In the pantheon of Hollywood script-worthy, full-circle accomplishments, David Parker's is difficult to beat.
After a career dedicated to education that took him all over the country, Parker purchased the building in which he attended elementary school and established his own unique learning institution in Parker Academy.
It wasn't a school he was purchasing, though. All he bought was a structure.
“Most people think of schools as buildings. I think of them as ideas,” Parker said. “I realized pretty early on that one size doesn't fit all.”
Therein lies the Parker Academy philosophy. The private day school tailors a unique educational plan to each of its 50 students between grades 6 and 12, working to find the appropriate path for each inpidual.
The school – with locations at Fisk Road and another near South Church downtown – accepts students from a variety of backgrounds and educational experiences. Parker said that about 50 percent of the current population has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, though many other students were simply seeking a learning environment free of bullying pressure and other stressors.
The school day begins with a “mindful moment,” a relaxation technique with roots in Buddhism, and students – and some faculty – remove their shoes upon entering the building in the morning and walk around in stocking feet.
There is a 30-minute lunch break but no lunch room, as students are encouraged to find whatever comfortable place they like to enjoy a respite. Classes are rarely larger than three students, fostering a personal connection between teacher and pupil, and everyone is on a first-name basis with each other, including Parker, who is affectionately referred to as “Dave” by students.
“It's relationship-based,” Parker said of the school's philosophy. “We operate on a first-name basis, like you would in a family. Everyone is unique to us. We look at them through multiple lenses.”
Parker Academy students are encouraged to discover and nurture their inpidualism. If a student needs a break to regain focus during class, he or she can go to the gym and pump iron for a few minutes before returning, Parker said. The Fisk Road building includes an art room, a music room, a science lab and a shop, and the pingpong table in the weight room gets an endless workout.
Students are currently working on constructing a sailboat and have already built a shed and a gazebo that dot the perimeter of the Fisk Road property. And every Wednesday students participate in experiential learning, venturing into the community for recreational activities that include stops at local farms and soup kitchens among other locales.
The school also features an outdoor adventure-based program including canoe excursions and rock climbing, and Wednesday ski trips occur occasionally during the winter months.
Many students arrive during their middle school years and stay with the program through high school, though some transition back to their original school situation after a stint at Parker. Some students commute as much as an hour, Parker said, and a handful are from outside New Hampshire.
The impact of the school's philosophy on students is evident. Alec Goss, a senior, left his previous school because of constant bullying and arrived at Parker a self-described introvert.
He's now completing his final year, with an eye on college and continuing a blossoming music career.
“I had trouble learning because I was always getting picked on and teased,” Goss said of his previous school. “But here, it's a great learning environment. It's safe and comfortable. Before I came here, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't know I had any musical talent, but I discovered I could play drums, and now I'm going to be [active] with my musical abilities.”
Adam Lyndes, likewise, dealt with constant harassment in his previous school. Also a senior, he is now hoping to attend college and perhaps become a mechanic.
“When I came here freshman year, they didn't look at me for who I was on the outside. They looked at me for what I actually was, a caring person that will always be there for you if you need it,” Lyndes said. “I'll give you the shirt off my back.”
Both Goss and Lyndes attribute their confidence and comfort in their own skin largely to the educational experience they received at Parker.
“Before, I was very isolated. I didn't really like talking to people that much because I always was in fear of what they'd think of me,” Goss said. “But now, I'm myself. This school really helped me become more comfortable, both here and with the world around me.”
Added Lyndes: “I was the shy kid who sat in the corner, who was rude because people were rude to him. But I came here and people treated me for who I was. It's a completely different world, how much respect you get when you step into Parker Academy.”
That atmosphere shines through during the school's annual graduation ceremony, a distinctive event at which several graduating students deliver speeches. One such speech was so moving last year that Parker said it “outdid the Gettysburg Address in terms of honesty and powerfulness and who it was coming from, and just the energy and clarity and purpose.”
Those remain the most gratifying moments for Parker, who has seen his vision carried out at Parker Academy since it first opened its doors downtown in 1986. He added the Fisk Road property that used to be the Millville School – his elementary haunt – about eight years ago, making it the primary campus, and has capped enrollment comfortably at 50.
Though the school continues to adapt and specialize its programs to the inpidual needs of the students, the results are precisely why Parker got into the field in the first place.
“What truly gives me great pleasure is seeing a well-oiled machine run well, when people are happy with each other, when people treat each other well, where good learning is going on and we're not defining things by problems but by successes,” Parker said. “And when I can sit back and watch that and see myself in some way as at least one of the architects, that's really rewarding.”
As for the fact that he helped build such a situation in the halls that once housed the first school he attended, that's merely icing on the cake.
“I found out the building was coming up for sale, and I thought how cool would that be?” Parker said. “It's a little cosmic. I have a lot of fond memories here, some pretty good karma. And it's a very cool thing – I don't know anybody else who bought their elementary school.”
