Four publications, fourteen Editors-In-Chief, fourteen combined issues per year, and no designated time to better the quality and outcome of any Parker publications. However, English teacher Matt Laufer is doing everything he can to change that.
The way publications are run at Parker is an anomaly. At most other schools, an entire block is designated for journalism. Whether it be a yearbook or the school’s newspaper, other publication leadership and students working as participating staff writers have scheduled instructional time and opportunity to dedicate to both the quality of their publication and building the culture of their team. However at Parker, publications are forced to produce and publish through the use of extra-curricular time and are expected to build a thriving culture and publication during spare lunch meetings or fifteen minute conference blocks. “At NSPA a lot of my sessions for the yearbook talked about classroom environments and daily periods to work on the publication,” Yearbook Editor-In-Chief Lousie Hall said, “This made it hard to relate to the majority of the sessions, but we were able to take away important information and tips for working on the yearbook.”
Laufer isn’t the first to recognize this issue. For years, Editors-In-Chief, specifically of “The Weekly,” have advocated for a journalism class to be incorporated into the schedule. For 119 years and over 1000 issues, “The Weekly” has functioned without a designated time for staff meetings or to work on articles. Without a class block, it becomes increasingly difficult to train young writers, and while Journalism 101 has been a long standing tradition to train young writers and bring the team together, two days over the summer are only a fraction of the time that other schools have to work on their publications.
“I actually taught a class similar to this when I served as Mr. Laufer’s paternity sub, and I’m really excited that it’s back,” Head of Upper School Cory Zeller said. The class, as stated at the Curriculum Morning Ex on February 24, would meet during arts ensemble days, and would “aid students in the successful production of a quality newspaper, The Parker Weekly,” according to the 2026-2027 Program of Studies. Newspaper Production incorporates every part of the publication process, from drafting and copy editing to layout and print. The class is required for members of “The Parker Weekly’s” editorial course, creating a space for the team to collaborate and work together effectively on the paper while receiving a full “general” credit.
Starting this class, however, was “pretty intense,” according to Zeller. While different electives have been introduced into the Upper School Schedule, very rarely is another English class added to the option of courses, but instead substituted for another class. Creating a class occurs at the departmental level, where teachers start to workshop ideas. Then, in January, teachers are told about the schedule and the behind the scenes of how registration and enrollment works. Teachers then start to edit the program of studies leading up to the curriculum MX, and the titles of courses need to be finalized by registration in order for students to sign up for classes.
To Zeller, “publications aren’t just an extracurricular, but an integral part of the Upper School. “Publications are important because they serve as a time and space to really reflect the school,” Zeller said. “I think it’s really important to have a journalism class that allows for both broad journalism instruction and also really work on the editing and production process”
According to members of “The Weekly,” there is “no doubt” that a Journalism class would benefit the current Editors-In-Chief and Editorial Boards. However, a journalism class wouldn’t just benefit the present of the publications but the future too. “I’d definitely be interested in taking a journalism class,” sophomore Aïda Davis said, “I definitely hope to take it in the future, however, it makes it slightly difficult that it’s a year long course.”
While the specifics for this class are still up in the air, it changes history nonetheless, ending the 119 year long struggle that publications have faced trying to publish the best paper, magazine, and book possible.
