At Park, we seek to elevate, understand, and celebrate the differences that make each member of our community unique and special. “Difference” comes in many forms – some visible, others less so. Adoption is a topic that touches families worldwide, and yet it remains an often hidden, less talked about identifier, even as many in the United States have a personal connection of some form to adoption. Three Park faculty and staff members shared their experiences as transracial adoptees and you can read about them in The Park Perspectives newsletter.

We’ve tweaked the name of Park Parent to better reflect the community spirit the publication seeks to reflect and the audience for whom it is intended. We are excited to have you with us for this next chapter of Park Perspectives!

Assistant Lower Division Head Ildulce Brandao-DaSilva writes about her family's Park School journey in this fall Park Parent article. "When families ask me if Park is a place where they would belong, I encourage them to think about what they value most and what the school values. I tell them Park is for people who believe that educational excellence, inclusivity and belonging, and social emotional learning are equally important, no matter who we are or where we come from. My family brings our true authentic selves to Park and shares that with the community, and it has embraced us. My daughter truly loves being a Cape Verdean girl in a community that appreciates her. While we assumed we would be the only Cape Verdeans on campus, we have actually discovered so many others! Until you peel the onion, you just don’t know what you will discover." Read more. 

September’s Upper Division back to school night started with a round of delighted laughter (and then awwws) as Scott Young and other presenting staff members showed photos of themselves at a comparable age to our students. It then got much more serious when Upper Division Head Ken Rogers opened with a somber poetry-style rendition of Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters lyrics. Ken’s ultimate question “On whom are you going to call?” was then broken down as staff members shared when you might want to call them. (Spoiler: none of them claimed a specialization in ghosts, though the science department might have some experience with slime.) Read more.

In the "Welcome Back to Campus" edition of The Park Parent, we introduce you to some new faces on campus and re-introduce you to some friends who are in new roles this year. Read more. 

Back to school is exciting; a new year full of possibilities, the return to friends and a structured schedule, the blissful reduction in arguments about sunscreen application! It’s also a transition, and transitions can be hard. As we pass the middle of September and catch our breath, it might be worth taking a look at how we can ease that transition and settle into the groove of things. Read more.

Alumni who wrestled while at Park will be glad to know that the School’s wrestling mats, which needed to be relocated due to renovation, will become an integral part of a program led by José Valenzuela ’00. José is the cofounder and vice-chair of Beat the Streets New England (BSNE), a youth development organization which uses wrestling to help kids in Boston and Providence, as well as Hartford in the near future.

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Over the last two years, The Park Parent has reported on various campus programs, and the work in these areas is ongoing. We revisited these stories to see how things are going now, and are pleased to see great progress! Read more