Why is it that we do not have any graduation requirements for community service? For all of my high school years, I have taken it for granted, the notion that we are not required to graduate with a certain number of hours, as many of my peers do outside of Parker. Our attempt at a civic- or community-related analog to a community service program has been on and off with school faculty. For a brief while, up to 2015, we had a program called Civic Engagement, spearheaded by Shanti Elliot. However, after she left Parker, a program called Civic Lab continues, but the rest of the high school has fallen off.

Upper School Head Justin Brandon has expressed interest in revamping the system, even discussing it with us during Student Government last school year and sending out a corresponding survey by form.

During the most recent town hall, the idea came up to format Civic Engagement similarly to Parker Partners, a bi-monthly community service initiative in the Middle School. This time in our school’s history is a blank slate for community service, charity work, civic engagement, or whichever related activity we choose. The first step toward having an ideal Parker Civic Engagement program is to first define what that entails.

Currently, the closest program to Civic Engagement in the school that is already up and running is Civic Lab. This program is partially centered around the junior U.S. History curriculum and involves an assortment of lessons and field trips that all have a common theme, such as the war on drugs and gay rights. During the town hall, Brandon suggested that we will have a “Cookies-style” Civic Engagement program.

Last year I was in Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) with history teacher Jeanne Barr. Over the course of the year, we visited a needle exchange, spoke with politicians and lawyers, and read about the policies in the mayoral election in the spring. Barr believes that learning about these topics should be an integral part of the high school experience: “The more you bring things out of the darkness and into the light, the more we can study and make intelligent well-considered choices regarding it. Parker students will fit into that as the rest of the citizenry will.” With awareness around nuanced issues like public health and addiction, more people will be available to contribute to a new policy paradigm that is less stigmatized and better researched.

Hopefully you can see that my Civic Lab was a powerful educational experience. However, that’s not where it is supposed to end. During SSDP, I do not remember the focus being on how to give back to the community or make any personal sacrifices. Instead, I was only learning the theory of sensible drug policy, and I believe that if we can implement a new Civic Engagement program that effectively puts students into topics in which they are passionate and guides them through quality education and real change simultaneously, then we’ll be golden.

On another note, in a recap of the most recent Plenary, we have ratified Joe Bruno, interim Dean of the Upper School, as the newest faculty advisor to Student Government. In normal course, the Cabinet hopes to sort students into their committees for the year and eventually pass sophomore Eli Moog’s Student Senate Representative Reform proposal, and any permissible amendments, as soon as possible. Treasurer Grayson Schementi has received dozens of participatory budgeting proposals, and the Cabinet looks forward to sorting through them. Again, if any reader has something to say or a concern to be brought up, do not hesitate to reach out to me personally.