Why Parker?

AT PARKER WE BELIEVE

...when imaginations are ignited,

assumptions are challenged,

and divergent minds collaborate…

magic happens.

Parker isn’t just a school.

It’s a home to students who hunger to test their intellectual horizons, to wield new abilities, and to plug into the world around them.

It’s a community that takes action, and where identities are celebrated.

It's where high expectations fuel personal evolution, and failure is seen as an opportunity to try again.

It’s a launching pad for "a-ha" moments, enduring friendships, and lifelong passions.

It’s where bravery is forged, curiosity becomes discovery, and dreams are conceived

as far as the mind can see.

OUR CORE VALUES

Students First

Parker faculty are experts in their content field. More importantly, they are experts in student learning. Realizing that each student brings unique talents, interests, and areas for growth to the educational process, our decision making, curriculum planning, and student support is designed to ensure that students thrive as they develop into adulthood. We honor the privilege of meeting students “where they are” as they grow through our Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. With the student’s own curiosity and natural ability as a starting point, we provide appropriate structure and guidance for each stage of their experience, with the end goal of graduating individuals who are independent and self-reliant lifetime learners.

Academic Excellence

Through a superior faculty and an intimate learning environment in which all students are known and valued, Parker is able to design courses that move students first through foundational knowledge and then beyond “as far as the mind can see.” Parker faculty create innovative and advanced courses that push students to think and achieve beyond their own initial expectations. Informal and formal assessments create a feedback loop that informs instructional decision making and allows for continual course adjustments to meet students’ needs and allow them to achieve specific learning outcomes.

Global Perspective

Our world is a pluralistic tapestry of cultural, political, historical, scientific, ethical, and economic forces. A Parker graduate understands this complexity, has learned the value of our diverse and interdependent world, and has developed the skills necessary to respectfully and inclusively navigate that world. Global education partnerships begin in our Lower School and continue through Discovery Week in Middle School and Global Trip opportunities in the Upper School. All Parker students have the opportunity to not only learn about the world through diverse curricular offerings that strive to understand the broader world, but to apply that learning in the world through international travel and service learning trips.

Strength of Character

Our school’s namesake, Colonel Francis Parker, stated it best: “The end and aim of all education is the development of character.” Character education is central to a Parker education. Beginning in Lower School with the introduction of our ethical framework, S.T.R.I.V.E., and then continuing through Middle School and Upper School Advisory, students are immersed in an environment that prizes not only the highest level of achievement, but also the highest level of community engagement and service. Parker graduates are academically and ethically prepared to “make a meaningful difference in the world.”