Save the dateSaturday evening • June 1, <strong>2013</strong>Cocktails, dinner & ProgramCelebrating twenty years of excellence in educationunder the leadership of Jerry Katz.We welcome current and former trustees, faculty, staff and parents,along with alumni through the class of 2012Formal invitation to followFor more information, please contact eliza Quincy ’98at 617.274.6022 or eliza_Quincy@parkschool.orgFeatured in the LibraryPlease visit the library to enjoy these featured books andexplore the new horizons they present.<strong>The</strong> book for <strong>April</strong> is: Brothers at Bat: <strong>The</strong> True Story ofan Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team by Audrey Vernick,illustrated by Steven Salerno. <strong>The</strong>mes include sports, history,families, biography, facts, and statistics.<strong>May</strong>’s book is: A Leaf Can Be ... by Laura Purdie Salas,illustrated by Violeta Dabija. <strong>The</strong>mes include nature,imagination, discovery, colors, and poetry.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Park</strong> <strong>Parent</strong> // PAGE 2
Diversity at <strong>Park</strong>: A 20-Year PerspectiveBY JERROLD I. KATZ, Head of <strong>School</strong>HEAD’S LINESBack in January 2012, when I announced my plans to leave<strong>Park</strong> <strong>School</strong> at the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year,I wrote that it was “not the time to review the record of myyears at <strong>Park</strong>.”Now, fifteen months later, as increasing attention is beingpaid to leadership transition planning, I am beginning to join othersin looking back at <strong>Park</strong>’s evolution over the past twenty years.I am particularly proud of the fact that <strong>Park</strong>’s development as adiverse, just, and inclusive community will be part of my legacy.It’s interesting to look back at my very first <strong>Park</strong> <strong>Parent</strong> article,published in September 1993, to capture both changes over timeand the unchanging nature of diversity work as a critical aspectof implementing <strong>Park</strong>’s mission. Here is an excerpt from twentyyears ago:Since my first visit as a candidate last fall and throughout thepast six months of my transition, it has been apparent to me thatattempting to clarify where the <strong>School</strong> is and where it might beheaded in regard to diversity would require my immediate attentionas Head of <strong>School</strong>. Embracing diversity is a central componentof <strong>Park</strong>’s mission as conveyed to me and to all of us by the Board ofTrustees. Yet, it has become a topic for many members of the <strong>Park</strong>community that appears to be associated with varying degrees ofconfusion and concern. Perhaps this should not surprise any of us,because similar struggles for identity currently characterize theexperience of many independent schools and indeed our nation.Our ability as adults to embrace and to talk to each other aboutdiversity is critical, however, to our ability to prepare our studentsfor leadership roles in the society they will inherit. This would beimportant, no matter who our students were at <strong>Park</strong>, although ourconversation is greatly enriched and deepened by the diversity thatis currently found here.In 1993, the diversity conversation at <strong>Park</strong> was largely centeredon race. Why was it important for the <strong>School</strong> to attract andretain families and faculty of color, and how could these goals beaccomplished? Was “multicultural education,” with its commitmentto exposing students to different voices in English and todifferent perspectives in history, compatible with a commitmentto academic rigor in the curriculum? I soon discovered a less openconversation about religion. Could Yule Festival be “comfortable”for Jewish and other minority members of the community,while still “working” as a meaningful celebration for the Christianmajority at <strong>Park</strong>? In 1993, it was not yet clear that it was “safe” toeven talk about differences in family configuration, sexual orientation,and/or socioeconomic class within our community.In <strong>2013</strong>, we are not only a much more diverse school, we arealso much more united in our diversity beliefs and aspirations.Students of color, less than 10 percent of our population in 1993,now make-up over 35 percent of our student body across GradesPre-K-IX. Financial aid, limited to a small number of UpperDivision students in 1993, is now extended to over 23 percent ofall students across every grade. LGBT parents, faculty, and studentsare now openly welcomed and supported as valued membersof our community. We recognize differences in learning styles,and we work hard to differentiate instruction to provide challengeand to facilitate success for a range of learners in our classrooms.<strong>Park</strong> has become a school of choice for many different kindsof families, and it has become a place where many different traditionsand expressions of identity can be comfortably shared. Ofequal importance, all students at <strong>Park</strong> today are growing up in acommunity where they are learning to appreciate interdependenceand to make connections with a broad range of others.Many determined, and often courageous, people have led<strong>Park</strong> forward on its journey to being a more inclusive communityover the past twenty years. Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff,students, and parents have all been leaders in this effort. Whatever“credit” is attributed to me over the months ahead must beshared with many others who advocated for themselves, for theirchildren, and for the improvement of the experience of all membersof our community.I closed my September 1993 <strong>Park</strong> <strong>Parent</strong> article with wordsthat still resonate today:I believe that it would be fair to say that in its commitment torespecting diversity, <strong>Park</strong> <strong>School</strong> has at times stumbled in the past;no doubt, there will continue to be some missteps in the future. Forsome, there will be impatience with the rate of change; for others,the pace of <strong>Park</strong>’s adjustment to a changing world may alreadyseem alarming.<strong>The</strong>re are many other areas to work on during the comingmonths. Certainly, new initiatives in the teaching of math, science,and technology have surfaced as high priorities. However,thoughtful reflection about diversity will always need to remainon <strong>Park</strong>’s agenda, if this important aspect of the <strong>School</strong>’s missionis to be realized.When it comes to being a diverse, just, and inclusive schoolcommunity, building upon the legacy of the past twenty yearssoon falls not just on Michael Robinson. It remains the responsibilityof every adult within this community.APRIL-MAY <strong>2013</strong> // PAGE 3
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