We shared about how we enjoy and/or make it through the winter months. Outdoor recreation and cozy indoors was a theme.

Enrollment continues to be a focus as well as an area of concern.  Parent and student ambassadors are working hard and keeping at it.  There is also a committee to dig into student retention data as well as exploring on-boarding experiences for students.  We have seen an increase of students applying from Leominster.

We continue to make progress on creating affinity groups for students of color. We are on target to start these groups by mid-March.

Brian, Pam and Ruth shared out about the Diversificiation Grant and day-long workshop they attended mid-January where they met with other districts who have been successful in receiving and distributing grant money.  Parker partnered with Brockton for a small group discussion. It is clear that there is a larger appetite for in-house credentialling such as NTC and we may have future district partners in this work.

We moved on to discuss Prof. Jamila Lyiscott's video: (1) How Hip Hop taught my students to think critically | Jamila Lyiscott - YouTube.  We discussed what we heard, questions this caused us to have and work we feel Lysicott is asking us to engage in.  Themes of our conversation included that this is urgent work, adults must create spaces where students can share their gifts and be their fullest selves. Parker is in a position to take full advantage of flexibility. Adults must engage in professional learning to do this serious and critical work.  

Ruth Whalen Crockett announced that this semester will be her last one at Parker. She started working at Parker in 1998.  Brian and sub-committee thanked her for her service to the school and shared that this committee will seek new leadership at the end of the school year.

Brian also thanked Mario Silva-Rosa for providing details on student information platforms to support student recruitment and enrollment work.