At most schools across the Chicagoland area and even nationally, volunteering is  mandatory. In this circumstance, each student must obtain a specific number of community service hours. Currently at Parker this is not the case. There are no service hour requirements at Parker, and volunteering is far from mandatory.

On Friday October 5th, Justin Bradon, the Head of the Upper School, came into Student Government Plenary, an all high school forum, and discussed his plans for a new Civic Engagement initiative. According to Brandon, the program will be composed of, “educational classes followed by one off-site visit to your assigned location.” Brandon said. “This has the goal of making students informed about what they are going to experience before they experience it.”

Last spring Brandon visited Plenary and hosted a questions and answers period surrounding Civic Engagement, often an initiative aimed to better the civic life of different  communities and groups of people. Brandon specifically was interested what students wanted to see in the future from the program.

“Many students shared that they enjoyed the Parker Partners program from Middle School and Civic Lab from junior year,” Brandon said. Additionally, Brandon also noted that students need to be included in planning. Brandon felt that students deserved to be “included in the planning process regarding locations and activities.”

“I think it’s really important for students be able to convey their opinions to Mr. Brandon about Civic Engagement,” sophomore Carter Wagner said, “which is I why I appreciated him coming into Plenary both this year and last year.”

Following Brandon’s visit to Plenary last Spring he created a Civic Engagement committee composed of faculty and staff to discuss and find a Civic Engagement program that fits with Parker’s mission. Over the course of many years, Parker has transitioned from Civic Engagement program to Civic Engagement program, however with the creation of this committee, and meeting with students, Brandon feels that everyone’s opinions surrounding the topic have been voiced. which This will hopefully translate to the longevity of this new initiative.  

“The committee meetings provided me with the history of the program, benefits for the community, and the areas of growth,” Brandon said”. After monthly meetings, at the end of last year the committee made the recommendation to create a Civic Engagement program modeled after a combination of Cookies and Civic Lab. Cookies is a program that takes place during a four-day week in the Spring, named for Flora J. Cooke where students get to choose educational topics of interest and learn about them in a small group setting. On the other hand, Civic Lab is a curriculum specifically designed for the junior class to learn about specific issues facing the world and specifically Chicago.

David Fuder, the 8th grade team leader believes that Parker Partners, a bi-monthly community service initiative in the Middle School, provides his students and all Middle Schoolers with opportunities to explore the city and work to help others who are less fortunate than them. In reference to how Parker Partners groups and work sites are assigned Fuder said, “Sixth and seventh graders groups are randomly assigned while for eighth graders we look at where students interest lies.”

“Parker Partners has been a really valuable opportunity for me to learn about issues around Chicago,” said seventh grader Jack Charfoos, “and work to help fix them in both small and big ways.”

“There are definitely going to be some connections between Civic Lab and Civic Engagement,” Brandon said. “But we are working to try to broaden the appeal of Civic Lab and mirror it for grades nine through twelve through Civic Engagement.”

Upper School history teacher Susan Elliott runs a Civic Lab and feels that Brandon’s proposed ideas for Civic Engagement sound beneficial for the student body. “I am really excited to students take leadership in this new program,” Elliott said.

Brandon would also like the program to put an emphasis on student leadership. “I’m hoping that we are able to develop a program that is partnership between students, faculty, and staff that is meaningful,” Brandon said. “That’s educational and is very valuable to all participating members.”

Kate Swanson, a junior at St. Ignatius College Prep believes that community service has helped her become a better person. “Ignatius’s required community service hours have allowed me to become involved in really cool organizations, meet new people, and grow in ways I wouldn’t have without the service hour requirement,” Swanson said.

Brandon spoke to whether or not the school should have mandatory community service hours. “In order for student’s experiences to be really genuine we don’t want students to think about how many hours they need to graduate,” Brandon said. “We want students to really volunteer their time to have a meaningful opportunity which is something we hope this new model will provide.”

Sarie Keller, class of ‘95, and current Parker parent is in agreement with Brandon. “I think that counting hours makes community service seem like more of an obligation,” Keller said, “and less of a meaningful experience.”

Brandon feels that Civic Engagement is a time to remind ourselves that there is more to our experiences than just the Parker community. “I hope that this new Civic Engagement model will be an example where we are thinking outside the box, and for some students this means leaning into discomfort,” said Brandon.

Brandon is thinking about the future of this program and what impact it will have on students. “The goal is that if this goes well, then we would plan to have mirrored semester programs next year with an off-site visits in the fall as well as one in the spring,” Brandon said. Brandon challenges “students to think about what is happening in our world right now.” “What is happening in Chicago right now, and what is happening in this neighborhood,” Brandon said, “and look to try and solve or answer questions or problems facing our immediate society right now.”

Sophomore Emme Silverman looks forward to Brandon’s Civic Engagement initiative. “I’m really excited to participate in this new program,” Silverman said, “because I think it will allow me the opportunity to learn more about problems in the community that I am specifically interested in and get hands on experience helping people in need.”

Brandon asks as many Upper School students as possible to fill out a Civic Engagement survey he sent via email on October 22, and suggest possible Civic Engagement topics. “I would love for everyone to be a part of this new opportunity as I want to see as many student perspectives and voices represented in this new program!” Brandon said.