As high school students continue to sort out their class schedules, many turn to the option of conducting an independent study. Though Parker offers many extracurricular activities, those don’t provide students with a high school credit for their transcript. Independent studies, which do provide credits, give upperclassmen the chance to branch out of the standard Parker curriculum and study a specific topic of interest for one semester, combining educational value with personal curiosity.

Senior Gabe Rothschild chose to dive deeper into his family history and take up the study of genealogy. By examining old photographs and films taken by relatives dating back to the turn of the 20th century, he is learning about what his family’s life was like back then. 

“In an era where immigration into the United States is more difficult than when my family moved here, I’m curious to know more about their immigration and how their life was similar and different.”

Rothschild’s study is just one of the 44 independent studies taking place this year. They are categorized as follows: 1 Music, 1 Drama, 1 Science, 1 Visual Arts, 1 I.L.I.S. (Integrated Learning and Independent Sciences), 2 English, 25 History, 8 Language, 4 Math. Independent studies are primarily overseen by Upper School Coordinator Rolanda Shepard and Assistant Principal Ruth Jurgensen. Head of Upper School, Justin Brandon, also helps to facilitate. Any upperclassmen students wishing to conduct an independent study must first send in an application to be reviewed by the administration and write a detailed proposal on how they’re planning to research and present their topic.

“We only allow upperclassmen to have independent studies because ninth and tenth grade, we want the students to take a more traditional course load to give them a foundation for their academic careers. For eleventh and twelfth graders, at that time the students have a better idea of what they want to focus on and have stronger interests in certain areas,” said Brandon. “We try to support all of the applications that are submitted. Our goal is not to reject anyone, it’s to support the students. It’s a pretty straightforward application, that balances the level of rigour with student curiosity.” 

Most students are in agreement with the application process being simple. “As long as you’re very clear with your goals and how you’ll achieve them, it’s rather easy to get it accepted,” said Senior Isabella Gomez-Barrientos.

In order to conduct an independent study it is required that the student have a faculty advisor to meet with and discuss their progress. The teacher helps facilitate the entire project and  works on the cumulative project. They also grade the student at the end.

Similar to Rothschild, Senior Jared Saef also chose to research something related to his personal life. He takes Clark St. to school every day and noticed the great amount of vacancies in recent years, though historically this section of Lincoln Park has had quite a high turnover rate. He decided to take advantage of the independent study program and work with a University of Chicago professor to analyze a Clark St. from Diversey to Belden in order to dig up the reasoning that could be behind the change.

Independent studies are also a great way for students to discover what they want to pursue in their future. “I’m interested in Urban Planning, which this study is kind of related to because I’m studying a phenomenon that’s occurring within the city,” said senior Jared Saef. 

Senior Senna Gardner is interested in going to law school later in her life, so centered her independent study around gun violence in Chicago, and why Chicago has such a high rate. Gardner also works for March for our Lives, so saw this as the perfect opportunity to incorporate that into school.

There are many different ways a student can run their study besides just researching a topic. The options are limitless. Senior Isabella Gomez-Barrientos chose to be a T.A. (Teacher’s Assistant) for middle school choir. She helps lead warmups and teaches kids their singing parts. Senior Jade Nguyen is writing a novel for her independent study on love and taboos.

Camille Freedman, a junior, serves as an intern for a dance company director.  She helps with certain aspects of the administrative and organizational side of the company, and does whatever her director asks her to whether that be organizing a birthday party or creating custom labels. Freedman goes to work seven days a week, with an occasional break, and uses her free period to finish up the work her dance director gave.

In years past, leaders of certain extracurricular activities such as Model UN or “The Weekly” were granted an independent study credit. Because the students were working so hard for their club during the assigned periods and had final project to show for it, the leaders thought, why not get a credit for it. 

At the end of the year, the students are required to present what they learned to the Parker community or even broader Chicago community. No strict rules are in place regarding how the information is shared. It can be an MX, written paper, performance, display, video, etc.

Matthew Turk, a senior studying the economics of the five most lucrative businesses for the next year, is planning to write a research paper detailing what he learned. After he synthesizes all his research, Turk hopes to “draw new conclusions and new knowledge,” and answer the questions, “what will be the most important innovation in the next twenty years? How will globalization continue to affect the wealth of the U.S. and the globe?”

“Any high school student with a strong desire to learn about a subject not offered in the Parker curriculum should begin to think about conducting an independent study as a junior or senior,” said Isabella Gomez-Barrientos. “They’re really an amazing way to become more independent and also develop a stronger relationship with a teacher.”