Longtime Parker educator Heather Gray has been named the School’s next Head of Lower School. Heather will be the first to hold the title of the Dr. Robert Gillingham Head of Lower School, which was established upon Bob Gillingham’s recent retirement from Parker after serving as Head of Lower School for 29 of his 44 total years at the School. 

Ben Temple has been named the School’s next Head of Upper School. He will begin his new role in July 2021. Ben has been the Head of Upper School at the Collegiate School in New York since 2015, where he is responsible for all aspects of the Upper School program and supervises 225 students, more than 50 faculty, and eight department heads.

On the back of one of her hoodies is a quote from American political activist, author, and UCSD alumna Angela Davis that reads: “It is NOT enough to be silently non-racist. We must be VOCALLY anti-racist.” 

Starting the nonprofit Hoodies For Change is Sophia Rodrigues’s way of living out the meaning of Davis’s quote. The clothing company, founded this summer by Sophia, Class of 2021, and her younger sister, Isabella, sells custom-designed hooded sweatshirts featuring social justice slogans like “Color is Not a Crime,” “Justice for All,” “No Freedom Til We Are Equal.” 

Guided by shared goals and norms, Parker students in grades JK through 12 are engaging in a curriculum intended to spark honest, candid, and critical conversations. 

The Common Ideal of Character was created to foster civil dialogue in the Parker community as the country at-large prepares for the 2020 Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 3. Understanding that Parker community members have a diverse set of beliefs, values, and experiences, the School set out to provide opportunities to build skills for constructive conversations that strengthen bonds, rather than divide, especially as an election approaches.

As Parker teachers prepare to return to the classroom next week, a major component of their professional development hours has been focused on social and emotional learning. 

All faculty spent six hours in virtual meetings focused on receiving support around how social and emotional learning and skill-building can be implemented into the classroom–especially within the Parker Blended learning model, where some students will log into classes virtually while others will receive on-campus learning in cohorts.   

“We walk boldly and humbly toward a racially just future where each one of us feels like we belong in the Parker community,” Head of School Kevin Yaley writes in his Letter to the Parker Community included in the initial version of the Lancers for Equity & Justice Action Plan. 

The plan, created in July, is an evolving framework for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) work at Parker. “Francis Parker School is launching Version 1.0 of the Lancers for Equity & Justice Action Plan with the understanding that the Plan will operate in a perpetual state of growth, development, and iteration,” states the plan mission.