The Park School

The Park School is an independent day school in Brookline, Massachusetts, for boys and girls in PreKindergarten through eighth grade. Founded in 1888 as Miss Pierce's School, it is a 34-acre campus in Brookline, Massachusetts near Jamaica Pond.

This article is about a school in Brookline, Massachusetts. For the private day school in Brooklandville, Maryland, U.S., see Park School of Baltimore. For the private preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, U.S., see The Park School of Buffalo.
The Park School
Address
171 Goddard Avenue

Brookline
,
Massachusetts
02445

United States
Information
School typeIndependent, coeducational, non-profit, non-sectarian day school Independent Elementary and Middle School
MottoSimplicity and Sincerity
DenominationNon-denominational
Founded1888
ChairpersonSeth Brennan
Head of schoolScott M. Young
Staff30
Faculty130
GradesPreKindergarten-Grade 8
Age range4-14
Enrollment540
Average class size14–16 students
Campus size34 acres (140,000 m2)
School color(s)green & white
AccreditationAISNE&NEASC
PublicationThe Park School Bulletin
NewspaperThe Park Parent
Websitehttp://www.parkschool.org

History

Park's roots go back to 1888, when Miss Caroline Pierce began a proprietary school on Walnut Street in Brookline. In 1923, it was incorporated and named to commemorate Julia Park, principal from 1910-1922. A gift of land from Dr. and Mrs. James M. Faulkner, former Park parents and grandparents, provided the opportunity for the School to move in 1971 from Kennard Road in Brookline to a 34-acre, country-like setting near Jamaica Pond and opposite Larz Anderson Park. (provided from school website)

Campus

Park's facilities span a 34-acre campus.

Park's library contains 30,000 volumes and audiovisual materials.

Across the campus at 255 Goddard Avenue is Faulkner House, which provides office space and the After-School Program's main facility.

https://www.parkschool.org/about/our-campus

Construction
The Park School

The school's main building was constructed in 1971 from a modern architectural design by Earl Flansburgh & Associates under the direction of then Headmaster Robert S. Hurlbut, Jr. Built of reinforced precast concrete as a stack of modular classroom and office spaces with wall-length windows for more natural illumination of rooms, it exemplifies the brutalist concrete construction style pioneered by Swiss architect Le Corbusier. But its brick wall accents and its preserved oaks and Roxbury puddingstone outcroppings pay homage to historical New England building traditions and topography. The building features an inner courtyard with a "Space Churn" stainless steel mobile sculpture by George Rickey, donated by a Park parent in 1971. In 1996, the West Building designed by Graham Gund and Associates, added two full-sized basketball courts, three modern science labs, and four mathematics classrooms to the school's facilities. In 2008, the school completed a major expansion and renovation of all of the pre-kindergarten – grade 5 classrooms. A new wing houses Grade 4 & 5 classrooms, after-school program space, a conference room, and adjoins the newly renovated 5,400-square foot library.[1]

In 2008, the school completed a major expansion and renovation of all of the PreKindergarten – grade 5 classrooms. A new wing houses Grade 4 & 5 classrooms, after-school program space, and adjoins the newly renovated 5,400-square foot library.

During the summer of 2018, several renovation projects took place including significant updates to the Early Childhood classrooms (PreK & K), the accompanying Early Childhood/Discovery Playground, and the transformation of a Conference Room into a state-of-the-art Makerspace.

Program

The Park School is composed of two Divisions - Lower Division (PreK - Grade 4) and Upper Division (Grades 5-8)

Hallmarks of Park's Lower Division

  • Social-emotional learning. We educate the whole child at Park. That includes developing listening skills, empathy, kindness, and compassion.
  • Students get the challenge they need. Every student is well known here. Our teachers make sure each child is given the appropriate challenge according to their unique learning style, skills, and needs.
  • Children find their voice. Beginning at a young age, students get many opportunities to share their ideas, their talents, and their love of learning.
  • Parents are our partners. Parents are a crucial part of their children’s progression. So we maintain frequent communication between you and your child’s teacher with weekly newsletters, daily informal check-ins, and comprehensive conferences in the fall and spring.
  • Project-based learning. To make learning engaging, holistic, and relevant, teachers create hands-on projects that bring lessons to life.
  • https://www.parkschool.org/academics/lower-division-prek-grade-4

Park’s Upper Division strikes a balance between academic rigor and creative exploration; high expectations and emotional support; preparing for the future and preserving the simplicity and sincerity of childhood. After Park, students enter the world with a developed sense of confidence, a joy of learning, and a hunger for the next intellectual endeavor.

Hallmarks of Park's Upper Division

  • Strong and positive connections, including those with peers, are essential for adolescents to thrive. At Park, we curate opportunities for students to practice the essential social-emotional skills needed to build trust and effectively navigate conflict. Upper Division students also benefit from being the oldest students in the school, allowing them to be the “big kids” while avoiding pressures and distractions that can come in a high school setting.
  • Upper Division structure and programming, including Advisory and Growth Education, promote the skills of self-awareness, organization, digital citizenship, collaboration, and conflict resolution. With Park’s teachers and advisors, adolescents learn the essential skills of reflection and self-advocacy, so they graduate from the Upper Division feeling known by others and knowing themselves as individuals, students, and community members.
  • Upper Division Advisory – Each child in the Upper Division is part of a small advisory group made up of 5–7 students and one teacher that meets daily. Advisory time is spent on activities ranging from team-building games to problem solving to reflection and goal setting. In Advisory, students experience a one-on-one relationship with an adult who knows them well and serves as their trusted consultant for academic, personal, and social development.
  • At Park, students can act in a play or join a sports team without worrying about being cut from the roster, or they can explore and showcase their passion for artistic expression with audiences throughout the year. They can participate in and lead more than a dozen clubs, including: Model United Nations, Gender Sexuality Alliance, Math Club, Science Club, Green Club, Student Council, Service Council, Events Council and our multicultural club, Pangea. They can submit proposals of their own, such as the recently formed Dungeons & Dragons, Stock Market, Genetics, and Debate Clubs.
  • Athletics for Grades 6–8 – More than 90 percent of Upper Division students choose to play on our varsity, junior varsity, or sixth-grade teams in a variety of 16 individual and team sports. These interscholastic teams play one or two games per week and travel to other independent schools nearby to compete. Some eighth graders guide their peers as captains, which builds their capacity to lead others on and off the field.

https://www.parkschool.org/academics/upper-division-grades-5-8

Schedule

At Park, the academic year runs from September to June. School begins at 8:15 a.m. for all students. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, school is dismissed at 3 p.m.; Tuesday at 2 p.m. (This time is used by the faculty for professional development and departmental meetings.) PreK is a half-day program until 12 noon. Kindergarten is dismissed at 12 p.m. on Monday and Friday, 2p.m. on Tuesday, and 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Extracurricular activities

Various extracurricular activities are offered in the After-School Program for PreK – Grade 5. Families may sign up for two to five afternoons per week; pick-up times are 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Students in Grades 6 – 8 are encouraged to participate in elective sports or after-school drama. In addition, clubs and a quiet study hall are offered until 4:30 p.m. Park offers three seasons of sports, as well as three seasons of theater production, that students may participate in.

Sports include Flag Football, Soccer, Field Hockey, Volleyball and Cross Country in the fall, Basketball, Wrestling and Ice Hockey in the winter, and Lacrosse, Softball and Track and Field in the spring.

Theater choices change term to term and include both modern and classical theater, with a musical in the winter term.

Annual events

School-wide events include Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving; Yule Festival – a longstanding holiday assembly that acknowledges both the common and varying traditions of the school's diverse community in songs and readings that capture the principles and spirit of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa; and May Day – a special assembly welcoming spring for students in Pre-K through Grade 5. Graduation is held in June and features an alumnus/a speaker.

Notable alumni

Distinguished graduates of The Park School include:

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gollark: Rebooting is unethical.
gollark: Wrong.
gollark: I remember having this issue before but I forgot the resolution.
gollark: No.

References
  1. Howland, Jay. The Park School: One Hundred Years, 1888-1988. Brookline, MA: The Park School, 1988.

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