Day of Giving 2024 Co-Chairs
Aaron Brennan • Rachel Chryssostomides • Stacey Gubernator • Sean Kilpatrick • Whitney Lowe • Sean Palacios • Dani Sicklick • Voltaire Sterling • Shawn Tobias
Your
Participation
Matters.
when we reach 900 family donors, a $200,000 Participation Challenge gift will be released.
Participation Challenge Donors
as of October 31, 2024
$25,000
Sean Joseph and Mahau Ma
$15,000
Lisa and George Alexander
Bhumika Chhabra and Saurav Gorai
Benjamin and Kimberly Lee
Nicole Zuckerman-Morris and Kenneth Morris
Two Generous Parker Families
$10,000+
Catherine and Michael Baker
The Bjorg Family
Jelena and Aleksandar Bradic
Christina and St. Elmo Crawford
Graeme Gabriel and Simone Kanter
Robert Landis '01 and Christine Hunt Landis '99
Noelle Khoury Ludwig '91 and Timothy Ludwig
Jana Messerschmidt and David Richter
Charles and Sophia Morris
Dawn and Chris O’Brien
Joanna and Sean Palacios
Jiaying Pan and Danlu Zhang
Sandra and Robert Rickert
$50,000 Grandparent Match Provided By
Judith Douglas
Leonard and Debra Fishman
Kristin and Gary Gist
John and Carol Landis
Lynne McGuire and Andris Baltins
Richard and Jennifer Schifter
Jeff '75 and Karen Silberman
Ned and Carol Spieker
$30,000 Alumni Match Provided By
Jonathan Drummond '02
Annika '23 and Evan '23 Clark
Daniel '88 and Susan Frazee
Ellie Peters '09 and Conor McDade
Melissa Vassiliadis '04 and Carol Vassiliadis
Teachers Make the Experience.
Day of Giving directly supports Parker's ability to retain and recruit exceptional faculty by funding investments in excellence in teaching and faculty retention/recruitment.
Expert-led training
Visits to peer schools
Paid time for curriculum development
Grants for certifications & graduate programs
Merit-based monetary awards
Competitive salaries & generous cost of living increases
Generous retirement matching
Travel expenses for nationwide candidate recruiting
Funding Excellence in Teaching
Zuri Walker
PE/Athletics Teacher, Varsity Soccer Coach
PD Experience
Master’s Degree in Kinesiology
“My Master’s Degree in Kinesiology directly led to a redesign of the Life Skills curriculum,” says teacher and coach Zuri Walker. “The new course guides students to take ownership of their behavior, figure out what works best for their specific environment, and have the tools to make wellness a focus throughout their lives.” The master’s program, which emphasized integrative wellness, helped Zuri transition her curriculum from foundational knowledge acquisition to more hands-on activities with time for reflection and practicing new skills. This was also relevant to her work with Middle Schoolers. “The research I pursued as a part of my program informed me on the most effective way to integrate habits,” explains Zuri. “I’ve applied these to lessons so that students have a flexible toolkit that extends into their pursuit of balanced, joyful lives post-Parker.”
Erika Assadi
Assistant Head of Lower School
PD Experience
NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads
“I’ve built deep relationships with experienced leaders at independent schools, which has helped me define and grow my leadership style and skills and implement them in my new role,” says Assistant Head of Lower School Erika Assadi about her experience at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads. The year-long program included small-group mentorship with experienced school heads, in-person and virtual learning, a summer institute, and a culminating presentation on mentorship at the annual NAIS conference. Applying evidence and ideas garnered from the program and her experienced mentors, Erika now better supports Parker teachers as they grow professionally, which helps both with teacher retention rates and improving the student experience at Parker.
Miguel Cooper
Grade 6 Dean, World Language Teacher
PD Experience
French Immersion Summer Program in Quebec
“I learned something every single moment that has shaped and will continue to shape how I show up for my students and colleagues,” says World Language teacher Miguel Cooper about his two-week French immersion program in Quebec City, Canada. The program included intensive language and cultural sessions, French-only accommodations, and local site visits. Miguel explains how the program helped reframe his approach in the classroom to ensure students develop a better awareness of linguistic nuance: “I’m being a lot more intentional about teaching the phonetic structure, where it comes from, and why we craft the language in certain ways.” Additionally, alongside Parisian, French, African, and Afro-Carribbean cultural exposure, he is now highlighting more Québécoise elements to round out students’ cultural immersion.
Joseph Kurz
US Social Studies Teacher
PD Experience
Exeter Humanities Institute Conference
“I am hopeful that this method will lead to more authentic discussions in my classroom,” says Joseph Kurz, Upper School Social Studies teacher, about his time at the Exeter Humanities Institute. Parker's professional development fund supported Joseph during a five-day retreat as he studied the Harkness teaching method, which focuses on discussion and collaboration with fellow students and the teacher. “The method emphasizes students listening to each other as much as speaking their own thoughts, which helps them gain confidence, a sense of agency, and empathy for their fellow citizens,” Joseph explains. He’s excited to apply the method in the classroom and share specific texts from the program with Parker students.
Dr. Rai Wilson
Grade 11 Dean, US Social Studies Teacher
PD Experience
National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference
“Having the chance to nerd out about the substance and craft of teaching and connect on best practices with educators from across the nation was invaluable,” says Dr. Rai Wilson about his time attending the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference. One of the most essential things Rai gleaned from the conference was new illustrative tools to use in his classroom including detailed infographics and a library of short, relevant videos that bolster his curriculum. “I so appreciate the School’s support for professional development like this,” Rai says, echoing the sentiments of many Parker faculty about the opportunities made possible by the Day of Giving each year.
Monic Sandels
6-12 World Language Teacher
PD Experience
Courageous Leadership for Emergent Bilingual Students Conference
“A student quote from this conference made a strong impact on me, ‘Just because our English is broken doesn’t mean our minds are,’” says Monic Sandels about her experience attending the Courageous Leadership for Emergent Bilingual Students Conference. The conference focused on effectively supporting emergent bilingual students in terms of equity and excellence. “The conversation challenged me to continue in my ongoing growth, not only as faculty but also as a part of the Parker community, to better serve each of our students,” Monic emphasizes.
Ryan Griggs
6-12 Teacher, Head of Parker Robotics
PD Experience
Battlebots World Championship VII
“Being immersed in an environment where everyone was passionate about STEM and robotic endeavors allowed us to rekindle and reaffirm our intent to build towards significant STEM goals for Parker,” says Ryan Griggs about his experience attending the Battlebots World Championship. Watching robot battles and connecting with other robotics professionals allowed Ryan and Dawn Levy, another Parker Robotics mentor and faculty member in attendance, to gain clarity on the future of the robotics experience at Parker. Ryan and Dawn walked away with actionable ideas for increasing team collaboration and honing students’ problem-solving skills.
Laurie Brae
Lower School Librarian
PD Experience
"What's New in Children's Books" Course
“My experience in the ‘What’s New in Children’s Books’ course deeply informed my purchasing decisions as I strive to ensure a robust collection of books for our Lower School students,” says Laurie Brae. Put on by the Bureau of Education and Research, the course provided Laurie with information on the best children’s books published last year and strategies for motivating students to get involved with and stay excited about reading and writing. Laurie has already started integrating new materials and ideas into the Lower School Considine Library this year.
Sarah Blalock
Lower School Art Teacher
PD Experience
California Art Education Association Conference
“This will round out the Lower School art program and add enriching and exciting experiences for the kids,” says Sarah Blalock about her experience attending printmaking workshops at the California Art Education Association Conference. The conference supplied her with several ways to translate the art of printmaking into the Lower School art studio, and she’s currently building up a collection of supplies to expose Parker students to various printmaking techniques. Lower School students’ creativity and artistic skills will bloom even further with these new activities.