When Principal Dan Frank announced on May 8 that English teacher Cory Zeller would be the new Head of Upper School, it was the first time this position was filled from within the Parker community in over two decades. The Upper School’s last internal hire was Joe Ruggerio, who held the position for thirteen years until 2015, following four years as an Upper School teacher.
In the past eight years, there have been six Heads of the Upper School at Parker. This translates to an average tenure of less than eighteen months per individual who occupied the left side office in the Upper School administration suite.
The excitement from the entire school community for Zeller’s hiring as Head of Upper School wasn’t only a result of her vision and qualifications, but also the hope that choosing an already respected member of the community would close the perceived revolving door of people in this position. “Having our new Upper School Head as an internal hire was a great choice…to ensure that whoever took over the role knew what they would be doing and already have an understanding of the job from an inside perspective,” said sophomore Chloe Deutsch.
Although Zeller did not officially assume her duties as Head of Upper School until July 1, she wasted no time in making plans for the year ahead. In her first email to the student and parent/guardian community on July 10, Zeller shared four areas of focus for the year ahead: academic programming and performance analysis, student support, policies and procedures, and extracurricular engagement. With each of these areas impacting the day-to-day experience of all Upper School students from the first day of the school year, Zeller provided additional information on specific parts of her plans.
With regard to academic programming and performance analysis, Zeller stated that “we want students to be stimulated by and supported in their academic endeavors, so we are looking at which courses we offer, when we offer them, and student interest/enrollment.” When asked if these were areas of focus due to performance concerns, Zeller said, “Parker’s student performance trends align with national ones. Nothing too surprising!” Zeller further stated that data analysis of the student body’s performance trends will be used to “consider how grades can most accurately reflect student learning and how we can best give feedback on skill and knowledge attainment.” Zeller also mentioned, “Our mid-semester form will change slightly to reflect that feedback: preparation for, engagement in, and demonstration of learning.”
In regard to student support, there are significant staffing and programming changes. Zeller said that “ninth grade students and their families will be assigned to the counselor that is their Health teacher. The counselors will be sending a letter to each family as a form of introduction.” When asked about when students would be able to communicate with their assigned counselor, Zeller stated, “Students will get to know their counselors in class and can stop in during free times to meet with them. Families are also welcome to reach out with any questions they have.”
Another part of Zeller’s student support plans is the enhancement of the Upper School learning resources department. Zeller stated that two tutors would be added, “One for Humanities and one for STEM.” She also said, “Students should always go to their teacher or Learning Resource Specialist for help first. However, if their teacher or Learning Resource Specialist thinks they could benefit from additional support, they will recommend them to a tutor.” Zeller added, “We want students to feel like they have a full team of support here.”
Another important part of Zeller’s email concerned new policies and procedures added to the Student Handbook for the 2023-2024 school year. When asked what these new rules will look like, Zeller responded that “policies and procedures are a way for us to be clear about expectations, so we can function best as a community. They have always existed in the handbook but have been updated to reflect the 2023-24 school year. None of the changes are too drastic, but we have added some specifics.”
The specifics that Zeller shared included acceptable use of cell phones in both classrooms and during other curricular or co-curricular community time, how students are expected to indicate when writing or information is provided by ChatGPT or other AI sources, and basic expectations for attending classes.
With all her plans, Zeller said, “I’m excited to see what’s to come!” Zeller isn’t alone in her enthusiasm for her new role. Freshman Ivy Rosenberg said, “I’m super excited to have Ms. Zeller as my head of Upper School! Both of my siblings had different Heads of Upper School who hadn’t worked at Parker before, and I’m so glad I’ll have a Head of Upper School that has experience at Parker.”
