Small Cafeteria, 10:06 am, November 16. The body heat and decibel level increase each time a freshman files through one of two doors, breathing a sigh of relief while dropping a heavy backpack and sitting down at a long table with classmates. Chatter bounces off the plaster walls as the class of 2020 waits for their Graderoom to begin.

In November, both the freshman and sophomore classes had a chance to express their thoughts to Principal Dan Frank in a forum the school calls the Town Hall. These have existed for about twelve years, and each year students beginning in first grade are given this opportunity. According to Frank, topics discussed at town halls range from keeping the school clean in younger grades all the way to work load in high school.

“I just thought it was a very Parker way to allow Parker students to have both a voice in saying what they really like about Parker and what they think could help make Parker better,” Frank said. “That’s one part. The second part is what I can learn from them, and have a sense of connection between students and the principal of the school.”

Some freshmen took advantage of the opportunity the Town Hall provides. “On my Shadow Day, the Morning Ex they had was a Town Hall,” ninth grader Jade Nguyen said. “I actually wanted to get up and say something.”

According to freshman grade head Ryan Zaremba, the ninth graders this November were most concerned about homework. “The first thing that really comes to mind is the homework load,” Zaremba said. “That would be the biggest thing that stood out to me. From there, there were lots of little offshoots and derivatives of the homework, like the amount of sites used in order to track homework, and the amount of tests on a single day.”

The sophomore class bounced around during their Town Hall in the Harris Center on November 7. “I don’t think there was any one thing that they just lingered on,” sophomore grade head Victoria Lee said. “I think there was a variety, and then some people would chime in about a topic that came up… Nothing new came up, I think, not that I’m aware of.”

Little has happened, freshman Iz Bruozis said, as a result of these meetings over the years. “I wish town halls were more effective,” she said, “because I feel like as students in the Parker community, I feel like our voices should be heard.”

Bruozis also thought there was no way to make this year’s discussion topics effective. “I feel like the ninth grade didn’t focus on the problems in our school life that the principal could actually help with,” she said. “We talked about homework load and homework websites, and that’s something that our principal can’t control.”

Frank remains confident in the impact Town Halls have on the Parker community. “If I hear the same thing, I’m going to go to my fellow administrators and teachers to say, ‘Here are some things I’m hearing,’” he said. “I also try to find what ways the students themselves can organize and get involved.”

Sophomore class co-president Lila Schatz also thinks some things discussed at their Town Hall can be implemented. “I think scheduling is something that’s easy to fix,” Schatz said. “Classes could start later, lunches could be longer, things in favor of the students… I think those things are definitely doable, and I don’t know much about what they’re doing right now, but I think that’s what’s most likely to get done.”