To whom it may concern. 

This year, as a school, we embarked on an experiment to test a new eight-day rotation schedule. It is our responsibility, as a progressive school, to try such things. However, it is also our responsibility to experiment carefully and quickly reverse course when things don’t work. Yet the Upper School administration remains unwilling to act. Last year, in the process of creating a new schedule, administrators and consultants captured student frustrations with our then schedule in minute detail. Yet, what has resulted is an eight-day rotation which ignores these concerns and lacks redeeming qualities. 

For a school which so actively pushes the notion that students be allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, Parker has created a counterproductive environment where students must always be on their toes and may never have a respite. With fewer classes, teachers are assigning more homework and, lacking the time for in-class projects, have turned to tests as the defining measure of a student’s success. Additionally, with less time for real classes, teachers are no longer able to create review periods covering material which these more frequent and consequential exams are covering. If a student were to tune out for a minute, there is no guarantee they will ever see that material again before it is tested on. 

One of the major changes introduced this year was the addition of Flex blocks. What was originally a novel idea has failed miserably. In most cases, teachers end up either assigning optional homework, which is essential for a complete understanding of course material, or ignoring Flex altogether. 

Seniors are especially feeling the burden. Many are finding their workload even more challenging than junior year, which is traditionally the hardest year of high school. Seniors have been thrown into the deep end during a semester which already holds both an incredible amount of stress and a massive amount of work. 

The Synthesis  Cycle, an alternative form of finals created to fit within our new eight-day rotation world, is perhaps the most egregious change of all. First of all, it is important to preface my thoughts by acknowledging that the administration did try to implement policies to make the Synthesis Cycle more manageable. But the unfortunate reality is that either these measures were never implemented, or they were simply ignored. Last year, many students raised concerns about how hard it was to retain information over winter recess. Despite this, the school went ahead with a Synthesis Cycle right after break, eliminating the two weeks which had previously separated break and finals. Under the old system, students had a structured, well-defined period to prepare. Now, the week after break is packed with overlapping tests that carry more weight than ever, leaving significantly less time to study. Even if the Synthesis Cycle was scheduled later, the expectation that students should juggle increasingly consequential exams while also keeping up with active assignments in other classes is simply unrealistic –  especially since many finals have been split into multiple segments many days apart. 

Somehow, in less than a year, the school seems to have pivoted from proposing a no hurt finals policy to rejecting that policy and creating a system which can, even in the eleventh hour, dash the hopes of diligent students. Some reforms, like extending class length, have been successful, but these are outnumbered by the detrimental changes tenfold. Parker lauds itself as the home of progressive education and a place where our students are supported. The current state of affairs does not work. It is my sincere hope that the administration takes my concerns seriously and not dismiss them as simply the unfounded complaints of a rambling teenager. 

Sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen