October 13, 2024
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you for fixing the Parker Elementary marquee! Your help means so much to our school, and your kindness truly makes a difference. We appreciate your time, effort, and dedication to keeping Parker looking its best.
Thank you again for being such a wonderful part of the Parker community!
I wanted to take a moment to share the results following the West Division Internal IRT walk on October 8th, conducted by Executive Director, Mr. Lemley.
An IRT (Independent Review Team) walk is a process where a group of district leaders visit classrooms to observe teaching and learning in action. The goal is to gather insights on instructional practices, provide feedback, and ensure consistency across HISD campuses. It’s not an evaluation of individual teachers, but rather a way to help us improve and support effective teaching strategies that benefit all students. We receive four visits in a school year.
The West Division Office recently conducted a mock IRT walk at all West Division campuses. This practice walk was designed to give us helpful feedback and get a sense of how we're doing before the official IRT walk. The goal was to ensure we're fully prepared for the real IRT walk and continue delivering the best learning experience for our students
Our visit was a positive one, with Mr. Lemley observing five of our amazing teachers: Ms. Saloj, Ms. Sendejas, Ms. Pennie, Ms. Miller, and Ms. Quiocho. I’m thrilled to report that no teacher scored below a 10 out of 15 points, and our campus earned an impressive overall average score of 11.4 points (Proficient I)! The West Division's goal was for all campuses to score at least a Proficient level, with a minimum of 9 points, so we’re meeting that expectation.
Mr. Lemley expressed how impressed he was with the teaching he observed, and while he joked about visiting some of our "rockstar" teachers, potentially skewing the results for the real IRT walk, I reassured him that this average reflects the standard across our entire campus. Our consistent data supports this: in August, our campus SPOT observation average was 10.67; in September, 11.21; and our year-to-date average (through October 10th) stands at 11.12. His feedback aligns with what we’ve been seeing in our internal observations, showing that we are on the right track.
This alignment has been a key goal of mine—to ensure consistency between the campus and the district. I know that last year’s scores created confusion and anxiety with our teachers and instructional leaders, as we ended the 2023-2024 school year with an average IRT score of 8.08, despite our campus averaging a 12.3 in internal observations. This disparity is exactly what we’ve been working to avoid, and I’m confident that we’ll continue to do well with our upcoming Division IRT walk in a couple weeks. However, we must stay the course and continue our focus.
All teachers who were visited were positive and receptive to their feedback. I have reminded them that "all feedback is good feedback," and we should view it as a momentary snapshot, not a reflection of the entirety of our work. I have encouraged the staff to accept the feedback -- "take the meat and spit out the bones," and continue moving forward with confidence.
One important reminder: we do not do “dog and pony shows” on this campus. We don’t change our routines when visitors come—we remain authentic. For example, during the visit, our fifth-grade team had a modified schedule due to performances (as we are a performance magnet school), and I encouraged them not to change anything for the sake of the visit. IRT visitors will see what they see, and our day-to-day procedures will continue uninterrupted. Visitors should not disrupt our instructional flow or processes, and I will make sure this expectation is clear.
I’ve also shared with our leadership team my expectations for how visitors should conduct themselves while on our campus. They must be polite, professional, and respectful to both staff and students. Visitors are encouraged to direct any coaching feedback to our APs or myself, unless safety is at risk. I want to limit the anxiety and disruption caused by their presence. The culture we’ve built here is strong, and I’m committed to making sure our campus is seen for the amazing place that it is. We are Parker Elementary, a school sought after for a reason.
To provide some perspective for where we stand against the West Division, the chart below shows the overall scores across the West Division campuses. The West Division’s overall IRT average was 8.7 (Progressing II), meaning our campus is performing significantly above the division average.
Our campus “bar” (goal) of Proficient II (12). However, I recognize that we may not achieve that in this first round of IRT visits, and that’s okay. If we hit that high score, we’ll need to maintain or improve upon it going forward, and I believe we’re fully capable of doing just that. As we move into the next few weeks, we are encouraging our instructional staff to continue embracing the coaching from our Instructional Leadership Team and stay focused on the goal of ensuring that ALL students are reached during instructional time.
When you see your teachers please celebrate them for this accomplishment!!
-Principal Carter
Our annual Mercado was a HUGE SUCCESS and none of it would be possible without YOU! Smiles and laughter were everywhere I turned! I got very emotional a couple times just observing it all-taking it all in. We have such a diverse campus, and it was a beautiful thing to witness so many students, staff, and parents participating in the celebration of Hispanic culture.
TEACHERS/STAFF ....I want to take a minute to say thank you for all you have done- encouraging students to dress up, posting on Dojo, teaching Latin History lessons, making sombreros, and celebrating with your students today!
THANK YOU!!!!...to the 60 parents who volunteered to support our Mercado event! It was a beautiful experience seeing our students participate in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. We all had so much fun, and none of it would have been possible without your help! We appreciate all you do, and I'm grateful to be a part of this community!!
SPECIAL RECOGNITION GOES TO…
Robin Gibson!
Ms. Gorski!
Mr. Carter!
Ms. Chen!
Ms. J!
Ms. Jones!
Ms. Kolb!
Ms. Sanchez!
Mr. Harrison!
Mr. Berry!
Ms. Morales!
Ms. Lopez!
Mr. Medina!
Ms. Mejia!
Ms. De Luna!
Ms. Romina!
Ms. Monita!
Ms. Grosso!
Ms. Sciavolino! Ms. Benne! Ms. Vosdoganes! Mr. Rosenberg! Mr. Haff! Ms. Simpson! Ms. Rhodes!
Ms. Berry! Mr. Jackson Thank you for working with our kiddos! Their performances were perfect!
Ms. Bonilla! Thank you for accepting our invitation to perform for our students! It was magical to see some of our babies all grown up and showcasing their talents! MPVA Mariachis inspired many of us-staff and students!
Mr. Jackson! Thank you for taking so much time to set up all the music and equipment we needed. You stayed late yesterday setting up and late today taking it all down. I appreciate you!
Ms. Mills! Thank you for all your help with facilitating the different performances! And for helping us with the equipment!
Ms. Orozco! I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful make 900 quesadillas! Thank you for helping me plan out and set up decorations!
Ms. Carlock! You are the queen of decorating! Thank you for ALL your help throughout all of the planning and setting up!
Ms. Sandoval! Thank you for playing such an active role in the planning and setting up!
Ms. Sendejas! Teachers LOVED the nachos! Thanks for helping with sponsorship!
Ms. Olivares! You were key in the planning! Thank you! And thank you for helping with sponsorship and driving to pick up so many tortillas!
Ms. Batarse! Thanks for all your help, from planning to pinatas! They were the perfect touch! By the way, your students were the most fun to dance and sing with!
And last but not least-MS. SOTELO!!!! Every free minute she had was committed to the success of this event. Thank you, Ashley, for taking lead and facilitating this beautiful event. And for driving 2 hours for churros! You secured so many sponsors! There was so much work that went on in the background, and I appreciate you so much for creating this experience for our school!
-Ms. Garcia, Assistant Principal
Welcome Ms. Yaneth Milan to the Parker family as our new Student Information Representative (Registrar). Ms. Milan is a former Parker parent and has served as a registrar for many year in the private school sector.
She will be replacing Ms. Cinthia Martinez. Ms. Martinez will be transitioning to a new role as the clerk to Mr. Berry and Ms. Garcia, supporting in various needed capacities.
Hi, I’m Nurse Gorski.
My husband and I have lived in Westbury for 15 years. I am so excited to be part of the Parker Staff and have really enjoyed the last few weeks getting to know the kids. I’m a proud former Parker Parent. My daughter went to Parker Kinder through 5th and is now in 6th grade at Meyerland. I also have a son who is 3 and will be attending Parker next year in Pre-K.
I wanted to send out a few reminders for the beginning of the school year.
Food Allergy Alerts
Please note that any treat brought to school to be distributed to the classroom MUST BE NUT FREE!!! This means ALL NUTS, not just peanuts. This rule is for the safety of all children at Parker. There are multiple children across all grade levels that have a severe life-threatening allergy to nuts and could end up in the hospital if accidentally ingested.
Medication Protocol
Any medication, including over the counter medication, required to be given at school must have a provider’s order form that includes child’s name, medication name, reason for medication, dose, frequency, date, provider signature and parent signature in order to be administered at school. This information can be included on a note from the doctor/nurse practitioner or by filling out the HISD Request for Administration of Medication at School form. Link below. This form must be completed annually. Forms do not roll over to the next school year.
Change of Clothes
Please make sure your child has a change of clothes in their backpack, even for the older kids. There have already been many instances where a child loses a tooth and gets blood on their shirt, spills drink all over themselves, vomits, or just falls in the mud on the playground. We have some loaner clothes in the clinic, but they are in short supply especially in larger sizes. We want the kids to be clean, dry and comfortable at school.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Kristen Gorski, BSN, RN
713-726-3634 (main office)
