People stay, leave, and come to Parker Upper School for many reasons. Whether people decide to go to public school, boarding school, art school, or really want to be a part of the fourteen-year gang, high school is always a hot topic for eighth-graders, and although students have different experiences with choosing their high school, the struggle can be felt by everyone. This past school year, eighth-graders have studied for selective enrollment tests, made extensive pros and cons lists, and have come to decisions about where they want to go for high school. 

The high school admissions process is often compared to the college one. “I think applying to high school and applying to college is very similar,” Phoebe Stranahan, a freshman at Interlochen Arts Academy said. After attending Parker since third grade, Stranahan is leaving to go to a world-renown arts boarding school in Northern Michigan. “With college, you have a college counselor, and universally, it’s a very big deal, so I’d say high school is a less intense version,” Stranahan said.

There are many directions that students can go in. Staying at Parker is one of those options for middle schoolers. Then there are public schools, selective enrollment public schools, other private schools, boarding schools, art schools, and even arts boarding schools such as Interlochen Arts Academy.

To apply to private schools students usually take an extensive test called the The Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE). For public schools this year, there was a big change in the testing routine. In April 2021, The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced that they would stop using the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) test to assess eligibility to take the CPS High School Admissions Test (CPS HSAT). This past November, eighth graders across Chicago flocked to testing sites to take the CPS HSAT without needing to take the NWEA MAP test first. This allowed any student to take the test and submit an application for selective enrollment schools, providing opportunities to people who may not have been able to take the test before. 

Francis W. Parker is well-known for its community, environment, and value of both arts and academics. Although prospective Parker Upper School students have a variety of reasons to go or not to go to Parker, most students share similar beliefs about the core values of Parker. The community and environment at Parker brought Jayden Patel a freshman from Catherine Cook into Parker’s class of 2026. When asked what really pushed him to come to Parker, Patel said that the learning environment was very important to him. “I really liked the campus because it didn’t feel as much like a school, and as cold as some other schools,” Patel said. This led him to believe that his learning could be in less of a stressful environment. 

“I wanted a good community of people,” Ava Farhat, a Parker freshman from GEMS World Academy said while speaking on her criteria for her high school. Farhat considered Latin School of Chicago for high school as well before choosing Parker.

After thinking through criteria and deciding what schools to apply to, students face the application process which can be stressful and arduous. Applying to Parker can be especially long and taxing. Patel said that Parker’s application process was “definitely the longest one as it was seven essays, but after the essays were done, it was pretty much just waiting more than anything.” 

After applying to Latin and selective enrollment schools, Patel chose to come to Parker partially because of the comfort of already having close friends in the grade. However he dealt with some reluctance from his family. “Actually, my dad was very against me going to Parker because he just did not want to pay,” Patel said. 

“I applied to the selective enrollment schools because my brother goes to the public schools, and it’s free, and to Parker and Latin because I liked the smaller schools, and the college counseling was so much better,” Patel said. Both Farhat and Patel applied to only Parker and Latin out of the many prestigious private schools in Chicago. “I liked Parker over Latin because it’s closer to my house, and Latin’s campus was just not as good as Parker’s. And for the public schools, they were just all too big,” Patel said about his preferences. 

Many prospective students are drawn to Parker’s balance between different types of disciplines. “I was looking for a school that valued artistic aspects as well as academic aspects,” said Farhat. 

Freshman Spencer Koh is continuing his Parker education after five years of attending. Two of the things he is most looking forward to getting involved with in upper  school are band  and the robotics program.“I think it’s definitely easier just staying at the same school because you don’t have to take the tests or anything, and there were a lot of people this year who were stressed out about that, which makes me kind of glad I didn’t take it,” Koh said.

Koh thinks he might know what to expect from high school at Parker. “Not always having classes with the same people is going to be a difference, and generally as you go through grades at Parker and get older you just get more autonomy and freedom,” Koh said. Patel feels almost as prepared for starting high school at Parker as a long time student. “Class-wise I’m not worried about much, but I’m a little nervous about the transition just because I’ve been going to Catherine Cook for eleven years,” Patel said. 

The teaching styles in use at Parker are also something that students say differentiates Parker from other schools around Chicago. “The way you learn is different. You learn more about why does this thing in math work, or why did this historical event happen, whereas at a lot of other schools it is just like here’s the history of what happened,” Koh said. Koh attended Sacred Heart before coming to Parker, and he has experienced multiple teaching and learning styles. 

Stranahan appreciates the way Parker has allowed her to learn. “I like the way that they teach at Parker because I think it gave me so much opportunity to branch out. They also gave me a lot of support when I was struggling with academics like math, and I feel like if I was at another school it would have been a way bigger issue,” Stranahan said.

Most students view high school as the time to have new beginnings. Stranahan is starting her new beginnings in Michigan but knows that Parker was the right fit for her in the time she attended. “Parker helped me a lot, and I don’t think another school would help me with academics the way Parker did. I met a lot of great friends,” Stranahan said. “It was exactly where I needed to be.”