Character Education - Francis Parker School
We understand our profound responsibility to create a learning environment that develops and nurtures the whole child.
Essential skills and attributes—character building, teamwork, conflict resolution, empathy-building activities, and self-reflection—are embedded into the fabric of a Parker education.
“The end and aim of all education is the development of character.”
Colonel Francis W. Parker
S.T.R.I.V.E.
Grade Themes
Leadership Opportunities
S.T.R.I.V.E. is the Lower School’s code of ethics. Students, faculty, staff and parents recite it every Monday morning during our community flag-raising.
eek always to do your best.
reat people and property with respect.
evere the truth.
nvest in your future.
alue School rules, your heritage and personal responsibility.
nrich the world for all.
Grade themes provide developmentally appropriate challenges as students grow and develop. We focus on 3 themes throughout Lower School:
Identity:
Intrapersonal Skills (Junior Kindergarten - Grade 1)
Awareness:
Interpersonal skills (Grades 2 - 3)
Action:
Navigation (Grades 4 - 5)
Students have opportunities to develop their leadership skills through:
Student Government
Squires Program (Student Ambassadors)
Grade Level Themes
Advisory
Portfolios
Middle School grade themes parallel students’ expanding worldviews as they enter adolescence.
Self Awareness (Grade 6)
Community Awareness (Grade 7)
Global Awareness (Grade 8)
Middle School Advisory is a space to build a tight-knit community with a teacher and a consistent group of students each year. Advisors build long-term relationships with their students throughout the year, becoming a primary point of contact for students and families. Advisory covers a wide range of topics, including:
Character Education
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Study Skills
Organizational and Time Management Skills
Community Building
At the end of each year, students present a reflection on their work and progress to their family and peers. Students set goals for themselves, gauge their progress during the year, and learn crucial communication and self-advocacy skills.
Advisory
Community Engagement
Internships
Elective Courses
The Center for Character, Citizenship, & Community
Upper School Advisory builds on Middle School Advisory by extending the same advisory group across every academic year. This builds years-long relationships between students and their advisor, as well as an exceptionally close group of students with a shared sense of identity.
All Upper School students must prove that they are engaged with the community. However, we do not measure student impact by logging “volunteer hours.” Instead, students choose their own causes and methods of engagement, developing an authentic partnership with local organizations.
Learn more about Community Engagement
During Interim Week in the spring, Grade 11 and 12 students connect with a business, government agency, or service organization in the community for an unpaid internship.
Upper School offers elective courses that encourage students to acquire a deeper understanding of complex social issues and develop the skills needed to promote change within their community.
Social Justice, a popular social studies elective, focuses on topics ranging from the AIDS pandemic in Africa to homelessness in San Diego, and includes hands-on outings throughout Southern California to explore relevant social justice topics.
The Center's mission is to provide authentic experiential learning opportunities, foster leadership skills, create a culture of inclusion, and instill core ethical values to help students make a meaningful difference in the world. The Center collaborates with many departments to enrich Parker’s character education, community engagement, DEIB, global education, and other programs.
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