Spring 2014

Parker Goes Global

social service entrePreneurs

orchestratinG success

lower school linGuists

as far as the mind can see

WE INSPIRE DREAMSWHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE?

EVERY GIFT MATTERSYou can keep students on the path to success. Invest in ensuring the Parker experience stretches "as far as the mind can see."

THANK YOUWWW.FRANCISPARKER.ORG/GIVING

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M E S S AG E F R O M T H E H E A D

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Dear Parker Community,

Having celebrated our centennial last summer, Francis Parker School is poised to achieve great things as we enter our sec-ond century.

Parker has become one of the most desirable independent schools in the country, ranking high in college placement, parent satisfaction, quality of teaching, breadth of program, educational experience and exceptional board governance.

As our next century unfolds, our mission is to inspire each student to reach "as far as the mind can see."

One Parker. Changing Landscapes. Great Expectations. This is the Parker vision propelling us forward.

One Parker: We are one school, residing on two campuses, anchored by three divisions. Together, our collective efforts and strengths are capable of achieving more than what any single student, teacher, staff member or division might at-tain alone.

Changing Landscapes: We seek to strategically shape our success by recognizing that it is not if and when we change, but how we manage change. For Parker, change has always been synonymous with growth and innovation. To ensure excellence, we must continually seek to improve and evolve.

Great Expectations: Our commitment to excellence drives our great expectations for how we teach, how we learn and how we embrace challenges. We must expect more from our-selves in all respects. Yes, excellence is achieved by doing great things, but also by doing many small things in great ways.

This vision — One Parker, Changing Landscapes, Great Expectations — underpins the Strategic Plan adopted in September 2013.

A result of the tireless efforts of parents, faculty, staff, stu-dents, alumni and trustees, the Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for ensuring that we provide every Parker student an outstanding education.

This edition of Parker Magazine offers a window into the Parker experience.

Citizenship in a global community remains an integral part of the school's mission. A new generation of visionary Parker stu-dents is taking the core value of service to others to a new lev-el, bringing positive change to the world by building student-run organizations to respond to social needs. (Story, Page 16)

And our youngest students' understanding of the global community broadens, starting with the daily study of Spanish or Mandarin. (Story, Page 28)

Parker's high standards and ideals were forged by the dedi-cation and forethought of the highly capable volunteers who've served our school through the years. Former board chair Mary Walshok shares the story of a turning point in Parker history. (Story, Page 12)

Moving into the final months of our academic year, our sights turn toward the Class of 2014 and their future.

In their years at Parker, they've grown to become global-minded, independent thinkers. We trust that their Parker experience has helped prepare them to make a meaningful difference in the world. And for our rising kindergartners through seniors, a host of wonderful learning opportunities lie ahead.

As we usher in a new century of excellence, we thank the en-tire Parker community for your unyielding support. Together, we will continue to build the Parker legacy.

Warm regards,Kevin Yaley, Head of School

Envisioning the Second Century

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Kevin Yaley teaching a course in Philosophy at the Upper School.

contents 4 GLOBAL STUDIES, GLOBAL CITIZENS Transformational journeys off the beaten path.

12 THE PARKER CHRONICLES A former chair of the Board of Trustees recalls turning points in Parker history.

15 REMEMBERING DR. W. LEE PIERSON A tribute to the legacy of Parker's Headmaster Emeritus.

16 DREAM BELIEVERS Visionary students apply business sense to meeting social needs.

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PARKER MAGAZINE

EDITOR Graciela Sevilla

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lori Foote

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amy Stirnkorb

COPY EDITOR Ken Stone

CONTRIBUTORS Leonel Sanchez Anthony SantacroceDavid Wahlstrom

PHOTOGRAPHY Erin AistonJackie Enck Earnie Grafton Crissy Pascual Fred Greaves Genevieve Moeller

To write us or to be added to the mailing list contact: communications@francisparker.orgParker Magazine is published bi-annually by Francis Parker School 6501 Linda Vista RoadSan Diego, CA 92111858 / 569-7900

Cover and back cover photography by Fred Greaves. On location at Mission Hills Campus. Cover Photo, Back row, left to right: Jesse Brookins '14, Ali Bloom '14,Front Row: Justice O'Brien '26, Iris Korn '26 Back Cover Photo, left to right: Michaela Dews '14, Zayden Antia '26, Bojana Wilder '26, Arturo Alemany '14

24 ALUMNI PROFILE Matt Blumberg, Class of '88, shares his entrepreneurial insights.

28 MAXIMUM MANDARIN Parker's Lower School meets the demand for Chinese Studies.

34 RISING TO THE OCCASION Members of the Lancer Orchestra display talent and determination.

40 FACULTY PROFILE Parker's retiring athletic director is off to find a new playground.

44 CLASS OF 2014 BY THE NUMBERS

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Photo by Jackie Enck

GLOBAL STUDIES

Ecuador

South Africa

New York

New Orleans

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GLOBAL CITIZENS

"The common thread throughout our experiences…has been immersing ourselves (literally) in a world radically different from our own." — Francis Parker Student 2014 Travel Blog

Philippines

India

Vietnam

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"This is not about mere sightseeing but about becoming global citizens and engaging with the world," says Tom Crowley, Upper School social studies chair who has been a guiding force in de-veloping the program, which began in 2004.

During these transformational journeys, students learn through exploration. They unpack their for-eign  language skills, tackle service projects and immerse themselves in historical, ecological and cultural field study while boarding with local families.

This year's destinations included India, the Philip-pines, South Africa, Vietnam and Ecuador. "As the post-Cold War walls are being broken down, we have the opportunity to go places we couldn't venture in the last five decades," Crowley said.

Nationally, New Orleans and New York also wel-comed Parker student groups in February.

The trips are filled with discovery, adventure and wonder. Students grow in their ability to be inde-pendent, self-directed learners and come away with a new understanding of their role as global citizens.

"Our new outlook is not something that can be achieved from watching a movie or reading a book," wrote Serena R. who traveled to Ecuador. "It isn't achieved from doing charity work; nor can we gain this sense of specific gratitude (at home).

"Only through immersing ourselves in this way of life and experiencing it firsthand can we experi-ence real personal change."

They've built homes, classrooms and animal habitats. They teach at schools and orphanages. They help at public works projects.

For two weeks a year, the world becomes Parker's classroom — and teens roll up their sleeves. Every Parker Upper School student has the option of taking part in the Global Studies Trips.

For each traveler — students and teacher-chaperones alike — the trips become unforgettable, life-changing experiences.

You can read student blogs, see pictures and watch video from the 2014 journeys at www.francisparker.org/global and read excerpts from these blogs on the following pages. All travel photos published here were taken by students and staff.

Read more from the Global Trip Blogs Visit www.francisparker.org/global

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Global Studies

ecuador“After working for a week to build a school in a rural community, we got to experience some of the things that Ecuadorian women do. There was shearing sheep, spooling the wool into soft thread and using the thread to knit different items of clothing such as scarves and sweaters. I am glad that I overcame the fear [of shearing sheep] because I had been looking forward to purchasing items made out of sheep and alpaca [wool]. The fact that I took part in the process just made it so much more special.”

Global Studies

india“ Today, we worked with the Baale Mane girls again. We all gathered into our book making groups. Collaborat-ing with the children and creating art with them [was] easily … one of the main highlights of this trip. Before saying our goodbyes to the Baale Mane girls, we all got together and learned the Jungle Song. [Later] a group of us went on a bike ride around the villages and farmlands near Sangam. Lots to see. After a short break, we gath-ered for a discussion/lecture on Hinduism and Indian culture.”

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Global Studies

philippines“ The hardest part of staying at Casa Esperanza is leav-ing. It's a home for abused women and girls, most pursu-ing trials and others looking for new homes after aban-donment by their families. Five days of bonding games, bracelet making, singing, dancing and laughing does more to bring you closer than reading case files ever could. Going into the home stay, we were all very ner-vous to see where and whom we would be living with for the next five days. [But after] one day, all of us felt like we were a part of our home-stay families.”

Read more from the Global Trip Blogs Visit www.francisparker.org/global

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Global Studiessouth africa“ We visited the Weivald School. We divided and con-quered various tasks under the guidance of their agri-cultural teacher, and cleared, planted and set up a new irrigation system within the garden beds. Not only did we get our hands a little dirty, but the appreciation ex-pressed by the students and faculty of Weivald was over-whelming.  From there we went to the school's kitchen where we cooked our own lunch with the help of their cooking teacher. It took about three hours to cook, eat and clean up our feast of Beef Bobotie, cinnamon raisin rice, fries and hamburgers.”

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Global Studies

Vietnam“As is typical in the Mekong Delta, we caught and cooked our own dinner. Specifically mud fish with our bare hands in canals. We went into knee-deep mud with baskets to catch these fish just as many locals do daily. We were muddier than we had ever been before. There was plenty of high-pitched shrieking—"Something touched my leg!"  "It moved!"  "Eeek!" But after watching our guide grab a big one, catching fish became a com-petition. Within minutes we were diving through the mud grabbing fist-sized fish with our hands.” 

Read more from the Global Trip Blogs Visit www.francisparker.org/global

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PA R K E R C H R O N I C L E S

Mary Lindenstein Walshok says Francis Parker wasn't a fashionable school when she and her husband en-rolled their son, Colin, in the 1990s. "It was a school you chose for the educational experience it provid-ed," she recalls.

Neither was it especially diverse — especially in governance.

But unlike other parents, Walshok was able to do something about it.

Parker in its 100 years has turning points when seemingly small changes have had a dramatic im-pact. One was the 1994 election of Walshok to chair the Parker Board of Trustees — the first woman in that role.

Parker's transformation into a robustly diverse and inclusive learning community was shaped in the late 1990s. That cultural shift began under Walshok.

A San Diego civic powerhouse, Walshok remembers her years on the Parker board fondly. She spoke re-cently about that time from her UC San Diego of-fice, where she serves as associate vice chancellor for public programs and dean of UCSD Extension.

"There were a series of small tipping points in the evolution of the School that made a difference," said Walshok, a noted author, educator and researcher.

GUIDING CHANGEAmong her challenges as chair from 1994 to 1996 was a change in School leadership. Walshok led the search that brought the late Lee Pierson to the role that was then called Headmaster.

"Lee came to Parker with a level of experience and a national perspective that were pivotal to our subse-quent growth," she said. "He stepped into a difficult situation as an interim headmaster with a calm and confidence that helped us get refocused and then he agreed to stay on as we crafted a strategy for the future which is embodied in the extraordinary campus and superb academic programs we have today."

Pierson went on to guide Parker through a period of growth in enrollment and expansion of facilities. Changes that Walshok oversaw on the board were equally powerful. (Story, Page 15)

She remembers presiding over an era of diversifica-tion of the student body and Board of Trustees lead-ership.

"We expanded inclusiveness in governance and de-veloped resources to recruit and provide scholar-ships to talented students regardless of their race or ability to pay," Walshok recalled.

An influx of new students, faculty, staff and board

First woman to lead Parker Board focused on diversity

Sparking ProgressBy Graciela Sevilla

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leaders from a variety of backgrounds began under Walshok.

"We evolved in part because of geography," she says. "We were a school in the heart of San Diego, in an international cross-border region. But we also evolved because of the deliberate efforts on the part of the board."

BREAKING BARRIERSFor years, Parker had been serving a cross section of San Diego families. Walshok's son, Colin, Class of '99, was attending Parker when his mother held the post of board chair. Colin is now an attorney.

As they shopped for an independent school for their only son, Walshok said she and her husband also sought a welcoming community. They liked that the School offered a premier education but did not exclude middle-class families or those from families outside of what was then San Diego's conservative power structure.

"One of the reasons my husband and I chose Parker was because it was more inclusive," she said. "Stu-dents of many backgrounds were attending Parker. Students came from Navy families, cross-border Mexican families and the children of the founders of San Diego's high-tech industry."

At the same time, San Diego's once staid establish-ment was opening up. "There were new faces and new voices appearing among San Diego's leader-ship in the 1990s," Walshok recalls. ➤

Mary Walshok, Ph.D., is an industrial sociologist who's authored more than 100 articles and reports on aligning workforce development with regional economic growth. She is currently engaged in research on binational innovation dynamics.

In the 1990s she co-founded San Diego Dialogue, a program focused on opportunities in the San Diego-Tijuana region. She serves on the boards of San Diego CONNECT (which she helped found in 1985), the United States-Mexico Foundation for Science, the International Community Foundation, La Jolla Playhouse, Olivewood Gardens and the Girard Foundation.

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"There were a series of small tipping points

in the evolution of the School that made a difference."

— Mary Walshok

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COMMUNITY BUILDINGWhen she stepped up to lead the Parker Board, Walshok was already among the top female edu-cators in San Diego County. And Walshok quickly championed the cause of achieving diversity among board leadership.

"We began the effort by recruiting alumni," she said. Among the up-and-coming leaders joining the pro-gressive wave within the board were Ivor Royston, David Hale, Tina Nova and current chair William Jones.

"Some of the legacy Parker families had built this great school. They had the vision to do it," she said. On the board was recognition that Parker was "an exceptional private school in the heart of San Diego, and we decided the leadership needed to reflect that diversity."

Also at that time, the board embraced a commit-ment to keeping middle-class families in the Parker fold.

"We embarked on an aggressive scholarship pro-gram," Walshok said.

Students came from across San Diego County — central, north and east — and also from across the border. "It was before 9/11 and I remember driving my son to Mexico for birthday parties," she said with a laugh.

"We were community building and connecting fam-ilies and kids from as far north as Escondido and Po-way to Tijuana."

As Parker grew, so did its values of inclusiveness. Beyond expanding enrollment of scholarship stu-dents, the board also moved to erase class divisions that wardrobes can cause.

To help prevent clothing from becoming status symbols, the board introduced school uniforms and a dress code.

"We wanted to send the message that when you come on the school grounds, you are judged by your performance, not by the brand of your clothes," Walshok said.

A LASTING LEGACYIt's been 18 years since Walshok left the board, but she still considers herself part of the Parker family. She remains an active Parker supporter and looks back on her time on the board with pride.

"The reach and impact of Parker through current and former community members is a very big and positive footprint," she said.

The progressive tradition is carried on by current trustees.

In 2013, the Parker Board won the Kaleidoscope Award for Exceptional Governance, an honor recog-nizing principled leadership given by the University of San Diego Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research.

The award confirms that today's leaders continue to expand the commitment to diversity, inclusivity and financial aid introduced during Walshok's tenure.

"We evolved in part because of geography. We were a school in the heart of San Diego, in an international cross-border region. But we also evolved because of the deliberate efforts on the part of the board."

— Mary Walshok

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The Parker family lost a dear and highly respected member of our community when Dr. W. Lee Pierson,  Parker's ninth Head of School, passed away March 17 in Branford, Conn. He was 74.

Hired as interim Head of School in August 1994, he came to lend stability during a national search for a headmas-ter and see Parker through the transition. Ultimately, he was se-lected to fill the top post.

His eight-year tenure here, 1994-2002, coincided with a renaissance of Parker as a premier independent school. He oversaw the initiation of master plans for both campuses — ex-panding classroom space, athletic facilities and open-ing the Amelita Galli-Curcci Performing Arts Center.

The operating budget grew to $20 million, including more than $1.5 million in tuition assistance for fami-lies of limited financial means. The first long-term capi-tal campaign helped fund building construction and boosted the endowment.

Under Dr. Pierson's leadership, Parker increased the rigor of the academic program and reinforced the com-mitment to excellence overall.

Enrollment rose to 1,000 students. And for the first time in its history, Parker turned away student applicants at

all grade levels. Advanced Placement offerings in the Upper School rose by

30 percent and the entire School adopted a more global focus in

the curriculum.

When he came to Parker, Dr. Pierson brought an impressive record of leadership as special assistant to four successive U.S. commissioners of education.

He was the youngest president of Athens College in Greece and

headmaster of Rye Country Day School in New York.

Among his many posts in education, Dr. Pierson often said he considered his years at

Parker among his best.

For his "extraordinary devotion, wisdom and integrity" as Parker headmaster, the board of trustees conferred on him the title of Headmaster Emeritus. He had a deep and lasting impact on the students, faculty, staff and families who knew him. Dr. Pierson will forever be re-membered as a distinguished member of the Parker Family.

A memorial service was held March 29 in Branford.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Andrée Riso Pier-son; his daughter, Christina A. Pierson; his son, W. Glen Pierson; and grandchildren Pierce, Andrew and Bríanna Linehan, all of Connecticut.

R E M E M B E R I N G

DR. W. LEE PIERSONA U G U S T 2 1 , 1 9 3 9 – M A R C H 1 7 , 2 0 1 4

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Parker students tackle social issues one visionary nonprofit at a time

By Leonel SanchezPhotography by Crissy Pascual

Dream Believers

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"The needs of the society determine the work of the school." C O L . F R A N C I S W . P A R K E R

Parker Grade 12 social entrepreneurs(left to right) Preetam Soundararajan, Annie Sager, Jay Gardenswartz and Christina Clark.

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t's not a remark you hear every day from a teenager. Parker student Annie Sager recalls sitting in traffic and announcing: "Mom, I think I'm going to start a nonprofit corporation."

The result was Serving Spoons, which prepares and delivers healthy and balanced meals to 25 people a month throughout San Diego County.

Annie isn't alone. Closing in on high school graduation, Parker students yet to hold full-time jobs are founders of visionary enterprises aimed at addressing big social issues.

Parker seniors Sager, Preetam Soundararajan, Christina Clark and Jay Gardenswartz are social service entrepreneurs bent on delivering posi-tive change.

Each is an experienced CEO or leader of a nonprofit organization they started after dreaming up innovative solutions to real-world needs.

"It's not about fulfilling a college requirement," says Carol Jensen, Upper School director of community programs. "It's about reaching outside yourself, developing leadership and contributing to the world beyond Parker."

For these students, community service is much more than selling cup-cakes or holding car washes. These teens have discovered personal missions. They represent a new generation of tech- and business-savvy social entrepreneurs bursting on the scene.

"Their world is changing rapidly and they are putting their social service ideas into action," says Terri Devine, dean of college counseling. "These students give us great hope and inspiration for what the future holds. They're incredibly smart. They know how to connect people and ideas. They approach problems from many different angles."

By the time Christina Clark heads to New York this fall to attend Columbia University, she will have launched projects that address hunger, obesity, mental health, homelessness and access to art education during her years at Parker's Upper School.

Among her endeavors: • The Full Project, now in its third year, providing healthy foods to 25 families at Carson and Central elementary schools in City Heights during extended school breaks.

• Student-to-Student, a group that organizes after-school art programs for disadvantaged kids at Kit Carson Elementary in Linda Vista.

• Tools for Schools, which facilitates donations of school supplies to dedicated teachers who normally spend hun-dreds of dollars of their own money on learning materials.

• Choose You, which matches high school students with fourth- and fifth-graders to discuss the dangers of obesity.

Christina Clark: Making a Meaningful Difference

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The group secured a $10,000 investment from a local entrepreneur.

"It's one of the most empowering things I've ever done," says Christina, who works with Whatever It Takes (WIT), a social entrepreneur and leadership-training program for teens offered through UC San Diego for college credit.

Together with Parker classmates Sophie Woods and Elisa Greenberg, also involved in WIT, Christina takes a business

approach to her craft.

"We find a problem we're passionate about finding a solu-tion to," she says. "We brainstorm ideas. We do our research. We figure out how we can find an original, sustainable and effective way of dealing with the issues, and then we launch something." ➤

Visit www.doingwit.org to learn more about Christina's endeavors with W.I.T.

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Community service has been a graduation requirement at Parker since 1994. But Parker's new social entrepreneurs are not afraid to break away from the norm.

Parker senior Jay Gardenswartz began taking drama lessons in preschool. He has since applied his talents to forming a suc-cessful student theater troupe aimed at fighting bullying and promoting diversity through character education.

"My passion is storytelling whether that be in writing or in theater," Jay says. "For me it's about telling people's stories."

Jay scripts, performs and directs other student actors in Theatre of Peace, which he founded his freshman year. They have performed at more than 200 assemblies, reaching 2,000-plus students across San Diego County.

Jay, who experienced bullying when he was younger, was in-

spired to launch the project after becoming bored while lis-tening to a speaker talk about bullying at a school assembly.

"Bullying is such an epidemic in this country. I thought there might be a better way to preach such an important mes-sage," says Jay, a recipient of Parker's Distinguished Indivi-dual Achievement Award in dramatic arts. "Coming from a theater background, I thought: What if we show kids what is going on instead of telling them?"

The student theater group works closely with Interactions for Peace, a nonprofit, and Jay is a recent recipient of the local Jewish Community Foundation's annual Peter Chortek Lead-ership Award for creating a volunteer service project that displays initiative, passion and positive spirit.

Go to www.spotlightovations.com/theatre-of-peace.html to read more about Jay's project.

Jay Gardenswartz: Telling People's Stories

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Harvard-bound Preetam Soundararajan has jumped many hurdles on his way to creating Education Beyond The Classroom (EBTC), an online tutoring service with many international clients.

"It was hard to get it off the ground," says Preetam, who co-founded the nonprofit with his brother, Gautam, a Parker graduate now at Dartmouth College. "No one returned my emails or phone calls when I tried to start it with schools.

"The first one that actually worked out was in Mexico. I got a call from a lady who lives in Chula Vista and runs an organization in Tijuana that tries to keep students in school. My idea fit her mission."

Preetam traveled to Tijuana and set up a tutoring lab in a recreation center with webcams and microphones that he donated. Nonprofit EBTC now provides online tutoring in English, Spanish and Mandarin to students in the United States, India, China and Mexico.

The enterprise counts Qualcomm among its funders. Partnerships have been made with the San Diego County Office of Education and DoSomething.org, a nonprofit for young people involved in social change.

Preetam got the idea for his enterprise after observing the rising grades of the struggling San Diego students he tutored. He says: "When I saw how the grades for the students I was tutoring actually improved by a considerable amount, that's when I realized that what I was doing was really valuable."

Then he started thinking about what it would take to make tutoring more accessible.

"I thought doing it online would be better because the tutor wouldn't have to be traveling so much," he says.

Now Preetam manages a network of eight tutors from various schools who use Skype to communicate with some 100 students.

"A lot of what we learn here at Parker is to do more than just the work in the classroom, but to apply what you learn so that it helps people beyond your school," Preetam says. "It's something Parker emphasizes. The culture at Parker fosters this kind of outreach." ➤

Visit http://educationbeyondtheclassroom.weebly.com/ to learn more about Preetam's online tutoring service.

Preetam Soundararajan: Creating Value

L A B E L H E R E

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Annie Sager: Giving BackThe ideals of community service, leadership and civic responsibility have deep roots in Parker history.

The school was founded on the educational philosophy of Col. Francis W. Parker, who thought students should learn by doing and be encouraged to understand and fulfill their responsibilities to serve their community.

Today, Upper School students yearly donate more than 12,000 hours of community service.

"I wouldn't be half the person I am today without the support and emphasis on com-munity service that Parker has," says senior Annie Sager, president of the Parker Com-munity Service Board. "Part of the reason we chose the school is because of its dedica-tion and commitment it puts on giving back."

Annie was a freshman when she started channeling her love of cooking and service into Serving Spoons. Her clients include a family of eight, a disabled man and a mili-tary veteran.

Now in its fourth year, the project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Annie credits her parents for nurturing her love of cooking and community service. "It's always been in my family to give back," she says.

Annie runs Serving Spoons with help from close friend Dutra Brown, also a Parker student. Together they pursue grants and raise funds to cover costs ($40 serves one family for a month) while organizing volunteers to cook, package and deliver meals.

"I've learned a lot," Annie says. "I keep track of financial records — how much we spend on meals, on gas, at the grocery stores. I keep track of all the meals we've cooked, which people have allergies or diet restrictions. I measure how long it takes to cook the meals. I recruit volunteers."

Annie's mother, Natalie Venezia, praises Parker for building a program that empha-sizes service and citizenship. "They encourage community service and enable their kids to venture out and to be creative in accomplishing their community service," Venezia says.

Go to www.servingspoons.org to find out more about Annie's service enterprise.

* * *"Over the years, students have worked on many interesting service projects," says Devine, the dean of college counseling. "Sometimes they'll go to other countries and do these extraordinary things. Other times they do things right here at home. At some point that spark happens."

And once their passion is ignited, students become agents for positive change.

Sarah Hernholm, founder of Whatever it Takes, has worked with several Parker stu-dents. She sees a relentless drive to make a meaningful difference — the common thread among all the young social entrepreneurs she's mentored.

They are future job and business creators, she says.

But most of all: "They will do whatever it takes to make the world a better place."

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A L U M N I P R O F I L E

CEO Matt Blumberg shares model-business insights with students

IN GOOD COMPANY

By Graciela Sevilla | Photography by Crissy Pascual

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From left to right:Sean WatersMichael Laguna* Jovanna Sanchez*Matt Blumberg (Parker ‘88)Thomas MarshallNishon TylerMariano Perez*(*King-Chavez Community High School)

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In fact, New York-based Return Path has more than 400 employees world-wide. And it's rated among "The Best Places to Work" by Crain's, Fortune and Inc. magazines.

"Leadership is the art of inspiring people," he says. "My mission is both to build a great business and a great organization to work for."

Blumberg regularly writes about his experiences as a first-time CEO in his "Only Once" blog. And he is author of a new book, "Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business."

Having attended Parker for Middle and Upper School, Blumberg credits his Parker years with helping to develop his entrepreneurial mindset.

"Parker offered many more leadership opportunities than I would have had at my neighborhood school," he said.

"I was able to learn valuable lessons in influencing and leading peers mul-tiple times, and even some entrepreneurial skills in starting up two new organizations as a senior."

CEO MATT BLUMBERG WAS ON THE HOT SEAT. BEFORE HIM WERE STUDENTS FROM PARKER

AND A PUBLIC SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL.

"What makes your company good to work for?" Sean Waters, Parker student mod-erator, wanted to know.

Blumberg, Class of '88 and founder of Return Path in 1999, was happy to answer.

Investing in employees — whom Blumberg called "human capital" — was key to building his email technology and marketing business into a successful company, he told the students.

"We've created an environment where people can be themselves and do their best work," he said. "It's my mission to make this the best job they've ever had and don't want to leave."

Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here: Caption here:

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STUDENTS: WHAT'S YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR AN UP AND COMING ENTREPRENEUR?

BLUMBERG: Learn to write code. . . Even if you are a social service entrepreneur, the world is getting increasingly more technical and writing code is an important skill to have.

Recently, he shared his insights as a successful CEO with a group of students from Parker and King-Chavez Community High School. Blumberg talked with students in Nicholas Commons on the Parker Linda Vista Campus.

The students, who have their own entrepreneurial dreams, read Blumberg's book before joining him for an afternoon conversation.

Blumberg said Parker offered him a similar nurturing environment as a student, with teachers who invested in him, allowing him to thrive.

"Parker taught me how to learn — and to enjoy learning," he said. "I've been a student of whatever I've done professionally, and I've tried to turn my company into a learning organization.

"I give credit to some of the wonderful teachers I had at Parker, from Meg Peckham to Susan Moerder to Rose Hanscom to Dave and Sally Ramert — for instilling that in me."

FAVORITE PARKER MEMORIES

I had a really, really fun six years at Parker.

I have a very vivid memory of a bunch of us diving and sliding

through a giant puddle that emerged in the middle of the old

quad periodically during a big rainstorm.

I always enjoyed helping to write the April Fools' edition of the school newspaper, The View,

which we renamed The Lancer Legend at some point.

— MATT BLUMBERG ‘88

Matt Blumberg addresses a group of students from Parker and King-Chavez Community High School at the Parker Linda Vista Campus.

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MAXIMUM MANDARIN

Parker kindergarten students learn the Mandarin language in Sophia Dalton's class at the Mission Hills campus. Pictured, from left to right: Olivia Tyndall, Adrian Guillinta, Demi Ranglas, teacher Sophia Dalton, Kaeden Stover and Bojana Wilder.

Parker speaks to demand for Chinese studies

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FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA recently traveled to China with her daughters during Sasha and Malia's spring break. At several stops, she stressed the importance of building cultural bridges and the role stu-dents can play as "citizen diplomats."

"Relationships between nations aren't just relationships between governments and leaders. They are about relationships between peo-ple — particularly young people," she told an audience of Chinese and American students at the Stanford Center at Peking University.

At Francis Parker School, the opportunity to reach beyond borders and become global citizens is starting as early as kindergarten. ➤

By Leonel Sanchez | Photography by Crissy Pascual

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Inside the box "car," Emerson Hardy, Grade 2, participates in a play-acting activity aimed at helping the youngest students absorb the new language.

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Aiden Blakeley and Jorge Luna, both Grade 5, demonstrate their Mandarin writing skills for the class.

COMFORTABLE WITH ANOTHER CULTUREWhen teacher Ran Sophia Dalton opens her K-5 classroom, students enter a world where Mandarin is spoken and Chi-nese culture is celebrated. It's a world enlivened by the cho-ral tonal sounds of young voices practicing a new language.

Most of her first-graders are in their second year of Mandarin and know their basics well.

First-grader Adam Fox exhibits confidence and ease as he an-swers Dalton's question in Mandarin about the small potted plant he's holding. "Meiyou shui," he says. (There is no water.)

When asked if he knows how to spell his name in Chinese, he points to a line near the bottom of his journal page where he's written his name in spiky characters. "It was easy," he says, and returns to coloring the page.

A decision was made to introduce Mandarin courses to Lower School students in the 2012-2013 year. Dalton's current stu-dents will be the first at Parker able to study Mandarin from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Dalton, a Beijing native, runs a fast-paced class where students move among different stations and new exercises every three to five minutes. Her goal is to expose students to as much Mandarin as possible during their daily 30-minute lessons.

English is hardly spoken during a lively class in Dalton's Low-er School classroom. The children talk comfortably in Man-darin as they work on lessons together.

"We're preparing them to become global citizens, which means learning more than one language," Dalton says. "We want them to feel comfortable interacting with people from other cultures."

MEETING A GROWING DEMANDMandarin classes fill quickly at the Mission Hills Campus. A total of 124 students, about one-third of the Lower School student population, are taking Mandarin this year.

"We had to hire a second teacher to help teach Grade 5 be-cause so many students wanted to study Chinese," Dalton said. The remaining Lower School students are taking Span-ish.

The Upper School added Mandarin studies in 2007. It is now catching up to French and Spanish in enrollment among foreign language courses. But enrollment in Upper School Mandarin is expected to take off as the students in Lower School continue their Parker careers.

Dalton says elementary school is an ideal time to introduce Mandarin to young learners because they are undaunted by the complexity of a foreign language.

"Adults have difficulty picking up new languages and be-ing able to pronounce things correctly," she says. "Kids are still developing their language skills. They can pick up very quickly. For the little ones, they just have fun doing it."

Her students enjoy playful competition while learning Man-darin. In one morning class, fifth-graders form teams and rush to be the first to correctly write on a board using Chi-nese characters: "I am American, not Chinese." ➤

Listen and watch Lower School students speak Mandarin www.francisparker.org/mandarin

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Children urge each other on, and the winning team cheers when a student playing the role of teacher declares a winner.

"I really enjoy this class. I look forward to it," says fifth-grader Samantha Davis.

CHAMPION OF LEARNING CHINESEMandarin classes are flourishing as a result of parent inter-est and the strategic planning of Parker leaders. One major proponent of bringing Mandarin to Parker is Julia Ingram, a member of the Board of Trustees who is fluent in Mandarin.

Ingram, who holds a master's degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University, recognized early the important role Mandarin was going to play internationally. In the late 1980s, she studied in Beijing and saw the first "glimmers of a market economy in China."

"It was very clear to me that China was looking outward and would be increasingly important in world affairs," Ingram says, citing that as one of the reasons she began to advocate for Mandarin at Parker. Her son, Eric, Class of 2010, studied Mandarin while at Parker.

Ingram says fear is the biggest obstacle when it comes to learning a foreign language and children learn new lan-guages more easily because they are not self-conscious about making mistakes.

"Offering a rigorous program of language instruction when children are young and unafraid not only enables students to become proficient in that language but also gives them the confidence and skills to learn additional languages later in life," Ingram says.

CHINA TRIPS ARE PATH TO SUCCESSAcross continents and oceans, the world is becoming in-creasingly interconnected through technology, travel and economic competition. And China continues to grow in im-portance as it emerges as a key player on the international stage.

With more than a billion speakers, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world.

In recent years, Parker has been forging new links with China by hosting Chinese high school students for three-week col-lege prep boot camps. Many Parker students also travel to China during Upper School Global Studies Trips and Middle School Discovery Week.

Tom Crowley, Upper School director of Global Studies, said he would like to see a trip to China become a regular part of the high school experience for students taking Mandarin.

Left: Caroline DeWiit, Grade 2, identifies objects with title cards in Chinese. Right: Tania Lilly uses flash cards.

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"China has a lot to offer beyond Beijing," says Crowley, whose son, Liam, is continuing his Mandarin studies as a freshman in the Upper School. "I feel it's essential to have this opportunity as part of Parker's educational experience."

Tim Katzman, director of Summer and Extended Day Pro-grams, has been overseeing Parker's outreach to students from China. He sees introducing Parker students to foreign languages and cultures as being crucial to preparing them for success beyond Parker.

"We live in an international city. We're in a world that gets smaller every day," Katzman said. "If we don't have our kids understand that having a global awareness is an important part of their education, indeed an important part of who they are, then we're not giving them a complete education."

In her language immersion class, Sophia Dalton gives a science lesson in Mandarin to James Foundos, Grade 1.

Victor Kallett, Grade 5, comfortably reads the Chinese characters aloud.

R I S I N G to the

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By Anthony Santacroce | Photography by Crissy Pascual

Lancer Orchestra goes all out for excellenceJUST AFTER SUNRISE, while other students are still eating breakfast, a group of talented Parker students is already on campus — the Lancer Orchestra.

Michael Baddour, a junior who plays first violin and serves as concertmaster, says it's his favorite part of the day. "Even getting here at 7 am — I want to be here. It brings me so much joy," he says, smiling.

The group meets twice a week for rehearsal before the school day. They play at a skill level no one expects from a group of mostly Middle School students with a few Lower and Upper Schoolers sprinkled in.

"The level of music we're doing is very high. It's high school and college level," says Tamara Paige, conductor and a second-year music instructor at Parker. ➤

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Ollie Pai, Grade 5, displays the ample focus and dedication needed to perform with the orchestra.

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Megan Pai, Grade 8, shares a light moment with fellow musicians during a break in rehearsal.

Orchestra members are not filling a re-quirement. In fact, this is not a class. Only the seven Upper School students are eli-gible for academic credit. But all 23 musi-cians show up bright and early — deter-mined to be there.

Members include 14 Middle School stu-dents, seven Upper School students and two fifth-graders — a violinist and bassist taking part by special invitation.

It's primarily a string orchestra, adding the flourish of a harp and occasionally a flute and saxophone on special numbers.

Members are selected by audition. Only the most talented — and, more important, the most dedicated — are invited to join.

Conductor Paige says the young musicians' skills grow by leaps and bounds as they work on polishing performance pieces.

This spring, the orchestra rehearsed "Hoe-down," a difficult section of Aaron Cop-land's "Rodeo" ballet. The sprawling, cattle-drive crescendos of the piece will be right at home on the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree stage at Disneyland, where the Lancer Or-chestra was selected to play April 26 as part of Disney's youth performance program.

The final show of the school year is the Spring Concert on June 3 in J. Crivello Hall of the Linda Vista Campus. Chuck Mangione's "Children of Sanchez" will be performed with noted San Diego jazz trumpeter and recording artist Gilbert Castellanos.

Having a professional artist take part in a guest performance with the orchestra un-derscores the great potential of the young musicians, Paige says.

"To have a musician like Gilbert Castellanos sit in with the orchestra is a testament to the students' dedication and skill level."

Tamara Paige, an accomplished musician and instructor, draws the best from her talented students.

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Michael Baddour, Grade 11, delights in serving as concertmaster for the Lancer Orchestra.

Even during an early morning rehearsal, Noah Schneider, Grade 7, can't help but have a good time.

Listen to the Lancer Orchestra www.francisparker.org/lancerorchestra

DISNEYLAND SHOWSWhen: Starting at 8 am Saturday, April 26

Where: Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree stage in Frontierland

SPRING CONCERTWhen: 6:30 pm Tuesday, June 3

Where: J. Crivello Hall, Linda Vista Campus

LANCER ORCHESTRAUPCOMING

PERFORMANCES

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Michelle Reed, Grade 11, embellishes the string orchestra with a flute melody.

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FAC U LT Y P R O F I L E

fter 33 years at Parker, coaching the Lancers to numerous championships, Athletic Director Dan Kuiper is stepping down in June.

As he exits, he stands tall among faculty mem-bers who've had a lasting impact on Parker students and School history. Interviews are underway for Kuiper's successor.

"He has overseen the growth of the Parker athletic program from small time to one of the top high school programs in the county," says John Herman, Parker associate athletic di-rector.

"To measure Dan's impact at Parker, all one has to do is look at the athletic program ‘BD' (Before Dan) and now ‘AD' (After Dan). The results speak for themselves."

By Graciela Sevilla | Photography by Earnie Grafton

Retiring Coach Kuiper is off to find a new playground

Play On!A

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Kuiper (far right) with Mike Dee

(CEO of Padres) at Petco Park.

Kuiper — with his perpetual tan, khaki shorts and smiling nice guy demeanor — puts it more succinctly: "I hate losing."

In fact, his winning ways are legendary.

Under his direction, Parker sports teams have won eight state CIF titles, seven CIF state academic crowns, two CIF Southern California regional championships, 60 CIF San Diego section championships and 119 conference titles.

A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Kuiper (pronounced "KIPE-er") was inducted in 2006 into the San Diego Hall of Champions High School Coaching Legends. He is a 2004 win-ner of the state CIF Distinguished Service Award.

According to Coach Kuiper, "There are life lessons to be learned in sports. Students make a commitment and have to live up to that commitment. The skills learned through ath-letics apply to all areas of life, especially in the classroom." ➤

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Dan Kuiper: The Parker Years 1981-2014

He arrived at Parker in 1981 to coach sports and teach Middle School alge-bra. Over the years, he also taught sci-ence and coached varsity tennis and football before becoming athletic di-rector in 1988.

Although he is fiercely competitive, colleagues admire Kuiper for encour-aging his students to give academics priority over athletics.

"Dan has always been able to balance the benefit of competition and sports to the athlete's cost in time and aca-demics," said Dave Johnson, Upper School science teacher.

As athletic director, he recruited a tal-ented roster of coaches. Judy Conner, director of admissions, says Kuiper al-ways "put a premium on coaches that can be good mentors to their student-athletes."

A friend and confidant to many, Kuiper is admired by co-workers for the value he places on integrity, ethics and peo-ple. "He is a very special colleague and friend who cares deeply about people," said Jan Rogers, executive assistant to the Head of School.

Former students remember Kuiper as a strong mentor. In terms of athleticism, he's led in large part by example.

An avid sailor and backpacker, Kuiper is "a true outdoorsman who can ride horses, off-road motorcycles and, to validate his being a 'fit' athletic direc-tor, even mountain bicycles," says John Hulsey, Middle School math teacher.

"Dan could play any sport — individual or team — and has always been a real competitor and good sportsman," said Upper School social studies chair Tom Crowley. "He has been a great model of a healthy, active lifestyle for his stu-dents and colleagues for decades."

Retirement will serve only to pump up Kuiper's enthusiasm for fitness.

Kuiper with a Middle School student circa 1982.

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The varsity football team celebrates its CIF Championship.

Varsity Football Team

Kuiper taught Middle School algebra and science.

1988

1985

1989

Coach Kuiper on the sidelines.

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Lessons Beyond the Football Field"Every day, in every way, we get a little better!" That was the chant we repeated at the end of every football practice with the entire team huddled tightly together, our hands joined in the middle of the circle.

When I look back on my years at Parker, I can say without a doubt that Dan Kuiper's unrelenting commitment to that motto was what made him an exceptional coach, mentor and friend.

The lessons Dan taught and the values he instilled reached far be-yond the football field.

He taught us to set high standards. More important, he showed us how to achieve those standards through hard work, discipline, fo-cused preparation and an unwav-ering commitment to both our-selves and our teammates.

"We train for the fourth quarter" was one of Dan's favorites. The idea of practicing and preparing to perform at the end, with the game on the line, when everyone is tired and struggling, is a lesson that's stayed with me throughout my life.

Dan taught us to compete fierce-ly and yet be gracious in both victory and defeat. And most im-portant, Dan taught us to always do the right thing no matter how hard.

I will always hold Dan in the high-est regard as someone who made a long-lasting, positive impact on my life and who made Parker a special place to be.

— Parker Board Member Jeff Von Behren, Class of ‘90

He's planning to do more backpacking through the Eastern Sierras, something he's always enjoyed. And he'll spend more time in Kenya, visiting with his daughter and grandkids. He harbors a hope that his basketball coach son-in-law will ask him to serve as his assistant.

Inspired by his son, an East County fire-man, Kuiper is even thinking about be-coming an emergency medical techni-cian.

Says teacher Hulsey: "He is still con-sidering different [hiking] routes to Mount Whitney so it is not likely he will be found lounging on his porch in the local mountains overlooking serene

lakes and meadows every day of the week, but he certainly deserves to."

Asked how he plans to spend his retire-ment, Kuiper quips, "I'm going to find a new playground."

Although contemplating the mark he made on Parker is the last thing on Kui-per's mind, colleagues and former stu-dents won't soon forget him.

"He might be retiring," says associate athletic director Herman, "but his leg-acy will be seen every time one of our teams takes the field for many years to come."

Praising the Lancers at Greenberg Field.

Parker football coaches Tony Ghironi,

John Morrison and Dan Kuiper.

Coach Kuiper served as a chaperone for a

Global Studies Trip to the Philippines.

Handing out awards at a sports banquet circa 1995.

2005

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420Classof

by thenumbers

286AP & Honorscourses taken

ASPIRINGARTISTS

number ofgraduates123

72,442 miles traveled on Global Studies Trips in 2014

12,644 hoursof community serviceworked while in Upper School

4 nonprofit entrepreneurs

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The Class of 2014 willjoin the growing family

of more than

making a meaningfuldifference in the world.

Parker Alumni

34Lifers

20ConferenceChampionships

2 CIF StateChampionships

326 games, tournaments, meets and matches played this year

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