com.
2010This August, Paul Spanagel will receive
his M.S.Ed. in Teaching, Learning and
Leadership from the University of Penn-
sylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
That same month, he will also celebrate
the first birthday of his godson, Ariah.
With Ariah’s parents, Paul is designing
a “modular professional circus perform-
ance,” with Paul’s primary roles being
designer and director. In his spare
time, Paul also engages in recreational
game design.
2011After graduating this past summer from
Wentworth Institute of Technology,
Jackie Irwin is working in a hospital
lab in Leominster, Massachusetts.
After Parker, Dave Giard studied
criminal justice at Quinsigamond Com-
munity College. Upon graduating, not
sure what he wanted to do, he bought
a one-way ticket to New Zealand. There
he worked as a tour guide (“interacting
with hundreds of thousands of people”)
but mostly “had fun and explored.”
When his work visa expired, Dave bought
a one-way ticket to Maui, Hawaii, and
there he stayed. Hoping to better the
lives of others, he has started a consult-
ing business as a life coach. “Have a
great summer!” he writes.
1 0 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
Class Notes
Anthony Sisti (’12) in the Galapagos Islands.
2012At Hofstra University in New York,
Anthony Sisti chose a double major
in geology and sustainability. His stud-
ies have taken him to Ecuador and the
Galapagos Islands to research their
geology and ecology. He recently was
lead author of a published scientific
paper on the flooding of the Mohawk
River during Hurricane Irene in Fort
Hunter, NY. Anthony is now founding
a chapter of the Earth Science Honor
Society (Sigma Gamma Epsilon).
Elissa Shea is completing her final year
at Skidmore College and will emerge with
a B.S. in English and Studio Art. Since she
likes school so much, she hopes to stay
in school forever, and eventually to teach
college-level English. In her spare time,
she designs websites for health coaches.
Jessica Hone, a history major at Fitch-
burg State University, has an internship
at Old Sturbridge Village and continues
to work at King Richard’s Faire.
Sarah Burnett graduated in May from
Lyndon State College in Vermont, with a
degree in music business and industry.
2013Sara Giordano is currently applying
to Massachusetts College of Art and
Design, in Boston. She hopes to enroll
in the fall, to study jewelry and
metalsmithing.
2014Thomas Grigglestone attends North-
eastern University, where he majors in
business administration with a concen-
tration in finance and mathematics.
Next semester he will assist a professor
in the field of international business.
Brennan Kenerson is working as a
freelance videographer and stagehand
while studying film at Fitchburg State
University.
Heather Paterson is enjoying her time
at Tulane University, where she majors
in neuroscience.
2015Dalton Middleton studies at Goucher
College, majoring in biology. Dalton
participates in the school’s salsa club,
tap club, and biology club, while also
working in the college library.
Cole Mance has met “a lot of great
people” at UMass Lowell as he works
in its library while pursuing his degree.
At Clark University in Worcester, Mass.,
Katie Wallace majors in International
Development and Social Change. She
volunteers in high school health classes
and drop-in centers for homeless
women.
Maya Silvia, at UMass Amherst, is on
an exploratory track in Humanities and
Fine Arts. She is applying for the “build-
your-own-major” program that could
result in her earning a bachelor’s degree
in psychology, Spanish and sociology.
Jillian Poland studies at Framingham
State University, majoring in English
with a concentration in creative writing
and a minor in journalism. In addition
to her on-campus job, she works as a
one-on-one early-learning tutor at
Kumon Learning Center.
Greg Richards studies physics at
Eckerd College In St. Petersburg,
Florida, where he is also exploring the
school’s extracurricular activities.
Adam Leyenaar attends Mt. Wachusett
Community College. His community
service there led to an invitation to join
a leadership retreat at the school.
Anthony DeLuca is studying inter-
national business at Bryant University
in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He is con-
centrating in community information
systems, with a double minor in Spanish
and Chinese.
graduates and families!
Please send news and photos of
what Parker alums are doing. Email
[email protected] or call
Katrina Drew at 978-772-3293 ext. 164.
Class Notes
s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 t h e pa rk e r way | 1 1
Dear Parker community,
If you were part of the Parker com-
munity five, ten, fifteen, or twenty
years ago, then visited our
campus this spring, you
might notice differences
in the building or the styles
that students wear. But
you’d quickly realize that the core of
the place is the same.
That’s because our outstanding
teacher corps embodies Parker’s
culture, values, and practices. The
daily work of teachers, grounded in
the school’s original vision, ensures
its continuity.
The teacher corps has a second
great impact, as it spreads the “Parker
way” in the larger community. This
takes place in a number of ways.
A teacher who entered the profession
via our New Teachers Collaborative
may move on to a permanent position
in a district school, bringing into
her new context the Essential School
elements she learned here. Or, at the
Sizer Teachers Center, Parker faculty
may offer professional education
workshops to their peers.
And the third great impact? The
obvious one—our teachers serve as
dedicated “coaches” to approximately
400 Parker students each year.
We are grateful for the talents of
Parker’s faculty and staff.
Yours truly,
Cheryl Coonahan
Chair, Parker Board of Trustees
1 2 | t h e pa rk e r way s p r i n g 2 0 1 6
Parker WayTH
E
The Parker Way
spring 2016
The periodical of the Francis W. Parker
Charter Essential School and the
Theodore R. Sizer Teachers Center.
Published twice yearly in the fall and
the spring.
Editorial Director: Kathleen Cushman
Managing Editor: Katrina Drew
Contributors to this issue: Cheryl
Coonahan, Katrina Drew, Deb
Merriam, Todd Sumner, and Parker
students, parents, and alumni.
Photos by Katrina Drew and Lisa
Aciukewicz (p. 12).
Please send news and photos
For ongoing news and information,
visit Parker’s web site,
www.theparkerschool.org.
Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School
Theodore R. Sizer Teachers Center
49 Antietam Street
Devens, MA 01434
presortednon-profit org.
u.s. postagepaid
permit #37ayer, ma
From the Board Chair
address service requested
