Tag Archives: Parker Elementary School

Superintendent promises data-based decisions in the best interest of students, families

Superintendent Millard House II marked his first day of school in the Houston Independent School District by traveling from campus to campus, welcoming students back and peeking into their classrooms to watch them learn.

But his first stop — though not on his official schedule— held special meaning.

“As I dropped off my fourth grader at school this morning, he told me, ‘Dad, I have butterflies in my stomach,’” House said, referring to the range of emotions many students are feeling as they start a second school year amidst the pandemic. “That’s understandable.”

House told the story while speaking to a room of reporters and district officials who gathered at Parker Elementary School for HISD’s first-day-of-school press conference.

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Parker ES dedicates new facility, Spark Park

Parker Elementary School students, staff, parents, and community members were visibly excited about their new colorful and modern surroundings as they gathered for Building and Spark Park Dedication ceremony Thursday.

Parker students provided musical entertainment throughout the evening, including the Parker Elementary School Advanced Strings, a surprise performance by the school band, and a reception with Parker Jazz Band.

“One of the things that I see is just how much more seriously the kids take their performances in a fancy auditorium like this one,” Parker Principal Lori Frodine said.

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Parker ES students mark first day in new school

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Roaring applause and cheers of joy echoed throughout the Parker Elementary School cafeteria on Monday as Principal Lori Frodine welcomed students to the first day of school in their new building.

To mark the first day, students gathered by grade level for assemblies in the cafeteria, where Frodine excitedly introduced the students to the new facility and its features and answered their questions.

“You guys have the coolest music rooms ever,” Frodine said to the eager students seated before her.

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New Parker ES on track to open in January

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Parker Elementary School will have a new look for 2018, as construction on the new building inches closer to its scheduled December completion.

Exterior brick and roof installations are nearly complete, and steel framing is underway, as is the installation of insulation and dry wall. In addition, building heating and cooling systems are being tested and crews are painting the cafeteria’s exterior.

“I’m extremely anxious, but very excited,” Parker Principal Lori Frodine said. “We’ve been planning for our new school for several years, so it’s wonderful to see it come together. We can’t wait to move in.”

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Parker ES construction passes halfway mark

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Construction at Parker Elementary School is now more than halfway complete with exterior framing and roofing well underway on the east side of the building.

“I’ve been doing a monthly walk-through in the building, so I’m seeing the progress each time I go,” Parker Principal Lori Frodine said. “I feel good it’s moving along. I’m happy that they’re starting to accelerate the work.”

The construction crew is working diligently at the site to make up some time lost due to previous weather delays. Currently, they are installing the HVAC systems on the first floor along with the chilled water pipes. Installation of the sprinkler system is also in progress.

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Rain or shine: Parker ES makes headway despite weather delays  

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Construction on the new Parker Elementary School — Houston’s original music magnet — is almost 25 percent complete with the steel structure already in place and build-out of the interior walls underway.

“Things were very slow in the beginning due to rainy weather, but since the walls have gone up, things have been moving along quite quickly, said Parker Principal Lori Frodine. “We prefer a quality job rather than a rushed job, so we are very happy to see that.”

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Parker ES named National Magnet School of Distinction  

Parker Elementary has been named a National Magnet School of Distinction by Magnet Schools of America, the national association for magnet and theme-based schools.

“Parker has always been an outstanding school and it is a true honor to be recognized by Magnet Schools of America” said Principal Lori Frodine. “The stakeholders truly deserve this recognition, because it is through their collaboration that makes Parker such a special place.”

To receive a national merit award, members of Magnet Schools of America must submit a detailed application that is scored by a panel of educators. These schools are judged and scored on their demonstrated ability to raise student academic achievement, promote racial and socioeconomic diversity, provide integrated curricula and instruction, and create strong family and community partnerships that enhance the school’s magnet theme.

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Parker ES stakeholders hear about plans for new school

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Parker Elementary parents and community members gathered at the school Tuesday evening to hear the project team present the latest design plans and timeline for construction of a new school.

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HISD Students Make History on the Space X Dragon

The Space X Dragon which is now headed to rendezvous with the International Space Station is carrying two experiments made by four Houston Independent School District students as well as two student-designed mission patches.  The Dragon launched Tuesday morning at 2:44 a.m. CST from Cape Canaveral, FL.

The National Center for Earth and Space Science (NCESSE) and NanoRacks, LLC, have developed the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), aimed at helping today’s students become the scientists and engineers of tomorrow.  The program gives the students the opportunity to be involved in a national space project with a focus on STEM education via the Nano-Racks payload.

Johnston Middle and Parker Elementary were two of the schools selected from 12 communities in the United States.   Hundreds of students in grades 5- 8 were given the opportunity to design and submit experiments to be performed in microgravity aboard the space station.  From 267 formal experiment proposals received, two were chosen to go to space.

Emily Soice from Johnston Middle School and Michael Prince, Maxx Denning and Aaron Stuart from Parker Elementary school had the winning proposals.  Both schools also held an art contest for the mission patch design. Fifth grade Parker Elementary student Christian Astorga and eighth grade Johnston Middle School student Sebastian Beil designed the winning mission patches.

The students conferred with STEM experts from Rice University, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), NASA, Pfizer, Texas A and M University, the University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Southern University.    The students also had the opportunity to visit research facilities to prepare for their experiments for flight. 

The Student Space Flight Experiments Program (http://ssep.ncesse.org) is undertaken by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE; http://ncesse.org) in partnership with Nanoracks, LLC and is enabled through NanoRacks working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.  

During the Dragon’s 21-day mission it will dock with the space station where it will deliver about a half ton of supplies along with cargo from NanoRacks containing 15 student-designed SSEP experiments from around the United States.  Dragon will be the first privately-owned spaceship to dock at the space station.

Two HISD Schools Win Chance to Test Projects in Space

Two HISD student science projects are cleared for lift off. Johnston Middle School and Parker Elementary School students will have their microgravity experiments included in Mission One to the International Space Station through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.

More than 1,000 students submitted proposals and 12 U.S. school communities were given the chance to compete. Johnston and Parker students recently learned that they were among a handful of winning schools whose projects will fly aboard a Soyuz rocket in the spring of 2013.

“The students are just ecstatic,” said Parker science teacher Rebecca Mitchell. “It’s a dream come true. They feel like they can do anything, that any dream can be realized.”

Johnston eighth-grader Emily H. Soice led her school’s winning project. Soice’s experiment explores whether a bioscaffold infused with the TGFB3 protein grows and forms cells faster in microgravity than in normal gravity. Bioscaffold is an artificial structure that can be implanted in the body to serve as a base where tissue can grow.

Soice’s research could lay the groundwork for the growth of replacement tissue, joints, and even organs.

At Parker Elementary School, fifth-grade students Maxx Denning, Michael Prince, and Aaron Stuart will test to see if liquid Vitamin C can preserve bone density in microgravity, which could be helpful to astronauts who stay in space over a long period of time.

Mitchell said the students worked after school, during their lunch break, and even on weekends to create their winning proposal. The students will conduct their Vitamin C experiment using a chicken bone.

“We are splitting a wishbone,” Max said. “Part of it will fly in space and part of it will stay here. It will float in a solution that includes Vitamin C for six weeks.”

Researchers, biologists, physicists and many others from institutions including Baylor College of Medicine, NASA, Rice University, University of Houston and Texas Southern University provided support for the project.

For more information, please visit www.ssep.ncesse.org.